A to Z with Nikki Lee: April 27, 2021

The hot weather arrived quickly, didn't it? The good news is, we have a great event planned for this week that will help future Tucsonans beat the heat. This Friday, April 30, my office is hosting "Planting for the Future: An Arbor Day Celebration." We'll be planting 50 trees in honor of Arbor Day and we need your help! This family-friendly event will begin at 9 AM so we can finish up before it gets too hot. Thank you to Tucson Parks and Recreation, Tucson Clean & Beautiful, and Trees for Tucson for collaborating with us to host this event for the Ward 4 community. 

These trees will contribute to the Mayor's Million Trees initiative, providing shade and cooler temperatures to people enjoying Lincoln Regional Park. Participants should meet at the Children's Outdoor Performance Area (COPA) outside the Ward 4 Office (8123 E. Poinciana, Tucson, Arizona 85730) at 9 AM. Masks will be required. RSVP here and find the event on Facebook here. We hope to see you there! 

Please see below for more updates and information, including a full schedule of our remaining 2021 Ward 4 Town Halls. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at ward4@tucsonaz.gov with any questions or concerns. We are happy to help you in any way we can. Previous newsletters can be found here. 

Home-Based Hair Salons.

At last week's Mayor and Council meeting, I co-introduced a motion with Council Member Steve Kozachik to remove Tucson's restriction on home-based hair salons. Pima County allows home-based hair salons but the City has not yet removed the restriction. I'm happy to say we successfully moved this item forward so it can become policy soon.

Thank you to Jen Proctor, Linda Parades and Shani Gerald, three stylists who shared their experiences and explained what a positive impact removing this restriction would have on small business owners like themselves. A home-based salon provides peace of mind to COVID-conscious individuals, a safe, clean space for those with personal situations or extended sessions, and the opportunity for parents to work from home. With specific capacity and hygiene requirements in place, it makes sense to remove this unnecessary barrier for business owners.

Affordable Housing.

The Mayor and Council voted to have the City of Tucson Staff work with the Commission on Equitable Housing and Development to explore and provide recommendations on the different legal entities available to the City of Tucson for the expansion of affordable housing through development, as well as, examine what appropriate financial vehicles can be used in order to advance the City of Tucson’s affordable housing goals.

Electric Vehicle Readiness Map.

Mayor Romero and Council Member Uhlich provided information and data on an Electric Vehicle (EV) Readiness Map. The Mayor and Council voted to adopt an EV Readiness map with guiding principles, strategies and actions, begin the stakeholder process on the EV readiness ordinance changes, and begin efforts to conduct a demand analysis.

Neighbor Preservation Zone in the Rincon Heights and Pie Allen Neighborhoods.

Information was provided by Council Member Kozachik on initiating a request to begin the process of establishing a Neighborhood Preservation Zone (NPZ) in the Rincon Heights and Pie Allen Neighborhoods. Mayor and Council voted to work with the neighborhoods, finalize the design manual, and begin the formal rezoning process which will include additional public outreach.

Residential Roads Discussion 

On January 29, 2021 the Mayor and Council authorized an additional $14 million to be used on local neighborhood road repairs. The $14 million dollars is divided equally between the Mayor and 6 Wards. $2 Million will cover approximately 7 lane miles of road reconstruction with the worst residential road areas in Ward 4 prioritized.

On April 15, 2021, we invited our Ward 4 Community members to a virtual meeting to hear a presentation from the Tucson Transportation and Mobility Department providing the current neighborhood road condition data and allow the community to discuss potential options for the Ward 4 residential road reconstruction funds. Thank you to all those who joined. We received a lot of thoughtful questions and we hope the conversation was useful. If you missed it, you can watch a recording of the discussion here. If you have any questions or ideas regarding residential roads, email us at ward4@tucsonaz.gov.

SheTech Explorer Day

Arizona’s second annual SheTech Explorer Day took place virtually on Thursday, April 22. This one-day event provided high school girls the opportunity to participate in STEM activities and connect with industry mentors to encourage them to consider STEM careers. 

I was honored to join Mayor Romero in welcoming the young women and participate as a Challenge Mentor in this wonderful day. Fabulous job to all the planners and speakers who helped organize such a great event. We need more women in STEM, and organizations like SheTech are doing the hugely important work of introducing girls to STEM from a young age to help close the gender gap in STEM fields.

City of Tucson and Pima County Eviction Prevention Program

In December of 2020, U.S. Congress passed a stimulus bill that allocates additional rental assistance funding for those who’ve been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to provide the most efficient and effective process, the City of Tucson and Pima County are working with the Community Investment Corporation (CIC) to administer $27.1 million. CIC is working directly with local social service agencies to qualify tenants and landlords for this program. 

This program offers both Landlords/Property Managers AND Tenants the opportunity to begin the application process and requires both parties provide information, documentation and agree to mutual resolution for housing stability. Open communication is highly encouraged between both parties, to expedite the process and recognize that we are all in this together. 

Applying for the waitlist does not guarantee funding. The process begins with an Eligibility Assessment to determine eligibility based on federally mandated eligibility requirements. Funding is granted upon completion of all required documentation from both parties and eligibility approval verified by Service Agency Case Managers who will be assigned to each case. Visit tucsonep.com to sign up for the waitlist.

Ward 4 Pupdate: Happy Half-Birthday, Kaiya and Koda!

Happy half-birthday, Ward 4 pups! Last week, Kaiya and Koda turned 6 months old! Not everyone celebrates their half-birthday, but we feel it's important this year to celebrate whatever we can. The pups had a lovely, COVID-safe celebration with Kaiya's big brother, Akari, and members of the Ward 4 team. They even got to chow down on some cake from Dogs-N-Donuts, a local woman-owned business. We encourage you to stop by and say hello to Christa; she makes delicious human treats and coffee, too. Happy half-birthday, pups!