Bringing back the sales tax, zoning galore, and more

The Tucson City Council has a busy meeting on Wednesday ... Lots of big-money decisions ... TEP plan moving forward.

The big-ticket item on the Tucson City Council agenda is a special election in March for a new half-cent sales tax. The “Safe and Vibrant City” measure would generate $800 million over the next 10 years to beef up the fire and police departments (like buying a fixed-wing aircraft that can track suspects from high altitudes and avoid dangerous police vehicle chases). It also would fund affordable housing, violence prevention, early childhood programs, and many other goals.

The sales tax is needed, city officials say, because the state Legislature cut the revenue they share with cities, as Mayor Regina Romero said when she kicked off the discussion of the proposed tax at the council’s August 27 meeting and Vice Mayor Kevin Dahl said last week on the Bill Buckmaster Show.

You might remember the sales tax issue from earlier this year. In February, the council called a special election for the summer, but didn’t explain much about it and eventually called off the election. Once they approve the language of the measure on Wednesday, their next big task will be persuading the public to support it.

While the council considers the sales tax, they’re also planning to issue $127 million in bonds, including $52 million to fund park projects, like splash pads, pools, sports fields, and playgrounds. Those bonds are part of the $225 million in bonds voters approved under Prop 407 in 2018. Another $75 million in bonds would go toward capital improvements to the city’s water system.

City officials are in the middle of a fairly extensive overhaul of the city’s zoning rules. The housing shortage has gotten to the point that the average Tucson household makes less than half of what they need to afford the average home, city staff found. On top of that, only 12% of Tucson’s land area is zoned for dense housing, which a University of Arizona study pointed to as a big reason the city doesn’t have enough housing to meet the need.

On Wednesday, the council is going to hear plans from city staff to change zoning rules to comply with HB2721, a new law that requires cities to allow more duplexes and triplexes by the end of next year. City officials also are looking at parking requirements, building heights, setback standards, and lot sizes, as well as streamlining electric-vehicle charging regulations. Officials plan to submit the proposed changes to the public this month.

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The council may offer a $1.6 million tax break to the developers of the former Chase Bank building downtown. The owners of Two East Congress, LLC want to turn the building into an event center and supper club. Back in June, the council asked for an economic impact analysis of using the Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET) financial incentive to help move the project along. City staff say the development will generate about $7 million in revenue over eight years for the city, county, and state, including $3.4 million for the city.

The city has a lot of money from the American Rescue Plan Act and they want to use it for some new projects. City staff say about $7.2 million won’t end up being used for its original purpose and they put together a list of projects that could be funded. That includes $1.5 million for the Amphi Housing Resources Center, $1 million for a ByFusion (building blocks made from recycled plastic) site at the Los Reales Sustainability Campus, $1 million for an information technology data lake, and other projects, including $500,000 for the Cushing Street skate park.

You can watch the Tucson City Council meeting on Wednesday via the city’s YouTube channel. The study session starts at 1:00 p.m. and the regular meeting starts at 5:30.

Inching forward: The Arizona Corporation Commission gave the green light to a controversial transmission line through midtown Tucson, the Arizona Daily Star’s Charles Borla reports. The commissioners approved the certificate of environmental capability for the Midtown Reliability Project, which Tucson Electric Power hopes to complete by 2027. TEP still needs to get approval from the City of Tucson to install 130-foot-tall poles for the project.

Picking their issues: Democratic U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and Republican challenger Daniel Butierez lay out their main policy positions for the Arizona Republic’s Laura Gersony. Grijalva pointed to education and climate change as two big problems in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, while Butierez cited the Arizona-Mexico border and the homelessness crisis.

Jail troubles: As Pima County voters consider whether to keep Sheriff Chris Nanos or elect Lt. Heather Lappin, they’re faced with a troubling track record at the county jail, Star columnist Tim Steller writes. Nanos oversees the department and Lappin works at the jail, where the most recent foulups include failing to take the fingerprints of a man who was released and allegedly went on to shoot another man and a corrections officer arrested last week for beating an inmate.

Pushing back: Pima County residents are ready to push back on a proposal to close several library branches, the Arizona Luminaria’s Yana Kunichoff reports. The library system’s advisory board is getting flooded with emails and public comments from people who say the branches are vital.

Finding a fix: During a trip to Willcox last week, Gov. Katie Hobbs said she was ready to take administrative action to deal with groundwater pumping in areas like Willcox where wells are going dry, Arizona Public Media’s Christopher Conover reports. Willcox residents and officials blamed corporate farms that can afford to dig ever-deeper wells.

Lots to consider: Voters won’t just cast ballots for candidates in November. They’re also going to decide 13 ballot measures. KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez and Wayne Schutsky have you covered with a quick rundown of each one, and Capitol Media Services’ Bob Christie dives into the implications of Proposition 311, which would boost payments to families of first responders who are killed on the job.

10: The number of times lawyers have tried to serve papers to Davian Gutfahr, the son of former Santa Cruz County Treasurer Liz Gutfahr, who is accused of embezzling $39 million from the county, the Nogales International’s Daisy Zavala Magaña reports. Davian is named in the county’s civil lawsuit against the former treasurer, but he reportedly won’t answer the door.