Letter to CAC to not demolish buildings until funding secured

Members of the Downtown Links Citizen’s Advisory Committee:

The Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Association has decided to express our opinion on an important issue regarding downtown Tucson.

After careful consideration we have voted unanimously on a resolution that there should be absolutely no further demolition of structures in the proposed alignment of Downtown Links/Aviation Highway until such time as:

1. Complete funding for all aspects of the project are assured. With Phase 3, this includes funding and complete design plans for a full featured ‘deck park’ (deck plaza) as well as bike/pedestrian infrastructure and final touches such as native landscaping.

2. Design plans for all phases of each section are finalized, complete, and approved.

3. Section 106 Compliance is followed in regards to all historic buildings facing demolition on Phase 3. A fundamental goal of the Section 106 process is to ensure that federal agencies consult with interested parties to identify and evaluate historic properties, assess the effects of their undertakings on historic properties, and attempt to negotiate an outcome that will balance project needs and historic preservation values.

Without these conditions being met, tearing down important, useful, and historically significant structures is bad planning. These structures are important to neighborhoods, businesses, historians and those who care about preserving Tucson’s history, among many others. While it may let contractors and planners breath easier, these entities are not the only entities that matter. Some may not want to accept it, but there is the distinct possibility that Phase 3 may not ever be built or may be delayed for years, making any early demolition an especially bad decision.

Currently funding is not secured or guaranteed for the completion of Phase 3 of the Downtown Links/Aviation Highway project, yet several important structures that were and would have continued to be useful to our neighborhood and the City at large have been demolished. This is unacceptable. When and if it becomes certain that phase 3 will move forward, demolition of necessary building can commence with little or no delay in construction of the project.

Sincerely,

Sky Jacobs

President - Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Association

Submitted on behalf of the Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Association, Sept. 2013

CC: Tom Fisher, Tucson Dept. of Transportation, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Ward 1 Representative Regina Romero