It’s all
THE
2011 BASKETBALL GUIDE
BUSINESS
SECTION B
ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
thursday, november ,
tucson, arizona
dailywildcat.com
Homeowners heatedly argue about manual By Brenna Goth ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Homeowners who want to preserve Jefferson Park neighborhood and developers looking to build new houses tailored to students argued on Wednesday. Members of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Design Manual Advisory Board and staff from the City of Tucson met at Waverly Park Healthcare Center to discuss the latest draft of the neighborhood’s preservation manual. The manual seeks to prevent the building of “mini-dorms,” or large, multiple-bedroom houses that are architecturally incompatible with the rest of the neighborhood. These “mini-dorms” are often rented to students and can include up to nine bedrooms. Some residents said the issue is incorrectly labeled as a controversy against students by developers. “What we have here is a historic neighborhood. What we’re trying to preserve is a historic neighborhood and a single-family neighborhood,” said Nancy Martin, a member of the advisory board and Jefferson Park homeowner. Martin said she has neighbors who are students, and has no problem with them living in the original two-bedroom houses. “We are not trying to legislate against students,” Martin said. “This is about architecture. Architecture is destiny in this neighborhood.” Staff from the City of Tucson wrote the manual to make sure it follows the guidelines of the
Lab work prepares students for careers By Lívia Fialho ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
Erich Healy/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Adam Smith, principal planner, right, and Jim Mazzocco, planning administrator, for the City of Tucson Planning and Developing Services Department attend a meeting to discuss the design manual being proposed for the Jefferson Park Neighborhood.
preservation ordinance and is legally defendable, said Adam Smith, principal planner for the City of Tucson Planning and Development Services Department. Main changes to the draft included requirements for front yards, massing, scale and architectural design of new construction and renovations. Smith said the revisions were a “balancing act” between the input of homeowners and developers. “We attempted to come up with a recommendation that was fair, reasonable and implementable,” Smith said. “We tried to listen to everybody’s opinion,
so not just the neighborhood and not just the developers.” The new draft raised the “maximum residential floor to area ratio” from 0.35, which was suggested by homeowners, to 0.4. This would allow for houses to be remodeled larger on the lot to accommodate more people, or in this case student residents. The change was problematic for some members of the committee. “I want you to understand how very serious this is to us and how we are, and I think I can speak for many people in this room, enraged about this jumpup,” said Lisa Jones, a member of the advisory board and Jefferson Park homeowner. Some homeowners said the ratio will not sufficiently limit the construction of “mini-dorms.” “That makes no sense, no sense at all,” said Suzanne Trappman, a member of the advisory board and a Jefferson Park homeowner. “That’s what we’re trying to stop so that we Coutesy photo don’t have a lot of density. For The two-story, newly built rentals referred to as “mini-dorms” are usually constructed in one reason, the infrastructure close proximity to each other, each containing three to six bedrooms. Some neighbors can’t support a lot of density.” are concerned that the high concentration of occupants leads to problems, one of them Some developers saw the inbeing parking congestion.
crease in ratio as an attempt to protect the rights of property owners. “I’m still not happy with what’s happening because when you bought your property, you had certain rights that were in writing,” said Mike Goodman, a developer in the neighborhood. “When I bought my property, I received certain rights that were in writing. They were established. They were codified. What you’re asking, you’re asking them to take away those rights, to minimize those rights of what we see as fit to do with our property. Without that, where is the — John Lee compromise?” land developer The new draft also added a requirement for privacy mitigation. Two-story houses with balconies will be required to shield visibility into neighboring yards. Local developer John Lee said the various restrictions in the manual make it difficult for him to improve his properties, even in ways that are appropriate for the neighborhood. “The properties I own, I want to improve them,” Lee said. “I don’t want to preserve them exactly the way they are. That’s why I bought them.”
“The properties I own, I want to improve them. I don’t want to preserve them exactly the way they are. That’s why I bought them.”
Science majors are joining lab teams early in college and reaping the benefits of hands-on research experience. With the possibility of working alongside professionals on various labs on campus, students can see the theories taught in class applied to studies with actual human impact. Sometimes, practical experience comes before theoretical learning. Nathan Cromer, a physiology junior, started his work at professor Henk Granzier ’s lab during the spring of his freshman year. Cromer conducts cardiac ultrasounds and echocardiograms on mice, as part of a study on genes that contribute to heart failure. In some of Cromer’s upper division courses, he’s learning things he already knows. “Basic techniques I’ve already learned in lab and have been able to do,” he said. He and another student are the RESEARCH, page A10
Spring events funded By Jazmine Woodberry ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Presenters from all over campus let ASUA Senate know about the future of the UA’s accreditation, the Women’s Resource Center’s self-esteem programming and the funding of clubs on Wednesday night. Randy Richardson, a geosciences professor, and Beth Mitchnick, associate dean in the Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science, conducted a self study, stating that the UA is a studentcentered research university, with a higher level of graduation and retention rates over the last 10 years. Faculty diversity, budget planning, decision support and community engagement remain to be to be tackled, according to the pair. “Things that used to be considered ASUA, page A5
Q& A Q&A with Consul General of Azerbaijan Elin Suleymanov
By Brenna Goth ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT The Arizona Daily Wildcat sat down with Elin Suleymanov, consul general of the Republic of Azerbaijan . Suleymanov gave a lecture to students, faculty and staff as a part of International Education Week on Wednesday. Azerbaijan is a Muslim nation bordered by Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran. What brings you to Arizona and the UA? “The consulate (of Azerbaijan) in Los Angeles is responsible
for 13 western states in the United States, and one of them is Arizona … That’s why we came here: to meet people, to talk. It’s been a very interesting and pleasant visit. I spoke at the Chamber of Commerce in Phoenix and ASU, and now it was very good to meet the students here. I heard a lot about this university. This is my first time in Tucson. The landscape is actually very similar to Azerbaijan , the mountains, the colors.” What do you do as consul general? “I think the most important
What level of knowledge do you think the American public has about Azerbaijan?
than it used to be. When I first came to the United States in 1992, and went to school in Toledo, Ohio , Azerbaijan was only one year old as an independent state, so basically no one knew what it was. Now, because the relationship between the United States and Azerbaijan has been developing quite rapidly and because of all the regional affairs, many more people know … It’s been improving fairly rapidly. I mean, everyone knows what it is or has heard of it, but our goal is to take it a little bit farther than name recognition.”
“It varies. Much better now
Q&A, page A5
is outreach: political, economical and cultural. We organize cultural events. We speak a lot about our region at the universities. You know, Azerbaijan has yet to become a household name in the United States, so part of what we do is basically introduce it. And basically trying to initiate a conversation … At least to provoke some interest in what I think is a region of significance, of great strategic importance.”
QUICK HITS “Power 2010” performance by the Federal Theatre Project, “Living Newspaper” performances that give spectators a way to understand the complicated political debates and economic circumstances that make today’s headlines, 8 p.m., at the Harold Dixon Directing Studio.
Steve Aoki performs live at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., 8 p.m.
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Ginny Polin/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Elin Suleymanov, Consul General of Azerbaijan, visits the University of Arizona on Wednesday to speak with students, faculty and staff about shared strategic interests between Azerbaijan and the United States. The luncheon held after his presentation invited attendees to ask questions and speak with him.
“Pyscho” screens at 7:30 p.m. at Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.
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