Arizona Lawmakers Rally Behind Solutions to Arizona’s Housing Crisis

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers met outside the State Capitol Wednesday to build support for a potential solution to Arizona’s housing crisis, which involves reforming zoning regulations so more houses can be built.

“You additionally see it in red and blue states across the nation, right now this year, where zoning reform laws are getting signed by governors of every political party,” said State Senator Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix), the lawmaker behind the policies at hand. “This is bipartisan in every state that it’s done in.”

Kaiser said this crisis came from restrictive zoning regulations that make it difficult to build new, affordable housing units quickly. He also said it hits the younger generations especially hard, as many entering the workforce cannot afford to move out and live independently. Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) also agreed with Kaiser.

“In Arizona, you used to be able to buy a home. You used to be able to buy a starter home. You used to be able to get a really nice home for a good price,” said Petersen.

Petersen shared that he previously worked in the home construction industry, and during that time, the state could turn a dirt lot into housing in half a year. He said the process now takes upwards of four because of increased regulations.

During this legislative session, Kaiser sponsored SB 1117, which would have made several changes to zoning rules in Arizona. These changes would have included speeding up the process of getting a housing application approved, restricting regulations of housing designs, and establishing a housing needs assessment to be completed every five years. However, the bill ultimately died on the Senate floor, with 20 lawmakers voting against it. Opponents of the bill said it took too much control away from local government entities.

However, Kaiser has since attempted to reintroduce some of the ideas of SB 1117 through strike-everything amendments to SB 1161 and SB 1163. Additionally, in the House, Kairse got another strike-everything through HB 2536. These three bills are what the legislators rallied behind.

As reported by The Arizona Sun Times, SB 1161 states that cities with a population greater than 525,000 must allow for low-income rental housing units in areas within a half-mile of a light rail system. Next, SB 1163 states that municipalities with a population over 30,000 with vacant land cannot place specific restrictive development standards on houses built on the land.

Moreover, HB 2536 now states that a municipality may not regulate “residential housing design elements,” which includes the exterior building color, location of driveways, and design choices made in the backyard. The bill would also require cities to allow for single-room occupancy renting and for people to build an accessory dwelling unit on their lot, where someone other than the owner may live.

On the Democrat side of the aisle, State Representative Analise Ortiz (D-Phoenix) said Arizona could not keep kicking the can down the road on finding a housing solution, and now is the time to act boldly to secure the state’s future.

“People of all ages, incomes, and political stripes are struggling to afford housing. It’s a statewide crisis that demands statewide solutions,” she said.

The lawmakers called on their colleagues to help pass all three bills or find the best possible solution to this problem.

Even away from the legislature, there is support for these bills. Such as the Common Sense Institute Arizona, which found through research that implementing these bills would increase the annual residential building permit approval rate by 6.5 percent, increase the number of available housing units to 35,150 by 2023, and provide Arizona with an additional $22.8 billion in real gross domestic product over the next ten years.

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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Steve Kaiser” by Arizona Senate Republicans.

 

 

 

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One Thought to “Arizona Lawmakers Rally Behind Solutions to Arizona’s Housing Crisis”

  1. Mach1Duck

    It was under Obama’s plan to change the zoning requirements of cities receiving Federal funds such that low income housing could be build in suburban districts. Why you might ask? To change the voting demographics. Cities, specially blue-run cities, voted Democrat, suburban areas voted Conservative. This disparity put a wrinkle in the fabric of Democrat control.

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