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Newsletter for October 2024
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Homing - In
The Homing Project is one step closer to the giant ground-breaking leap! Cleaned-up Keeling Neighborhood site 2924 N Estrella, Oct 12.
Thanks to all our volunteers working for this Future Village. | | | |
Keeling Neighborhood Open House
Meet and Greet
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The Keeling neighborhood open house Sunday, October 20th, displayed our Micro-Shelter in the recently cleaned Estrella site along with dozens of homemade cookies as well as refreshments. It was fun and drew a really nice turnout thanks in part to volunteer Ginny, who went knocking on doors to remind neighbors of the event. We appreciated the opportunity to meet some of the Keeling community members, answer some of their questions and address concerns. We gained some new volunteers. Welcome aboard! We met Abbey who expressed interest in becoming an outreach liaison for this community. Attending from The Homing Project were many board members including Susan Cordts who made the trek from her Phoenix home. Susan Cordts, owner of Catalytic Health Partners, shared information about wraparound services such as shelter, food, medical, dental, social, and mental health care services. The type that are planned for village residents which addresses these issues when someone has stable housing. Ms. Cordts witnessed firsthand the transformation that re-housing makes in a formerly unhoused person's life.
A surprise attendee Angela Vasquez, is a volunteer who sends out thank you letters to donors. Thanks to all who helped make this happen! Hope to see you at the November 16th Keeling Clean-up!
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The Homing Project Construction Team
When we started this project, the idea of constructing this village seemed rather pretentious. After all we were just going to snap together some prefabricated units that each took less than an hour to assemble. Fast forward to today when we’ve realized that utility infrastructure for bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms does not magically appear, and that ‘tiny homes’ without foundations present stability problems. Hence our talented construction consultants: Architect: Greg Fahr who is responsible for the site plan, design of the laundry room, and for the artistic rendering of what the village will look like from the street when it’s done, showing the parking lot, sidewalks, landscaping, and roof tops.
Water Engineer: Corey Thompson, PE, is a civil engineer with Rich Engineering who specializes in designing the water works that underlie a site—bringing in clean water to our kitchen, laundry, and bathrooms and then creating the exit for sewage. Corey has also been the lead in getting our application through the City’s Planning Department. Since these buildings are certainly not your traditional housing, this has been a challenge which he has dealt with knowledgeably and creatively. General Contractor: Michael Ergulo, the owner of Complete Earthworx, coordinates the multiple projects within the project, assuring there are the permits, engineers, construction specialists, and equipment, while his company also does some of the work. Electrical Engineer: Alec Zimmerman, PE, of Zona Technical, will design the electrical system, deal with TEP, and also help obtain state or city approval for each of the different types of buildings in the village. Modular building specialist: Joshua Hart, PE, owner of Modular Solutions, a company that designs and builds modular buildings is managing the approval of our unconventional buildings. Structural Engineer: Jeffrey Robertson, PE SE, with Ennovative, is the structural engineer who will determine the type of tie downs that are needed on the corners of the Pallet Shelters and for other buildings that are not secured to foundations. The contributions of these professionals is critical to our success! | | |
Raffle Tickets for The Jim Click Millions for Tucson are purchased at the The Homing Project Homepage. Win a plug-in hybrid Jeep, or Round-Trip tickets anywhere!
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Prizes:
- Brand new 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe Plug-in Hybrid
- Two first-class, round trip airline tickets to anywhere!
- $5000 cash
Tickets are just $25 each (or 5 for $100).100% of our ticket sales benefits The Homing Project.
Buy tickets HERE
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Proposed Adaptive Reuse Code Amendment Listening Session October 15, 2024 Addressing House Bill 2297 By Caitlin Schmidt of Tucson Spotlight. (Follow her work at: tucsonspotlight.org) | | Tucson officials are seeking feedback as they amend city codes to align with a new law that aims to increase the state’s housing inventory by converting commercial or mixed-use buildings into housing. The City of Tucson’s Planning and Development Services Department held a public meeting last week to discuss, and answer questions about, proposed amendments to the city’s adaptive reuse and multifamily development code, as required under a recently enacted state law, House Bill 2297. (A 23-minute video of the Listening Session is viewable at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcQDuoaqY-Y.)
