A bill currently under consideration in the Arizona House of Representatives to remove the restrictions on street parking has planned communities worried their covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) will be stripped if it passes the legislature.

House Bill 2470 prescribes that a homeowner’s association has no authority over a roadway after it transfers ownership of community roadways to a governmental entity. If a planned community has a declaration recorded after Dec. 31, 2014, it does not have authority over and may not regulate any roadway for which the ownership has been dedicated to or otherwise held by a governmental authority, according the bill’s legislative summary. It further adds that existing regulations continue in effect until either the planned community calls a member meeting and approves to continue regulating public roadways or if the vote fails or the planned community does not hold a vote of the membership.

The bill is sponsored by House District 17 Reps. Cory McGarr (R) and Rachel Jones (R), HD-19 Rep. Lupe Diaz (R), HD-3 Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R), HD-10 Rep. Barbara Parker (R), HD-29 Rep. Austin Smith (R) and Senate District 17 Rep. Justine Wadsack (R). It passed the House Regulatory Affairs Committee by a vote of 4-2 Jan. 31 and the House Rules Committee by a vote of 9-0 Feb. 5.

Last year, HB2298 passed the legislature. It was also directed at planned communities and pertained to parking on public roadways. It layed out a timeframe that planned communities would need to follow to allow their property owners to vote on whether to keep or discard their parking CC&Rs within their deed restrictions. However, it did not apply to homeowners associations which declared prior to Jan. 1, 2015, and still protected all 384 of Sun City’s condo associations.

“The Sun City Homeowners Association is not a planned community and not governed by Arizona Revised Statute Title 33. We are structured as a non-profit corporation under ARS Title 10 who enforce our CC&Rs. Therefore, HB2298 did not apply to our community,” said Pam Schwartz, SCHOA vice president. “Our 384 condo associations do fall under ARS Title 33 and are planned communities.”

However, HB2470 is essentially HB2298 stripped of all its exceptions, she said. It would remove the right for property owners to vote on the issue, void contractual deed restrictions that homeowners agreed to when they purchased their homes and allow for street parking, including recreational vehicles, commercial vehicles, trailers, etc.

“It guts every homeowners association in the state of their ability to enforce parking CC&Rs,” said Lisa Gray, SCHOA spokesperson.

“We feel that because of the way it is written, it could possibly affect Sun City,” Schwartz said. “We’re asking Sun City residents to oppose this bill.”

There are several reasons to oppose the bill, said Ed Van Ness, SCHOA president.

“Keeping our streets clear is imperative for emergency vehicles to pass through without issue and this is important for all our residents,” he said. “In some situations, getting emergency vehicles to properties could be a matter of life and death. When you moved to Sun City, you signed a contract that laid out the deed restrictions. The legislature is now attempting to take that right away from you without even allowing you to vote on this. One of the reasons our community looks as great as it does is because of our parking regulations in our CC&Rs. Throughout Sun City, all streets are not created equal. They vary in width, some are wider, and some are narrower. Some streets have golf cart lanes. We have an older population that may have issues navigating with a plethora of vehicles on the street.”

Sun City Fire Marshal Kenny Kovac is also opposed to the bill because he is concerned the removal of restrictions will delay the fire district in response to emergencies.

“Response times will be slower because cars parked in the right-of-way will limit passage,” he said.

Van Ness noted the number of parking complaints filed with SCHOA as an example of how the bill could affect Sun City. In the past month-and-half, there have been 163 parking complaints. That number is on course to match the 1,425 parking complaints received in 2023 and the 1,813 received in 2022.

“That is with our CC&Rs in place,” he said. “Imagine what our streets would look like if we didn’t have the parking restrictions in our CC&Rs.”

Under the existing CC&Rs, no vehicles except cars, light trucks, passenger vans or golf carts may be parked in garages, carports or driveways and no vehicles are allowed on public streets in excess of 72 hours within a 30-day period. In addition, SCHOA has the right to have any vehicle parked, kept, maintained, constructed, reconstructed or repaired in violation of the provision towed away at the sole cost and expense of the owner of the vehicle or equipment.

The bill would also affect other retirement communities, including Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Sun City Festival, Anthem and Green Valley, which previous fell under the same exceptions that kept Sun City free of HB2298, Schwartz said.

“It’s not just us, but our community is the largest,” she said. “We have the largest voting block and we’re the most influential. But, they need to hear from our community about this issue for that to matter.”

Paper copies of the petition are available to sign at the SCHOA office, located at 10401 W. Coggins Drive. Blank petitions for self-circulation are also available.

Residents can contact their District 28 representatives to express their opinion on HB2470. Senate District 28 Representative Frank Carroll (R) is available at FCarroll@azleg.gov, and House Reps. David Livingston (R) at DLivingston@azleg.gov and Rep. Beverly Pingerelli (R) at BPingerelli@azleg.gov.