Some municipality leaders don’t see a new bill aimed to help eliminate barriers to new housing construction as the answer to solving housing shortages.
Arizona House Bill 2674 — touted …
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Some municipality leaders don’t see a new bill aimed to help eliminate barriers to new housing construction as the answer to solving housing shortages.
Arizona House Bill 2674 — touted as bipartisan legislation to help solve the Valley’s housing supply shortage — has at least one opponent despite the bill being backed by the Arizona Multihousing Association and the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona. The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, and Rep. César Chávez, D-Phoenix, and supporters say it’s meant to improve “housing availability and affordability in every area” of the state, according to a press release.
But Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat said the bill wipes out core protections of homeowners.
“HB 2674 is the worst assault on neighborhoods and property values I have ever seen,” Carlat said in a statement. “This bill decimates the core protections homeowners have come to depend on to preserve the quality of their neighborhoods and the value of their homes.
“HB 2674 eliminates public input and design standards, severely restricts setback requirements, and effectively punishes homeowners who live outside of an HOA. This bill is the embodiment of special interests trying to bring California-style, big government to Arizona and forcing state mandates onto local neighborhoods.”
The housing supply of resale homes in the Phoenix area has been low while demand has remained high.
In December, Tina Tamboer of the Cromford Report, a Valley-based group that specializes in housing market analysis, said the supply count for resale homes in the Phoenix area was about 5,400 — the lowest count for December in the Phoenix Multiple Listing Service since 2005.
According to the Arizona Department of Housing, an estimated 250,000 to 270,000 new housing units of “all types” are needed statewide to meet current demand.
Glendale officials say they are taking steps to improve are housing. Jamsheed Mehta, Glendale’s development services director, said there currently are 7,878 multifamily units in either zoning and permitting phase or are under construction in the West Valley city. There are more than 4,600 single-family units in development at this time, he said.
“Glendale’s new housing stock offers a lot of diversity for its new residents,” Mehta said. “New single-family lots commonly range from 3,500 to 8,000 square feet and benefit from Glendale’s variety in zoning districts and flexibility in development standards. Lots that have remained vacant for decades have recently attracted interest from the housing and development industry. This surge in improving infill parcels of land has been gladly accepted and approved by Glendale’s City Council.
He said the Glendale City Council decided to invest $1.5 million during the 2022-23 fiscal year HUD grant funding cycle specifically for new construction of affordable rental units.
“Infill residential housing projects are not limited to single-family developments. Glendale has also seen a lot of interest for new multifamily developments. Currently, there are 24 projects undergoing a zoning and design review process that will yield 3,050 apartment units; another 30 projects are in varying stages of construction that will include 4,828 apartment units,” Mehta said.
Business and development groups, however, are backing the legislation.
Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, president and CEO of the Arizona Multihousing Association, said the legislation in HB 2674 is needed to ensure Arizona housing stays affordable.
“It could not be more clear that communities across Arizona need new housing to ensure that residents and families can afford a roof over their heads,” Gilstrap LeVinus said in a press release. “The reality is, these new homes can’t be built because of hyper-regulation and burdensome zoning at the local level. This measure is needed if our state doesn’t want a full-blown California-style housing crisis and California housing prices.”
In a statement, Tom Belshe, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said the legislation is the “most aggressive and restrictive zoning measure” the state of Arizona has seen in its history.
Belshe said if approved, the bill would eliminate single-family zoning in Arizona, violate voter-approved general plans, the general plan statute, and the Voter Protections Act and eliminate the citizen review process for residential and multifamily developments, the statement said.
“Multifamily projects would be approved administratively with no public process,” Belshe said in the statement. “Residents would have zero notice and no opportunity to learn about the project or provide comments. No rezoning or general plan amendment would be required. The bill would also remove planning commissions from the process and strip local councils of their zoning authority.”
Carlat said there is “nothing” in the bill that requires homes to be affordable.
“Instead, what is proposed is a bill that will allow apartments and homes of any quality to be crammed into every possible residential lot — regardless of and absent any neighborhood input,” Carlat said. “From every angle, this is a very bad bill for Arizona. I call on all Arizona leaders and all Peoria residents to firmly reject this dangerous legislation.”
Brent Ruffner Lead News Reporter | Daily Independent @AzNewsmedia
Journalism has fascinated Brent Ruffner since junior high school.
Since 2001, his stories have been published in newspapers from the Albuquerque to the Arizona and he has always had a knack for making sure his facts are right and his words are to the point.
Growing up, Brent watched as sports reporters covered his beloved Phoenix Suns, a team he followed since Charles Barkley first arrived in Phoenix via trade in 1992. Sports reporting was a dream back then.
But after gaining some writing experience, Brent found a love for news instead of covering different types of sports. In 2008, he moved to New Mexico and covered crime, schools and city beats all while holding elected officials accountable.
He covered stories that ranged from a DEA drug bust gone bad to an award-winning story on school lunches.
In Arizona, Brent was a freelance writer who covered everything from the importance of citrus in the state to Esteban owning a store in downtown Prescott.
Brent is a 2007 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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