Adaptive reuse is the conversion of an existing building from the use for which it was built to a new use, while maintaining some of its original elements. "House Bill 2297, and the proposed City of Tucson code amendment allow for 10% of qualifying buildings to be adaptively reused or demolished and redeveloped for multi-family residential, provided applicable development standards are met. However, neither the bill nor the proposed amendment stipulate that the City will adaptive reuse or in any way redevelop qualifying buildings." (Carl Struve, Personal Communications, October 24, 2024) https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Planning-Development-Services/Planning-Initiatives/Adaptive-Reuse Functionally obsolete is defined as being in a state of disrepair or having a 50% vacancy rate. HB 2297 is one of four bills passed during the last legislative session, addressing municipal zoning, to help spur greater housing attainability. Tucson launched its Adaptive Reuse Pilot Program in 2017 to encourage creative community reinvestment using existing buildings. The pilot program is based on research and other successful programs, most notably Phoenix’s Adaptive Reuse Program, and provides incentives and code relief tools. While the city has, under this program, adopted several local codes permitting reuse and investment in older buildings, additional modifications are still necessary to comply with the new laws. In June, the mayor and council directed staff to amend the adaptive reuse and multifamily development code to align with the state’s municipal zoning requirements and seek public feedback along the way. The city is working to finalize these code modifications by January, as required by H.B. 2297 About 30 people, including several city staffers, participated in last week's virtual meeting, which was led by Principal Planner Carver Struve from the city’s code development department. Struve clarified that the purpose of the meeting was to review necessary changes, which include establishing definitions of adaptive reuse, economically or functionally obsolete and other components of the bill to incorporate into the amended code. Staffers will also be establishing criteria for qualified obsolete commercial buildings, including those currently zoned for commercial use or mixed-use on parcels of at least one acre but not more than 20. Under the new law, adaptive reuse requests would go through an administrative approval process, rather than discretionary approval, meaning that if an application meets requirements, it would be approved without further process being required. There were questions from attendees about historic properties, designated historic districts, and buildings with asbestos and lead issues, with Struve clarifying that the code changes do not address those situations. Next steps include stakeholder outreach and additional public meetings, before finalizing the amendment. Struve said that the item would be presented to the planning commission for review and public hearing, with the intent of forwarding it to the mayor and council to consider in December. The goal is to meet the January 1, 2025, deadline for compliance with state law. Written comments can be submitted at: https://forms.office.com/g/hjyWMutR88 | |
Volunteers Make The Homing Project Possible!
We are so fortunate, and thankful, to have a large cadre of volunteers that want to help The Homing Project now and in the future. Volunteers make The Homing Project possible!
Yolanda Sethi, volunteer coordinator, asks that, if you are able to help, you email her at volunteers@thehomingproject.org.
The tasks involved include: - Sending emails
- Keeping track of volunteer hours from sign-ups
- Organizing volunteers for specific events
- Taking notes at volunteer meetings
- Fundraising
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Cyclovia 2024 Sunday October 27, 9 AM - 3 PM Living Streets Alliance is thrilled to be returning to the Downtown—South Tucson route after a hiatus this spring. And THP will have our Pallet-64 demo micro-shelter on display along the route, at the third (or middle) of the five hubs, the Ochoa Activity Hub. The micro-shelter will be at the corner of 25th Street and 8th Avenue next to Ochoa Elementary School. Here is the Interactive Cyclovia Map.
https://www.cycloviatucson.org
We need volunteers to staff the demo micro-shelter and information table. We hand out brochures, give tours of the micro-shelter, explain the project, have interested persons sign up for the newsletter and/or volunteer and/or make donations. Please let Yolanda know if you are able to volunteer for a shift: from 9-12 or 12-3. Even if you can only spare a couple of hours, we can accommodate you. Email Volunteers@TheHomingProject.org If you attend Cyclovia, stop by and say “hi”.
