In March 2009, Town of Miami, Arizona staff contacted Phoenix officials about the town’s new wastewater treatment plant that is being donated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper Company a Phoenix-based company. As a part of the overall wastewater treatment system, the town must upgrade its wastewater collection network to deliver sewage to the new treatment plant.

City of Phoenix staff from the Public Works, Water Services, Engineering and Architectural Services, and Street Transportation Departments have been asked to provide technical assistance to the Town of Miami, Arizona. Through the technical assistance provided by City of Phoenix staff, the Town of Miami will be able to compete favorably for millions of dollars in State and Federal grants and loans. If these upgrades to the sewer collection system are not made in a timely manner the Town of Miami faces severe environmental penalties and will not be able to provide basic services to its residents. Senior staff have been assisting the Town of Miami in addition to their regular duties for Phoenix. As salaried employees, the extra time they commit to this doesn’t result in out-of-pocket costs to the City, or diminish their work for the City.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends City Council authorization to exceed the 8-hour rule, allowing technical assistance to be provided to the Town of Miami for their new wastewater collection system project.

CITY COUNCIL REPORT
CONSENT AGENDA
TO:	David Cavazos Deputy City Manager	AGENDA DATE:		September 9, 2009
FROM:	Debra Wilkins Stark AICP Planning Director	ITEM:	2
SUBJECT:	ZONING SCHEDULE FOR 2010

THE ISSUE

This report recommends a zoning hearing schedule for 2010.

OTHER INFORMATION

This schedule is comprised of hearing dates for City Council on the first Wednesday of each month and Planning Commission on the second Wednesday; the only exceptions noted include holidays and previously approved City Council dates. This schedule is intended to serve as a tentative guide for staff and council. As a result of hearing caseloads or potential scheduling conflicts with the Mayor or council members, hearing dates may need to be canceled or adjusted. Additional hearings can be scheduled if deemed necessary by the Planning Director. Staff will continue to monitor this schedule to allow necessary adjustments in a timely manner.

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that the hearing schedule below be adopted.

2010 ZONING SCHEDULE
PLANNING COMMISSION		CITY COUNCIL
PC HEARING DATE 6:00 P.M.	PC APPEAL DATE	CC HEARING DATE 5:00 P.M.
December 9, 2009	December 16, 2009	January 20, 2010 (3rd Wednesday)
January 13, 2010	January 20, 2010	February 3, 2010
February 10, 2010	February 17, 2010	March 3, 2010
March 10, 2010	March 17, 2010	April 7, 2010
April 14, 2010	April 21, 2010	May 5, 2010
May 12, 2010	May 19, 2010	June 2, 2010
June 9, 2010	June 16, 2010	July 7, 2010 *Revised meeting time of 4:00 p.m.
August 11, 2010	August 18, 2010	September 15, 2010 (3rd Wednesday)
September 7, 2010 (Tuesday)	September 14, 2010	October 6, 2010
October 13, 2010	October 20, 2010	November 3, 2010
November 10, 2010	November 17, 2010	December 1, 2010
December 8, 2010	December 15, 2010	January 19, 2011

NOTE: Additional hearings will be scheduled if deemed necessary by the Planning Director.

HOLIDAYS

New Year’s Day	January 1, 2010
Martin Luther King Birthday	January 18, 2010
President’s Day	February 15, 2010
Cesar Chavez	March 31, 2010
Passover	Sunset of March 29 through nightfall of April 6, 2010;
Memorial Day	May 24, 2010
Independence Day	July 4, 2010 (Observed July 5, 2010)
Labor Day	September 6, 2010
Rosh Hashanah	Sunset of September 8 through nightfall of September 10, 2010
Yom Kippur	Sunset of September 17 through nightfall of September 18, 2010
Veteran’s Day	November 11, 2010
Thanksgiving Day	November 25, 2010 and November 26, 2010
Hanukkah (Chanukah)	Sunset of December 1 through December 9, 2010
Christmas	December 24, 2010

CITY COUNCIL REPORT
CONSENT AGENDA
TO:	David Cavazos Deputy City Manager Ruth Osuna Deputy City Manager	AGENDA DATE:		September 9, 2009
FROM:	Mark Leonard Development Services Director Debra Stark Planning Director Tammy J. Perkins Executive Assistant to the City Manager	ITEM:	3
SUBJECT:	GREEN RAIL CORRIDOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT - STATUS REPORT AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY OPPORTUNITIES

This report provides the City Council with a status report on the Green Rail Corridor Demonstration Project. This report also requests City Council authority to:

Ÿ Develop a citywide two-tier building code that includes the current Building Code and an optional Green Building Code/Standard that incorporates green-friendly development standards.

