Summary Sheet- WSS ISSUE REVIEW SUMMARY

MEMORANDUM – ISSUE REVIEW SESSION
TO:
Mayor and Council
THROUGH:
Jeff Tamulevich, Community Development Director, (480) 350-8441
FROM:
Zachary Lechner, Historic Preservation Officer, (480) 350-8870
DATE:
1/15/2026
SUBJECT:
Presentation on the Downtown Tempe Historic Core 
Plan
AGENDA ITEM: 4A 
PURPOSE:
Steven Davidovas and Rick Barrett of Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman (MIG) and Corky Poster of Poster, 
Mirto, McDonald (PMM) will give a presentation and solicit feedback on the forthcoming Downtown 
Tempe Historic Core Plan.
RECOMMENDATION OR GUIDANCE REQUESTED:
Request for Council feedback.
CITY COUNCIL STRATEGIC PRIORITY AND RELATED PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
Council Strategic Priority #4: Sustainable Growth & Development
Performance Measure 4.20 – Community Development Process Satisfaction: Achieve customer 
satisfaction ratings that are greater than or equal to an annual average of 4.0 on a 5-point scale as 
measured by the Community Development Process Surveys.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City issued a Request for Proposal (RFP 25-126) for a qualified consultant to research, draft, and 
finalize a Downtown Historic Core (DHC) Plan. This plan will provide historic context along with guidelines 
and recommendations to preserve Tempe’s historic downtown character while supporting new 
development. The plan is required to go before the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and 
Development Review Commission (DRC) for recommendations of approval, followed by adoption by the 
City Council. The selected consultant, Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman (MIG), Inc., working with subconsultant 
Poster, Mirto, McDonald (PMM), will collaborate with City staff and key stakeholders, incorporating broad 
public and municipal input throughout the planning process. MIG is scheduled to present the plan to 
Council for adoption in June 2026.
The City of Tempe’s Tempe Tomorrow: General Plan 2050, approved by City Council and adopted by 
voters in 2023, includes a directive to develop a DHC Plan. Goal #2 under the Historic Preservation 
section aims to “support the creation of location-specific preservation plans, especially in the downtown 
area, to better preserve historic properties and cultural resources in those locations” (81). The goal’s 
single objective is to “develop and promote a plan for a DHC, that includes design and planning 
guidelines, and the identification of boundaries.”
Representatives from City consultant MIG and subconsultants PMM and Westland Engineering & 
Environmental Services made presentations and solicited feedback at the September 10th and 
December 9th DRC meetings and the September 10th and December 10th HPC meetings. Since then, 
the consultant has continued to meet regularly with City staff and has held meetings with the Gila River 
Indian Community and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and various stakeholders, 
including property owners and members of the historic preservation community. On December 4, MIG 
and PMM conducted public meetings in which they presented  and sought feedback on the upcoming 
DHC Plan. From November 17-December 19, the City also posted an online survey, which yielded

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significant insights into the public’s experiences with Downtown Tempe, their conception of the DHC, and 
their thoughts on historic preservation and development in the Downtown.
FISCAL IMPACT or IMPACT TO CURRENT RESOURCES:
Contract for Downtown Historic Core Plan: $299,837.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. CC_ATTACH DHC PLAN PRESENTATION_11526.PDF