Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

If you remember I authored several blogs on the Biden administration’s efforts to mandate more affordable housing throughout the country. I said that the Feds under the Biden Administration have espoused major zoning changes encouraging more dense housing and the construction of more affordable apartments complexes everywhere. A bill currently before the Arizona State Legislature is HB 2674 Municipal Zoning: By Right Housing is designed to accomplish these objectives and I guarantee you won’t like it, if it is passed. I will summarize the worst parts of this bill but if you want to read it, please go to this link: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/55leg/2R/bills/hb2674p.pdf .

Cities and towns have always had their own local building requirements. In Glendale, a developer must submit an application and is required to meet all of Glendale’s General Plan requirements as well as to hold at least one neighborhood meeting. The proposed residential project must receive approval from our Planning Commission and City Council. It then must go through final design review and receive approval from our city’s Development Department to ensure that it meets Glendale’s specific standards including design elements, the height, the density of the project and specific, mandated setbacks. The city’s General Plan is its blueprint for where our community wants to see different kinds of residential and commercial development.

All of this will be gone…legislatively, in one single bill introduced this week at the legislature. This bill removes ALL authority from cities and towns to regulate and direct where single family and multifamily residential can be placed in our city.

I am listing some of the worst provisions of this bill.

“L. IN EXERCISING ITS DELEGATED LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY, A MUNICIPALITY SHALL ENSURE THAT IT PROVIDES AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE MUNICIPALITY BY COMPLYING WITH THE REQUIREMENTS PRESCRIBED IN SECTION 9-462.09.” In other words, an adequate supply of housing (which is very subjective) in real speak means affordable housing.

The bill goes on to say, “HOUSING SUPPLY AND AFFORDABILITY ARE MATTERS OF STATEWIDE CONCERN. ALL LOCAL LAWS, ORDINANCES AND CHARTER PROVISIONS THAT ARE CONTRARY TO, INCONSISTENT WITH OR MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN THIS SECTION ARE PREEMPTED, AND A MUNICIPALITY MAY NOT BY LAW, ORDINANCE OR CHARTER PROVISION REGULATE, RESTRICT OR LIMIT RESIDENTIAL ZONING, RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION OR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS…” This means all cities’ laws more restrictive than what is in this bill are preempted by the state legislature and cannot be used.

“NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, INCLUDING ANY ORDINANCE OR CHARTER PROVISION, ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2023, A MUNICIPALITY SHALL ALLOW THE FOLLOWING BY RIGHT:

  1. ON ANY LAND LOCATED IN ANY EXISTING AGRICULTURAL OR SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT OR ON ANY LAND DESIGNATED BY THE MUNICIPALITY’S MOST RECENT GENERAL PLAN AS SUPPORTING SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS, THE CONSTRUCTION OF EIGHT SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING UNITS PER ACRE OR TWELVE TWO-FAMILY DWELLING UNITS PER ACRE.” For example, I live on a street of 30 custom built homes, each on an irrigated acre. Under this bill my neighbor could sell his land to a developer that could put 8 single family homes or 12 two-family units on that acre. Is there a vacant parcel of land that is an acre or more in your neighborhood? That land could have the same fate. There goes your property values.

“2. IN ANY EXISTING AGRICULTURAL OR MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT OR ANY LAND DESIGNATED BY THE MUNICIPALITY’S MOST RECENT GENERAL PLAN AS SUPPORTING MULTIFAMILY CONSTRUCTION, THE CONSTRUCTION OF MULTIFAMILY DWELLING UNITS WITH THE FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS:

      (a) THE GREATER OF THE HIGHEST ALLOWED HEIGHT FOR THE SITE OF THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, THE HIGHEST ALLOWED HEIGHT FOR A COMMERCIAL OR RESIDENTIAL USE WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE SITE OF THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT OR FIFTY-FIVE FEET. IF THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IS LOCATED WITHIN ONE-HALF MILE OF A RAIL STOP, BUS STOP, FREEWAY OR MAJOR ARTERIAL ROADWAY, THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT LIMITATION MAY NOT BE LESS THAN SEVENTY-FIVE FEET.

     (b) THE DENSITY LIMIT APPLICABLE TO THE MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT SHALL BE THE GREATEST ALLOWED DENSITY FOR A MIXED USE OR RESIDENTIAL USE WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE SITE OF THE MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT, OR, IF THERE IS NOT A MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE SITE, THE NEAREST MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT.

     (c) THE MUNICIPALITY MAY NOT REQUIRE A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT, USE PERMIT OR REVIEW BY A BOARD OR COMMISSION FOR AN APPLICANT TO CONSTRUCT BY RIGHT HOUSING PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.” To add insult to injury, these dense apartment units can be 55’ or 75’ feet tall. Most homes are 30’ feet in height or less. A city will no longer have the right to regulate height or density. Projects will be exempt from review by the Planning Commission.

“A. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, A MUNICIPALITY MAY NOT ADOPT OR ENFORCE ANY ORDINANCE, CODE, STANDARD, REGULATION, GUIDELINE, AGREEMENT, STIPULATION OR OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENT, INCLUDING A ZONING ORDINANCE ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 9-462.01, RELATED TO OR REGULATING RESIDENTIAL HOUSING DESIGN ELEMENTS. A MUNICIPALITY MAY NOT WITHHOLD A BUILDING PERMIT OR OTHER APPROVAL NECESSARY AS A CONDITION OF CONSTRUCTING RESIDENTIAL HOUSING FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ANY ORDINANCE, CODE, STANDARD, REGULATION, GUIDELINE, STIPULATION OR OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENT, INCLUDING A ZONING ORDINANCE ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 9-462.01, RELATED TO OR REGULATING RESIDENTIAL HOUSING DESIGN ELEMENTS.” This provision prevents a city from imposing any kind of design standard on these multifamily complexes. It mandates that a city cannot withhold approval or stop such a project.

There is more but I think you get the idea. This bill would be disastrous for every community within the State of Arizona. Just imagine a 55’ to 75” tall apartment complex with 5 feet between it and another property, along with no design regulations…in Strawberry, Prescott, or Paradise Valley.

What can we do about it? KILL THE BILL. This bill, if passed, will do irreparable harm to your city.I beg you to contact your state legislators and let them know you do not support this bill. Numbers do work. If a lot of constituents (you) email Representatives, they have no choice but to listen. I am providing a list of Glendale’s legislators in the House of Representatives because that it where the bill was introduced. Let them know by using their email addresses, in no uncertain terms that you do not support HB 2674. Here is the list for Glendale:

If you do not live in Glendale, here is the link to the entire list of Arizona state legislators and their email addresses: https://www.azleg.gov/memberroster/ .This bill is a disaster for every single community in the state. We must, in no uncertain terms, let our legislators know that we do not want or support this intrusive bill.

© Joyce Clark, 2022      

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