Micro-Shelter Demo at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Friday 11-08-2024 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Saturday 11-09-2024 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Join us at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E River Rd, to see the demo micro-shelter and learn more about the project!
Keeling Neighborhood Clean up Saturday, November 16, time TBA
Holiday Tea Party and Bazaar November 17, Noon to 2 PM 7707 E 22nd St 85710 The Homing Project Invites you to join us for a lovely afternoon with tea, sweet, and savory bites, staged by Rita Gray. The Rozet Nursery owner Abby Wing will entice you with Secrets of How to Grow Native Desert Plants. Hats are encouraged. Please bring your appetite and all your gardening questions. Ticket price: $40. Order tickets online Here!
Micro-Shelter Demo at Tucson Mall November 29 Time to be announced at a later date
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International World Homeless Day is observed around the world annually on October 10th.
Report by Marjorie Pellegrino
“This international day serves as a platform to celebrate good works, benchmark progress, and advocate for improved policies and funding to help prevent, reduce, and end homelessness. World Homeless Day also aims to raise awareness about the needs of people who currently experience homelessness and promote work in local communities to alleviate suffering and prevent death.” This October 10th, San Diego's recognition of International World Homeless Day unfolded in three acts:
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On the northwest lawn of the County Building on Harbor Drive, organizers and volunteers set up white luminaria with plastic candles—one for each life lost to the streets over the last decade in San Diego. The luminaria were arranged as a bar graph, a potent illustration of the increase in deaths since 2010 when the number was 53. The clear jump to 654 lives lost in 2023 was staggering. One of the organizers engaged with passersby to educate them, during the set up. | | | | Act II
At the 1 p.m. ceremony, the nonprofit Lived Experience Advisors presented their annual W.I.N.G.S. (We Inspire Nourish and Give Support) Awards, honoring individuals who work to provide access to safe shelter and services. Mayor Todd Gloria praised City-funded outreach teams, staff of the City’s Homelessness Strategies and Solutions Department (https:// www.sandiego.gov/homelessness-strategies-and-solutions) and nonprofit partners like Dreams for Change, the Downtown San Diego Partnership, and Jewish Family Service. This list of honors awarded gives a sense of the helping community in San Diego. Individuals were honored for their work in the following categories: | | | | Act III
In the late afternoon a memorial service was conducted including poetry, music, and art by folks involved in the Artist outReach Team (ART). Dennis Larkin, ART's director, who works with the unhoused in a safe-tent area behind the Naval Hospital in Balboa Park, along with several of the unhoused artists, engaged with those gathered. The ART program’s website is still under development, but the team can be reached at artoutreach2@gmail.com. While San Diego’s event was powerful, there’s no one single way to acknowledge this day. International World Homeless Day’s website lists 30 ideas for ways organizations might choose to host their own event: https:// www.worldhomelessday.org/ | | | | Meetings | Board | Volunteers
| | | | Oct 2024 | 23rd | 26 th | | | | Nov | 20 th | 30 th | | | | Dec | 18 th | 21st | | | | Jan 2025 | 22nd | 25th | | | | Feb | 19th | 22nd | | | |
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Board Meetings convene at Kris Olson’s home at 5:30 PM. Volunteers are welcome to attend.
Volunteer Meetings are held at 10 AM at St. Phillips in the Hills, in the Children’s Chapel Room. Join us to plan new, & discuss past, events. |
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The Homing Project Newsletter Joe Vaughan and Phyllis Thacker produced this month’s newsletter. Email suggestions of items for inclusion to: newsletter@thehomingproject.org | | | | | | | | |