Page needs workforce housing. It’s a top priority for Page City Council and the #1 priority for all Council candidates in the 2024 debates. It’s a frequent conversation topic throughout …
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Page needs workforce housing. It’s a top priority for Page City Council and the #1 priority for all Council candidates in the 2024 debates. It’s a frequent conversation topic throughout the community. Workers are sharing homes and sleeping in cars. Businesses, schools, hospitals and public safety departments are short-handed because new hires can’t find an affordable place to live. So a community in dire need of housing, it seems, would welcome solutions with open arms. But that’s not how it goes. Any new development in Page is going to affect someone. It’s either a diminished view, a traffic safety concern or fear of increased crime. Citizens rally the troops and show up to Council meetings when a new development proposal is on the agenda. Usually, a brainstormed list of reasons to stop a project is voiced. At Wednesday’s Council meeting, Block 17 parking was the focus.
The City of Page owns and maintains all the parking lots that encircle Block 17, the area between North Navajo Drive and Elm Street and between South Lake Powell Boulevard and 6th Avenue. Businesses on the block include Redd’s Ace Hardware, Hot n Sweet Coffee and Donut Shop, and Slackers. Typically, the busiest areas of the parking lot are along Lake Powell Boulevard in front of Antelope Canyon Tours and the lot in front of Dam Bar and Grill and Dam Outlet.
There’s been talk about revitalizing Block 17 for many years. While the city owns the parking lot, the buildings are privately owned. The city offered grants for storefront facelifts but had no takers.
Brian Hammond voiced his opinion of Block 17 at the Council meeting. “People that own Block 17 A or 17 have done not a damn thing to fix it up. It looks like crap down there. The whole downtown area looks like crap. They haven't done anything. All they want is the parking. And I understand they're wanting the parking, but they need to be able to put some money into making their buildings look better.”
Local home manufacturer ZenniHome, who presented a concept plan to build workforce housing on part of the parking lot, got a nod from Hammond. “I just like to say on Block 17, it may make it look better [with] what they're doing down there.”
So, what does ZenniHome have in mind?
Trevor Barger, president/CEO of Espiritu Loci Incorporated and co-founder of ZenniHome, gave a presentation at Wednesday's Council meeting. The meeting agenda’s background on the presentation stated, “The City of Page has been looking for a developer who would be willing to invest in the community for long-term rentals. Espiritu Loci and Caliberco have partnered with Zennihome for future development in Block 17. This facility will be three stories high and range from a studio to three-bedroom apartments. This will be targeted toward the working class of Page and will not be classified as a Section 8 facility.”
Individually or collectively owned apartment buildings with over four units are outside the bounds of Arizona’s short-term rental (VRBOs) laws. They can’t be used for vacation rentals.
Barger said the North Navajo side of the Block 17 parking lot was ideal for modular apartments. Shopping, restaurants, schools, and medical services are a 5-10-minute walk. If working on the mesa, a car isn’t needed.
“We've had lots of conversation with folks, not only Mr. Montgomery [Planning Director] but Mr. Coldwell [City Manager], sharing about the Police and the Fire having a difficult time getting staff because of the lack of housing. The hospital, of course, is saying the same thing. Kay [Leum] here tonight, sharing with us the difficulty they're having at Coconino Community College. And of course, we have Michael Schmidt, our COO (ZenniHome chief operating officer) running the factory here, expressing the same concern about needing housing in Page.”
The concept site plans show two phases. Phase One is three stories with 63 homes. The second phase would bring it up to 99 homes in total. Two apartment styles were presented. The larger model is 620 sq. ft. and is suitable for 2-4 people, a young family for example. The smaller model is 320 sq. ft. for 1-2 people. All parties agreed that ample parking would be addressed, including parking as required by city zoning codes as well as Block 17 businesses.
“We're gonna really look at it hard,” Mayor Bill Diak told the Chronicle. “We've got a contractor that's getting ready to do a parking study for us. So, we're gonna ask them to look at it with some options.
“We’ve got a lot of lawn on the front curb line [of N. Navajo Drive]. Bring that curb line back a bit and put diagonal parking in there. It would narrow the road a little bit, but it still would be one of the widest roads in town. And so, we're going to look at different things on that.”
Since the ZenniHome presentation is only the beginning of the process, there’s more work and options to explore. The city administrators and Council are aware of community concerns and will work with business owners to find suitable solutions moving forward. Diak and Councilor Mike Farrow both said other locations are on the table.
Carolene Ekis, owner of Antelope Canyon Tours, visibly upset at the possibility of losing parking space, expressed her concerns to Council. Her business uses a large part of the parking lot. Diak repeatedly reassured her they would work with her and asked if she would support the project if they found a solution for her. She never gave a clear answer.
All Block 17 businesses benefit from the free, city-maintained parking lot. Ken Sichi pointed this out at the Council meeting. “All I see is a perfect opportunity for the city to unload the parking lot,” said Sichi. “I, as a business owner and property owner, have to pay for my parking lot. I have to pay to maintain it. I have to pay the taxes on it, just like every other property owner in here. If [Carolene Ekis] is willing to buy it, sell it to her or whoever is going to do this development. Sell them the parking lot so that we as citizens don't have to keep maintaining it.”
“That's correct,” said Diak. “That was a perfect statement. Now, we almost had a buyer for it recently, but they decided that they didn't want to develop the property other than they wanted to put some parking meters in there. I think that would have really pissed everybody off.”
The community and City Council have put a lot of pressure on city administrators to find workforce housing, so they were surprised at some of the comments received after the ZenniHome presentation.
“I don't think any of us were expecting the kickback that we got, but we do have multiple options for consideration,” said Montgomery. “I showed Trevor [Barger] a lot of different properties. So, I'm just glad that they're willing to work with us and bring us some housing. That's the biggest thing.”
Business owners Trent and Kelly Sutherland attended the meeting. After the meeting, Trent commented:
“What we also learned tonight - the PAC (Page Action Committee) has found their next project to shut down; an apartment project located in the middle of town.
“If you are a fan of this group, I urge you to do your homework. This group has been telling us all that they want progress. However, their actions over the past several years show a different story.
“This group has shut down a neighborhood development near the hospital, they have shutdown the streetscape, now they will work on shutting down an apartment development at Block 17.
“If the project is off the Mesa, it doesn’t seem to bother this group, but if the project affects the area of where they live, they shut it down!!
“Does this group really back your interests? Do they really want progress?
“The answer is ‘No’.”
Diak also sees the pattern. “It's that same group that's non-progressive in everything, with the exception of Carolene Ekis,” he said.