Summary Sheet- RFCA SUMMARY
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Tempe City Council and Tempe Historic Preservation Commission Joint Meeting CITY OF TEMPE Meeting Date: 3/30/2026 MEMORANDUM Agenda Item: 4B ITEM TITLE: Discussion of Downtown Historic Core Plan Draft Guidelines FISCAL IMPACT: N/A RECOMMENDATION OR GUIDANCE REQUESTED: Provide feedback on draft guidelines for the Downtown Tempe Historic Core Plan. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The City continues to work with consultants 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 City Council. The selected consultant, Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman (MIG), Inc., working with subconsultant Poster, Mirto, McDonald (PMM), are collaborating with City staff and key stakeholders, incorporating broad public and municipal input throughout the planning process. 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 three separate HPC and DRC meetings (September 2025, December 2025, and March 2025), and they are currently engaged in a second round of 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. MIG and PMM have also held two rounds of public meetings, in December 2025 and March 2026. The March public, DRC, and HPC meeting discussions have centered on preliminary guidelines that MIG and PMM have devised (and will continue to revise) based on staff, Commission, and stakeholder input. A draft of the full DHC Plan will be available in May and will be accompanied by a final round of presentations in that month at DRC, HPC, and public meetings. MIG and PMM are scheduled to present the plan to Council for adoption in Summer 2026. ATTACHMENTS: 1. CC_ATTACH DTHC PLAN DRAFT OUTLINE AND GUIDELINES 33026.PDF 2. DTHC SLIDES FOR COUNCIL-HPC JOINT MEETING 33126.PDF STAFF CONTACT(S): Zachary Lechner, Historic Preservation Officer, 480-350-8870 Department Director: Jeff Tamulevich, Community Development Director Legal review by: Eric Anderson, City Attorney Prepared by: Zachary Lechner, Historic Preservation Officer