As with most cities, Glendale and Surprise are updating their city plans. But they are also concurrently updating their city planning and zoning codes. Land use, landscaping, commercial and residential parking, signage, secondary structures such as sheds and casitas, medical marijuana, residential rental property, nuisances and home occupations are being discussed.
You can find more information about Surprise and Glendale planning and re-zoning proposals at www.weservgad.org. Keep in mind Casa Grande and other cities are in the beginning stages of this process as well. Keep your eyes on your local cities and towns. Let me know if you are concerned about proposed changes and why. It is best if we engage in conversation during this process rather than try to amend an ordinance once it is passed.
If you would like to be on the Surprise or Glendale re-zoning task force, please email me at weservgad@weserv.realtor or call me at 623-931-9294.
Dougals Election Results from the March 10th election are confirmed. You can find them with a link to the City of Douglas City Clerk’s office at www.weservgad.org. Here are the results:
Ward 1 – the winner was Margaret Morales
Ward 3 – the winner was Danya Acosta
Ward 5 – the winner was Cesar Soto
The Mayor’s race resulted in a runoff election being scheduled for May 19th since no one candidate received more than 50% of the vote. On May 19th you will see two candidates for Mayor on your ballot: Donald Huish and Roberto Moreno.
You can access election information at the City Clerk’s website. The newly elected council members will be sworn in at the June City Council Meeting.
The IRS and Arizona State Department of Revenue have announced changes to the filing and payment dates for 2019 income taxes. Both have delayed their filing and payment dates to July 15, 2020. You can find more information and links to both the Arizona Department of Revenue and the IRS at www.weservgad.org.
NAR and AR advocacy teams and your association leadership are working to advocate on your behalf at the state and federal levels. You can read more about NAR’s efforts at their dedicated website for COVID-19 Relief updates at the nar.realtor website.
AR has a COVID-19 website as well dedicated to bringing you updates and providing practical FAQs for conducting your business during this time. You can access the AR website at https://www.aaronline.com/covid-19/. I will have both websites as part of the show notes for this podcast as well.
You can apply to be a part of a 2021 NAR committee, applications are now open to June 1, 2020. There several types of committees so there is sure to be one you will enjoy. Prior expertise requirements vary from very little to quite a lot. I encourage you to read more and consider applying. You can find links to the application process, the broad categories of committees and other information at www.weservgad.org.
By now most cities have changed how they interact and do business with the public including how they present City Council, board and commission meetings. You can read more and find links to cities and counties in the West Valley, Pinal and Douglas at www.weservgad.org.
NAR has announced the in-person Mid-Year Legislative Meetings will be cancelled, but the conference will be virtual. You can read about the changes at www.weservgad.org.
You may know someone who is out of work or has had their hours reduced. Companies in Arizona still need workers, some of them even more than before. You can find links to some of the supply chain, health care, customer service, pharmacy, maintenance and other jobs in Arizona at www.weservgad.org, or at arizonaatwork.com.
The Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona at Work have teamed up to bring you virtual job training to become a Computer Support Tech. You can find more details at www.weservgad.org or at the Maricopa Corporate College website.
FHFA Updates: The Federal Housing Finance Agency, also known as FHFA, has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suspend single family mortgage foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days. They are also offering forbearance agreements. Your clients who choose to take advantage of these programs should understand communication with their lender is very important and ongoing.
Although there are provisions for eventual loan modification under the forbearance program, clients should know there are specific requirements issued by Freddie and Fannie as to qualification and type of modification offered. Clients should work closely with their lender for more information and follow the guidelines.
As always, clients should have a budget and be confident of their financial needs before agreeing to terms of forbearance or modification. In the end, your client is responsible to make their best financial decision, so encourage them to make a budget and determine their own needs prior to negotiating.
HUD announced it is suspending foreclosure and eviction for single family homeowners with FHA insured mortgages for 60 days. The guidelines affect homeowners with FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, also know as HECM Reverse Mortgages. You can read more and access resource information at HUD.org.
The Military Times has an article related to VA Loans and the VA’s efforts to help those with VA loans. The VA is changing processes to allow for more electronic meetings and methods to be used. The VA is asking lenders to provide relief to VA borrowers in the form of suspended credit bureau reporting, removal of late fees, and other actions. You can also access information at the VA website or speak with your lender.
Bankrate.com has a list of large lenders and their resource pages. If your clients are in distress, calling their lender is the first step to them understanding their options and creating their plan.
WeSERV GAD events:
At this time the April 30th West Valley Government Affairs Advisory Council Meeting has been cancelled. Watch www.weservgad.org for more information on when this meeting may be re-scheduled as a virtual meeting.
All other GAD events on our www.weservgad.org calendar are expected to remain as currently scheduled.
Luke AFB Strategic Growth Initiative – Housing: As you may remember my mentioning in the past, WeSERV West Valley had been working with the Maricopa Association of Governments, also known as MAG, and Luke AFB on the Luke AFB Strategic Growth Initiative. We have now moved from the planning stage to the implementation stage. WeSERV West Valley has been designated the coordinator for the housing portion of this initiative.
We will be addressing on base and off base housing needs and I need your help. If you would like to be part of this Task Force, please call or email me. You can pick and choose the tasks you wish to participate in and when you attend meetings. You can provide input in a number of ways, choose the method most convenient for you and your business.
Our meetings for now will be virtual and while this is a large project, we will attack it one task at a time. Be a part of helping meet the housing needs of Luke AFB personnel. Join our Task Force.
2020 is an election year, and the West Valley and Pinal Chapters will be interviewing candidates. If you would like to apply to be on the West Valley or Pinal Candidate Interview Workgroup, call or email me. Our ability to interview and endorse candidates is directly proportional to the number of members willing to help us interview. The candidate interviews will be held in West Valley the week of June 1st thru June 5th. Our Pinal Candidate Interviews will be held the week of June 8th to June 19th.
WeSERV GAD: Advocating for private property rights, the right to private contract YOUR business!