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A measure dubbed the “Arizona Starter Home Act” that received bipartisan support was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday, citing “unintended consequences that are of great concern.”
The proposal would have overruled local zoning decisions for many Arizona municipalities by barring cities and towns with more than 70,000 residents from regulating the size of lots for single-family homes. It also would have barred cities and towns from forcing a homeowner into an HOA interfering with the “right to choose the features, amenities, structure, floor plan and interior and exterior design of a home.”
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Proponents of the measure said that it would have helped address the skyrocketing prices of homes in the state and also help address the state’s growing affordable housing crisis. But critics, including more than 30 municipalities and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said the bill takes away fundamental rights of cities to control development.
“This is unprecedented legislation that would put Arizonans at the center of a housing reform experiment with unclear outcomes,” Hobbs said in her veto letter. Hobbs said in her letter that “90%” of the people who reached out to her office requested she veto the measure.
Research by Pew Charitable Trusts found that localities that enacted similar changes saw an increase to their affordable housing stock — and that the reforms did not lead to resident displacement, a concern shared by some critics of the Arizona Starter Homes Act.
Hobbs also cited concerns from the U.S. Department of Defense and firefighters.
The DoD, in its letter to Hobbs, said it was concerned about how the measure could lead to developments creeping into areas that could harm national security or create increased risk of accidents in communities. Currently, Arizona law dictates that developments must avoid certain areas to avoid interfering with military exercises and national security and the DoD said the bill would “erode” those protections.
And the Professional Firefighters Association of Arizona voiced concerns, saying that the bill could lead to communities being developed that do not take public safety into consideration.
“Increased density without corresponding improvements to roads, utilities, and emergency services could lead to traffic congestion during evacuations or delays in emergency response times, which, as you know, have been challenging for many of the state’s largest fire departments,” the firefighters’ union said.
While Hobbs rejected this “expansive proposal” to overhaul local zoning, she wrote that there is “great promise” in other measures the legislature is currently considering.
“I am supportive of… other reforms that are still moving through the process including proposals related to accessory dwelling units (ADUs, also known as casitas), missing middle housing options, commercial repurpose and reuse, and streamlining local approval processes,” the governor wrote. She urged cities, developers and other stakeholders to “engage productively” on discussions about those bills.
The Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix applauded the veto, saying that the bill would have put Arizona communities at risk.
“Residential zoning by local governments provides orderly growth and protects property
values in communities across the state, but the (development) industry tried to portray residential zoning as a bogeyman that created the housing shortage,” an emailed statement by the group said. “But in reality, the shortage is a complex issue with multiple contributing factors, such as a labor shortage, mortgage rates, the development industry’s emphasis on more profitable market-price housing, the industry’s own failure to build out thousands of planned new residences in projects already approved and the state’s refusal to limit short-term rentals so more homes would be available permanent housing.”
Democratic members of the House and the Senate voiced their frustration with Hobbs’ veto of the legislation.
“At a time when cities are endorsing that workers sleep in their cars or sleep in tents, in designated parking lots, action to address the housing crisis in Arizona cannot wait,” Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, said in an emailed statement. “Cities and their lobbyists cannot continue to be the only barrier to statewide zoning reform solely to retain power and uphold policy decisions that have been historically detrimental to so many, especially communities like mine.”
Hernandez said she hopes that Hobbs “and her staff learn from their mistake today and ensure that decisions on policy are made for the betterment of all Arizonas.”
Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, also voiced her displeasure with the veto.
“I am equally frustrated that while other states are proactively addressing housing in an urgent and deliberate manner, Arizona continues to kick the can down the road,” Ortiz said in a written statement. “Status quo is clearly not working and believing that things will change without policies like the Arizona Starter Homes Act is, at best, wishful thinking.”
In her veto letter, Hobbs said she is supportive of other reforms such as streamlining the local permit process and making it easier to build accessory dwelling units, also known as casitas.
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