Governor Katie Hobbs will deliberate a bill allowing casitas or accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in towns and cities after a Goodyear-area lawmaker’s bill was transmitted to her office for action.
House Bill 2720, aims to establish regulations for accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Notably, it would prohibit municipalities with populations exceeding 75,000 people from imposing restrictive covenants that require units to adhere to the commercial building code.
The bill's sponsor is Goodyear-area Republican state Rep. Michael Carbone.
“Arizonans across the state are being decimated by high housing costs and unrelenting inflation,” said Representative Carbone in a release. “Right now, our teachers, nurses, firefighters, and police officers can’t afford to live in the communities that they serve. Our children and grandchildren can’t afford to live in the communities that they grew up in. Most Arizonans have been priced out of the housing economy – it’s wrong and un-American.”
According to the Arizona Department of Housing and Carbone, 270,000 homes must be built to meet development demand. The rep also claims that since 2020, the median sale price in Arizona has doubled, with the average home selling at $430,000.
Previously, the bill experienced pushback from lobbyists and cities that wanted to amend or stop it. Those lobbyists may press Hobbs to veto the bill.
Susan Edwards from the Arizona Neighborhood Alliance said cities were already working on adding ordinances to their towns without legislation during a senate committee in early March.
“We again appreciate the good intentions behind 2720,” she said. “But I don't understand why you are doing this when of the 17 cities affected, all but four have ordinances allowing you to use, and the other four are working on it. With no valid impact study again with no valid numbers, again, with minimal if any discussion with stakeholders.”
The Arizona League of Cities and Towns, a highly influential housing lobbying group, has taken a neutral stance on the bill. However, they have confirmed that all cities of the bill’s referenced size are either in the process of implementing ordinances for ADUs or have already allowed them, echoing claims from the Arizona Neighborhood Alliance.
When asked, the city of Goodyear’s manager of government relations Ginna Carico, denied any draft ADU ordinance but instead deferred to Carbone’s bill and the city's collaborative effort.
“We appreciate our partnership with Representative Carbone and are optimistic we will reach a deal on HB 2720 to place ADU parameters in state statute,” she said.
HB 2720 passed the House’s final vote on March 15 with bipartisan support, 35-22.
The Goodyear Independent reached out to The Arizona League of Cities and Towns three times for an interview to discuss the bill, but they did not respond after initial contact with its admin desk.
Representative Carbone noted that Democratic state Senator Anna Hernandez provided key leadership on the bill.
“This was truly a bipartisan effort, and I am grateful for Senator Hernandez’s leadership on this issue,” Representative Carbone said in a release.
“I cannot go a single day without hearing from my constituents about the high housing costs in our state that is decimating my community and locking families in poverty,” said Senator Hernandez in a press release. “We worked tirelessly with housing and community stakeholders in order to craft this historic and bipartisan solution that we are proud to send to the Governor.”
The Goodyear Independent is unaware of any city currently working on ADU ordinances to defer the bill.
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