Ÿ Create a menu of benefits that may be exchanged for voluntary use of the Green Building Code/Standard within the Green Rail Demonstration Project corridor. Also, create a menu of benefits that may be exchanged for voluntary use of the Green Building Code citywide.

THE ISSUE

Although the U.S. Department of Energy has not yet issued guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), staff has worked diligently during the summer to prepare for the competitive grant process. Since new ARRA funded projects will create local jobs and stimulate the local economy, the City continues its aggressive pursuit of new Federal funding. During discussions regarding possible projects that may be eligible for the EECBG, several future development policy opportunities have been identified.

OTHER INFORMATION

Project Update. On June 9, 2009, the City Council authorized staff to pursue grant funding of up to $53 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to support an initial phase of the Green Rail Corridor Demonstration Project. Project emphasis for this phase focuses on development of solar power along a ten-mile stretch of the light rail line (south from Central and Camelback to downtown and east to Sky Harbor), mitigation of the urban heat island and green homes and neighborhoods. To prepare for the anticipated fall of 2009 release of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), staff is:

• Coordinating with stakeholders;

• Completing an inventory of city-owned land and facilities within the corridor;

• Mapping funded and unfunded Capital Improvement Projects within the corridor;

• Reviewing options for private sector involvement; and,

• Creating a list of possible projects for the grant application.

Future Development Policy Opportunities. As discussions relating to the Green Rail Corridor have unfolded during the summer, several ideas involving development policies have been identified. As the vision of the Green Rail Corridor is refined and the grant application effort is focused, it makes sense to explore additional ways to reduce Green House Gas emissions and to mitigate the urban heat island effect, including implementation of new land use and development regulation.

In partnership with the Federal government (ARRA funding for Demonstration Project) and the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability (the best of solar research, benchmarking and project monitoring), implementation of the Green Rail Corridor provides a unique opportunity for these discussions.

Examples of potential policy changes could include:

• Requirements and/or new development standards for all renovation and new construction projects within the corridor to have a net zero impact on green house gas (GHG) emissions and on the urban heat island effect.

• Implementation of green building code standards in the Building Code.

• Given that additional requirements could complicate the review process, DSD would take steps necessary to maintain turnaround times. Also, a program of reduced turnaround times could be evaluated including offsets to fees.

Each of these policy changes has pros and cons. The challenge for the City of Phoenix is to find the balance between short term and long term environmental and economic benefits to Phoenix residents. Issues to be considered include:

• Initial increased cost of development for green public and private projects

• Long-term public health benefits of lowering GHG emission and mitigating urban heat island effects

• Possible implications or applicability of Proposition 207

• Integration of existing policies including adaptive reuse, transit oriented development and downtown parking standards

• Source of funding to support any development fee off-sets

• Impact of proposed State imposed building code moratorium

• Uniformity of regulations

Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee Action. The City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee considered this report at its August 27, 2009 meeting. The Subcommittee recommended that the City Council ask staff to:

· Develop a citywide two-tier building code which includes the current Building Code and an optional Green Building Code/Standard that incorporates green-friendly development standards.

· Create a menu of benefits which can be exchanged for voluntary use of the Green Building code within the Green Rail Demonstration Project corridor. Also, create a menu of benefits that may be exchanged for voluntary use of the Green Building Code/Standard citywide.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the recommendations of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, staff requests City Council authority to:

· Develop a citywide two-tier building code which includes the current Building Code and an optional Green Building Code/Standard that incorporates green-friendly development standards.

Official Web Site of the City of Phoenix

Phoenix - All America City - 2009

CITY COUNCIL REPORT
CONSENT AGENDA
TO:	Ed Zuercher Deputy City Manger	AGENDA DATE:		September 9, 2009
FROM:	Wylie Bearup, PE, PhD Street Transportation Director	ITEM:	1
SUBJECT:	AUTHORIZATION TO ASSIST THE TOWN OF MIAMI, ARIZONA: 8-HOUR RULE