The ruling said the city should have followed procedures laid out by the Legislature in establishing an historical district.
The city ordinance required that before buildings more than 45 years old, and within the 1953 city limits, can be demolished there must be an historic survey of every property within 300 feet. The city then has 60 days to review request and the surveys after which it can require a 90-day stay so the historic features of the building can be documented. The city could also delay giving a permit for 180 days while it attempts to buy the property or find a buyer for the property that would preserve the structure.
 A home under construction at Davis-Monthan should be complete by the end of the year.Photo courtesy of Soaring Heights Communities |
“The judge ruled in Eric Button’s favor entirely,” said Colin Zimmerman, director of public affairs for the Realtors. “We were correct that the law was not passed properly. It’s a big win. It is important to follow process when the city passes an ordinance. The demolition code was passed at the last-minute without any public input. This ruling upholds our position that this is not how our laws should be made.”
Kelly’s ruling said the historical review required by the city’s new code had nothing to do with health and safety and therefore was not a reasonable exercise of the city’s police power.
“We really wanted to shine a spotlight on how this was enacted and we did that,” Zimmerman said. “I don’t know if it is actually void now, we expect an appeal but we’ll take it and we’ll go forward from there.”
The City of Tucson has not yet decided if it intends to appeal the decision according to City Attorney Mike Rankin.
“With respect to the ruling, I respectfully disagree with the court,” said City Attorney Mike Rankin. “I need to confer with my client, the mayor and council, to decide what our next steps are going to be.”
56 homes to be finished at Davis Monthan by Jan.
Soaring Heights Communities, the new-home community on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is approaching the final stages of home development and will soon turn over the first of the 573 planned homes.
Currently, 240 homes are under construction six are getting finishing touches on landscaping while another 50 will be complete before the end of the year.
Data shows Tucson foreclosures lower than nation
Foreclosures in the Tucson market dropped 14 percent in September from August. There were 827 properties that were foreclosed in September, down from 963 in August, according to data from RealtyTrac.
This September’s rate was up 5.3 percent over September 2007.
Tucson’s decline in foreclosures was more than the 12 percent national average.
“Much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
While there was no change in Arizona, California is now requiring lenders to make contact with borrowers at least 30 days before filing a notice of default. As a result California default notices dropped 51 percent in September from August which had a significant impact on national numbers since California accounts for nearly one-third of the nation’s foreclosures.
Second party in mortgage fraud scheme sentenced
Tucsonan Carlos Bent, who earlier pleaded guilty for his part in a $13 million mortgage-fraud scheme, was sentenced last week to 16 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Bent and Frank Padilla pleaded guilty this summer to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and engaging in illegal monetary transactions in amounts greater than $10,000. Padilla has already been sentenced to two years in prison plus three years’ probation.
Padilla and Bent convinced sellers of homes that had been on the market a long time to enter a net listing with them in which they would keep anything over the initial asking price as their compensation. Once they got the listing, they would find straw buyers. Once the sale fell through, the home would go into foreclosure.
The two repeated the process 23 times and negotiated 33 checks from title companies, taking for themselves more than $1.3 million.
The two also must pay restitution of more than $2.2 million to three mortgage lenders who identified themselves as victims of the scheme.
Strengthening firm wins international award
QuakeWrap, a designer, supplier and installer of innovative Fiber Reinforced Polymer products for repair and strengthening of infrastructures, received the International Concrete Repair Institute’s 2008 Award of Excellence.
The award was given after QuakeWrap, 2055 E. 17th St., finished structural strengthening of concrete pipelines using carbon fiber reinforced polymers at the San Juan Generating Station in Farmington, N.M.
Due to corrosion of reinforcing wires, several sections of a 10-foot diameter Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) in this coal burning plant required strengthening. Design requirements called for additional strength in both hoop and longitudinal directions. Access for the pipe was available only through a 30-inch diameter manhole. This required re-design and manufacturing of the equipment.
Developed since the 1980s by Mo Ehsani, a civil engineering professor at the University of Arizona, fiber reinforced products are applied like wallpaper and become three times stronger than steel in 24 hours.
For the project, a special PipeWrap carbon fabric was developed to achieve the strengthening requirements with a single layer of fabric – instead of two layers as the original design called for.
QuakeWrap’s website is www.quakewrap.com.
Worth noting
• Pollo Feliz LLC signed a five-year lease for 3,187 square feet of free-standing retail space in Sahuarita Plaza, a 140,985-square-foot shopping center located northeast of Interstate 19 and Duval Mine Road from Kamuela Properties LLC. Pete Villaescusa and Jesse Peron of CB Richard Ellis represented both parties
• Sparkle Cleaners Inc. signed a lease for 1,420 square feet in Placita Del Oracle, on the northwest corner of Oracle and Rudasill roads from PP Two Inc. Dave Hammack and Brenna Lacey of Volk Company Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord.
• Black Wolf Moving Arizona LLC, doing business as Two Men and a Truck, leased 1,400 square feet at North Pima Center, 3773 W. Ina Road, from Martin Bloom Investments Inc. David Blanchette of Bourn Partners LLC represented both parties.
Submit items for this column to Joe Pangburn at jpangburn@azbiz.com. Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.
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