SB 1473 could threaten recent Paradise Valley Council cap on assisted living residents

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

A bill going through the Arizona Legislature could threaten a recently council-approved ordinance amendment regarding assisted living homes within Paradise Valley.

In January, the town measure capped occupancy from 10 to six residents in such homes.

But the proposed SB 1473, which regulates the zoning and occupancy of assisted living homes, could void the town approval.

The bill would restrict municipalities and counties from imposing occupancy caps, zoning restrictions or discretionary approval requirements on assisted living homes or assisted living facilities that are more restrictive than limits allowed by state licensure and Arizona Department of Health Services rules.

The bill, which recently moved into the House, also allows municipalities and counties to enforce generally applicable building, fire, safety and health codes on assisted living homes or assisted living facilities only if they do not impose more restrictive occupancy limits.

Amy Rebenar, Paradise Valley management analyst, said SB 1473 was run in direct response to the council’s approval of the occupancy cap.

“The state gave us the ability to reduce that capacity and when we took advantage of that opportunity as a council and reduced capacity, they then turned around and said, ‘well we want to take that back, we changed our mind,'” Rebenar said.

She added that the way the legislation was written would be quite harmful for Paradise Valley in a number of different areas, including impacting the town’s zoning.

“So we had to go back and renegotiate that and one of the items that we were not able to preserve was that capacity reduction approved by council,” she said. “Unfortunately, we had to give that up, but we were able to protect the town zoning.”

The bill is supported by the Arizona Assisted Living Homes Association.

Lawyer Jennifer Wassermann, who co-authored the bill, said she thinks it will be signed by the governor, who has a professional background in social services.

“If SB 1473 is passed, we expect it will nullify the arbitrary 6-resident cap imposed by Paradise Valley on assisted living residences. It will also restore the conforming use of those residences. Even though they did not have to displace residents, they were thrust into legal nonconforming status by virtue of PV’s ordinance.”

Senior News Editor Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on X @philiphaldiman. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@inusua.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.