Chandler: New state housing laws impact development
Metro Creative
Some major new housing-related state laws were approved in recent years by the Arizona legislature. Most went into effect this month and stand to impact Chandler development at least to a moderate degree.
Newly created state laws related to housing went into effect this month and stand to have at least some impact on development in Chandler.
In November and December, Chandler’s City Council approved an ordinance that made the changes in several of these bills part of city code.
Judging by the swipes city and leaders and residents are taking at state leaders for enacting such laws, they were none too happy about it.
With no choice but to locally enact the new state laws, council members reiterated a desire for more local control, along with confusion and doubt over what one of the measures was designed to accomplish.
One clarification made by Chandler City Attorney Kelly Schwab, at Mayor Kevin Hartke’s request at a November meeting, was that homeowner’s associations can be more restrictive than state or city laws, but not more permissive. That came up as part of the discussion about HB 2720, the so-called “casitas” law, which will allow for one detached accessory dwelling unit and one ADU attached to the main house on each single-family lot.
About 60% of Chandler homes fall within homeowners association domains.
Senior planner Lauren Schumann pointed out that the governor’s message in signing the law was about creating more affordable housing; Chandler strategic initiatives director Ryan Peters said some state lawmakers ran on either more property-owner freedom, more affordable housing or both.
At a September work session about four new development laws, Chandler’s planning administrator, Kevin Mayo, said there are often state laws enacted that target or are aimed at solving a problem in one or a handful of Arizona communities.
Schumann said since Chandler modified its own ordinances to allow for ADUs starting in March, there have been 12 development applications with the city related to such construction.
Here are other state laws that received Chandler local ordinances late last year, that went into effect Jan. 1:
• SB 1162, Zoning Shot Clock-Housing Assessment. This establishes timelines for residential rezoning cases and calls for an every-five-years housing needs study; Mayo said city staff were already trying to keep developers on a tight timeline and that Chandler wasn’t the target of such a law.
• HB 2325 Backyard Fowl: This won’t affect Chandler much, as the city approved a much-embattled local ordinance authorizing backyard chickens in January 2023. The only main change will be the total number of hens will go up by one to six; there will still be no roosters allowed.
• SB 1103, Administrative review; approvals; developments. This authorizes administrative personnel to review and approve plats without public hearing in order to expedite the development process. The Chandler Planning & Zoning Commission and the City Council will continue to review and vote on preliminary plats, but there won’t be public hearings for that particular step.
• HB 2297 allows municipalities to identify 10% or exclude 10% of its commercial buildings and parcels for redevelopment as housing.
Mayo said provisions allow municipalities to identify 10% or exclude 10% of its commercial buildings and parcels for redevelopment as housing. These zones will follow established objective criteria for a site plan review process and infrastructure analysis.
A set-aside of 10% of total units for low- or moderate-income housing must stay in place for a minimum of 20 years.
“It’s very, very loose direction, but lists very specific actions we have to take,” Mayo said. “So we have to inventory all our commercial buildings, including major office buildings, and then do one of two things: Either designate 10% for redevelopment or say ‘This is the 10% to be excluded (and left alone).”
Mayo said staff have looked at the major commercial development corridors around the city and will make a complex recommendation to council.
“We’ve looked at buildings that are, for example, really close to the airport and not appropriate (for housing) as at least part of the exclusion list,” Mayo said. “Then, after we exclude, let’s say there’s 1,000 buildings left. Once we then designate 10% of that remaining 1,000, we’re done.”
Mayo pointed out developers and/or parcel owners aren’t required to put housing on such properties but their options will be more wide-open. There’s a provision that allows municipalities to revisit their exclusion zones after the first 10 years of the program.
A Chandler resident and licensed contractor, Duane Lidman, spoke at a November council meeting in opposition to HB 2297. He said he realizes that procedurally, the city must incorporate all new state laws into city code, but he believes state lawmakers made a mistake in taking away local control.
Adaptive re-use for residential, without any type of developer application that would require a public hearing, runs contrary to local control, Lidman said.
“From my perspective, this supersedes Chandler’s voter-approved master plan, our planning and zoning commission’s authority, our public outreach process and our mayor and council’s approval authority,” Lidman said. “Unfortunately, your mandated approval will erode Chandler’s ability to self-control.”
HB 2721 will permit townhouses, duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes on any single-family lot within 1 mile of a central business district and eliminates local caps on height and requirements for fire sprinklers, extra parking spaces and public hearings. This law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026 and will likely be addressed by municipalities next summer.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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