Ariz. Legislature OKS bill to override cities’ zoning rules

PHOENIX – State lawmakers sent a measure Wednesday to Gov. Katie Hobbs to override many local zoning laws in the name of affordable housing.

On a bipartisan vote Wednesday, the Senate approved legislation that would limit the ability of cities to mandate everything from lot sizes and setbacks to design standards, at least for cities of 70,000 or more.

The House already has given its blessing to what’s been dubbed the “Arizona Starter Homes Act.’’ And that sends the measure to Hobbs.

Gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater said he had no comment on whether his boss would sign or veto the measure.

Under other circumstances, legislation to provide more latitude to developers and to override local regulations might largely be a partisan affair in the Republican-controlled Legislature. That, however, was not the case on Wednesday, with seven of the 14 Senate Democrats in support – and six of the 16 Republicans opposed.

Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-tucson, detailed for colleagues how her parents built their first starter home and how it became a place where the family shared its experiences.

“I love seeing the bipartisan support behind this because it’s showing that we understand the impact of policy like HB 2570 that will deliver and put us on the path to make home ownership a reality for all of our people,’’ she said. “I’m proud to go back to our community and say that, hey, we were able to put aside partisan politics and deliver good solutions that are so necessary in the moment of a housing crisis.’’

Hobbs has never addressed the question of zoning and local regulation as a barrier to affordable housing.

She has instead focused on asking lawmakers to approve programs for things like down-payment assistance and mortgage-rate relief for eligible families. But Hobbs has not provided any plans for where the state would get that money.

HB 2570, spearheaded by House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci and Sonny Borrelli, his Senate counterpart, both from Lake Havasu City, focuses instead on the premise that the cost of homes can be driven down by overriding some local government regulation.

The measure was one of four actually approved by the Senate dealing with housing availability and affordability. Others include:

- Requiring larger cities to permit “accessory dwelling units’’ on lots for single-family homes, with limits on the restrictions that can be placed on them;

- Mandating that larger cities must permit residential and mixed-use development on land zoned for commercial, office, retail or parking space;

- Imposing new requirements on cities to speed up building permit inspections.

Those three measures must now get House approval if they are to go to the governor.

At the heart of the debate is to what extent local regulations and zoning make housing expensive.

HB 2570 and the related bills lays the blame squarely on cities.

“We re here because the American dream of homeownership has become unattainable for many hardworking Arizona families and young adults,’’ Senate President Warren Petersen said at a news conference in January introducing the plan.

That blame is spelled out in the measure itself.

“It has become virtually impossible for many Arizonans to achieve the American dream of owning their own home,’’ HB 2570 says. “This statewide housing crisis is caused in no small part due to highly restrictive regulations imposed by municipalities.’’

Their idea is designed to spur the development of “starter homes,’’ smaller homes that could be much less expensive than the traditional tract homes that dominate the state s single-family home housing market. Reducing lot size would help developers pack more homes into a project and reduce costs.

Home prices in Arizona have skyrocketed. The median price for a detached single-family home in metro Phoenix sits at $430,000, a 53% rise just since 2020.

But Tom Belshe, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said the issue is more complex than that. He none of that addresses rising labor costs and the shortage of skilled craft people.

As originally crafted, developers would have been able to put up a home on a lot of any size. Lawmakers agreed to scrap that in favor of a minimum lot size of 1,500 feet.

The final version also does allow cities to require homes to be set back from streets, but bars any rule requiring that setback to be more than 10 feet. And homes could be just 5 feet away from a neighboring home on the sides or backs.

Also gone from the list of things cities could require would be specific design, architectural or aesthetic elements for new homes. They also could not mandate that developers set up homeowner associations which would have the responsibility, through dues on property owners, to maintain everything from walls to landscaping.

In a bid to pick up some votes, proponents also agreed to exempt cities of fewer than 70,000 residents from these new restrictions. That cuts the scope of the legislation to just 16 of the state’s 91 cities.

Still, HB 2570 barely scraped by, getting the minimum 16 votes required for approval.

At least one group already is urging a veto.

“This bill would allow a mishmash of construction in existing neighborhoods, posting a threat to existing homes’ property values and residents’ quality of life,’’ said Neal Haddad, president of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix.

In a prepared statement, the organization also pointed out that nothing in the legislation guarantees that it will increase the supply of affordable housing. Instead, it says that developers remain free to build what they want “at whatever prices the market will bear.’’