Republicans and Democrats in the Arizona Senate came together on Wednesday in an effort to legalize construction of casitas, or accessory dwelling units, in cities and towns across the state as a way to combat housing shortages.
The state currently has a shortage of more than 270,000 housing units, according to the Arizona Department of Housing, and proponents said Senate Bill 1415 would make strides to address the increase in homelessness and skyrocketing rental prices.
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“We have shown that we are committed to finding solutions to our housing crisis and while we know this is not the answer to every issue we see, this is a tool that we can put in the hands of the cities to allow for product and supply to be brought to our neighborhoods,” bill sponsor Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, told lawmakers on the Senate Finance and Commerce Committee meeting on Feb. 12.
She added that casitas were previously allowed in historic neighborhoods, before being regulated out of existence.
“They are a natural affordable tool to bring supply onboard,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez’s bill, which passed out of the Senate by a vote of 20-10, with a mix of Republicans and Democrats voting both for and against it, is opposed by numerous cities and towns, including Phoenix, which passed its own ordinance allowing casitas in September.
The legislation would require any municipality with a population of at least 75,000 to adopt regulations to allow any lot with a single family home to build at least one attached or detached accessory dwelling unit, also known as an ADU or casita.
The bill would also ban cities from placing a prohibition on advertising the single family home or casita on the lot as separately-leased long-term rentals.
And the proposal would bar municipalities from requiring the resident of the casita be a relative of the people living in the single family home on the same lot; that the casita have a kitchen; that it have additional parking; that it have setbacks more than five feet from the property line or that the casita match the exterior design, roof pitch or finishing materials of the single family home.
A mirror bill, sponsored by Rep. Michael Carbone, R-Buckeye, passed out of the House on March 4 with a bipartisan vote of 46-14.
Nick Ponder, a lobbyist for the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, told lawmakers during the Feb. 12 meeting that the League was opposed to the bill for myriad reasons, including that it doesn’t ban the use of casitas for short-term rentals, like Airbnb.
Ponder reminded the lawmakers that the League worked with then-Sen. Steve Kaiser on a housing bill last year that would have legalized casitas that never made it out of the House. He expressed frustration that this year’s bills went “well beyond what was agreed upon last year.”
At present, Ponder said, 26% of houses in Maricopa County are owned by outside investors who rent out the property, an issue that has decreased the amount of homes available for purchase by locals, contributing to the housing shortage.
He pointed out that 20% of housing stock in Sedona and 5% in Scottsdale are short-term rentals, further exacerbating the housing shortage. If it becomes law, this bill would preempt Phoenix’s ordinance, which does ban the use of casitas as short term rentals.
“The policies that we pass here today will impact the housing supply,” Ponder said.
Some of the League’s other issues with the bill include that the casitas aren’t required to have kitchens, that they don’t have to be the same height of the home already on the property and that it requires fewer restrictions for casitas than for the single family homes in the same area.
“As we’ve progressed over the year, and the housing crisis has progressed, I don’t get why we would start at the bare minimum when we can accomplish something substantial,” Hernandez said in response to Ponder’s frustration that this year’s bill is substantially different from the one that failed last year.
The bill will next head to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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