Armory Park, Gentrification, CBI, Crime, Board Elections

Updates from APNA President Anne Cooper:
1) Rio Nuevo and the city are actively looking at upgrading Armory Park back to its look from the 1940’s. More grass, a new band shell, and different seating. This is not a done deal and Fletcher McCusker of Rio Nuevo will have to work with the city on several issues. With this in mind, the idea is to create a more lively and active Armory Park. It is the only downtown park and has been a great resource for many activities throughout the years. Parking is and will be a problem and one that Rio Nuevo is aware of and is willing to work with us on. They are the group that created the parking system for the barrio near the Tucson Convention Center and have offered to promote a similar system for the Armory Park Neighborhood. More to come on this.
2) There was a gentrification seminar held last month in the Dunbar Springs neighborhood. Gentrification is a real issue for Tucson, especially with the development in downtown. It is not an easy issue, as many cities throughout the United States have been affected by it. How cities stay vibrant through development while keeping older, established communities affordable is a dilemma no one has fully tackled. There will be a symposium by the Southwest fair housing council on Oct 26th to start to address some of these issues. Further gentrification seminars will take place and I will keep you posted on their date/time and location.

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Trick or Treat!

halloweentrickortreat

It’s time to compile the Armory Park Trick or Treat map again!

Email janetkmiller@gmail.com if you’ll be hosting trick or treaters on Wednesday, October 31. Please include your street address and let her know if you’ll be doing anything special (like the legendary Puppet Porch, or Pete the Pirate).

She’ll make the map public a few days before Halloween.

10/20/18 FLD Meeting

UPDATE from Mr Mackey, the architect: “We will be utilizing the FLD process for this project, but the meeting on the 20th is for neighbors to discuss the request for reduction of the parking at 3 of the proposed properties from 2 required spaces to 1 space. If the reduction is approved, then we will start the formal FLD process and have the necessary meetings for that. If the reduction is not approved, then we will have to redesign the site plan and then start the formal FLD process.”

The original post: There will be a meeting Saturday, October 20, at 10 AM at 811 S 4th Ave to discuss a proposed FLD project for a single family residential development. What is an FLD? It stands for “Flexible Lot Development” and appears in Article 8.7.3. of the Unified Development Code. The four new bungalows at E 18th St and S 5th Ave are an example of an earlier FLD project.

If this new project is approved, the three parcels at 811-821 S 4th Ave will be developed into seven parcels and the property owner will build  five single-family residences. There are already two historic houses on the property.

Architect Bill Mackey’s letter announcing the meeting is below. The meeting is open to interested neighbors and Armory Park residents.

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APNA and APHZAB Elections 11/13/18!

Our annual election for the Armory Park Neighborhood Association Board of Directors will be held at the general meeting on November 13.
Four positions are open.  Please let pefnaz@gmail.com know if you are interested in becoming a board member.   You need to be a member of the association on or before October 13 to be eligible to vote.  Newly elected board members must pay their dues in January ($10/person, $20/business).
Also, the Armory Park Historic Zone Advisory Board’s election will be held at the same meeting.  Several positions are open.  The categories for members are property owners, renters and experts in appropriate fields.  You do not have to be a member of APNA to vote for APHZAB board members.  You do have to live in or own property in Armory Park to be eligible to vote.
Please let pefnaz@gmail.com know if you have any questions.

2019 Vacancies on APHZAB

Washington Park 1911Are you interested in helping maintain Armory Park’s historic character? The election of new Armory Park Historic Zone Advisory Board (APHZAB) members will occur at the next APNA general membership on 13 November. Members are elected, then nominated to Mayor and Council for approval for a four year term.

We anticipate the following number of APHZAB vacancies at the end of 2018:
– Property Owner: 2
– Resident: 2
– Special Qualifications (e.g. areas as archaeology, architecture, architectural history, local history, historic preservation law, landscape architecture, planning, construction, or other related field): 3

If you are interested, please let APHZAB Chair Martha McClements know in advance of the November meeting.

DRAFT Minutes of 9/11/18 APNA Meeting

20180911_192955We have had a lot of requests for minutes from last Tuesday’s general membership meeting. Here are the DRAFT minutes – they have not been approved by the board but give you a sense of what transpired at the meeting. Please feel free to reach out to any of your board members with questions or comments.
Begin DRAFT minutes.

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