After several sessions where legislators struggled to agree on any substantial legal remedies for our worsening housing problem, suddenly the dam has broken. We have a bipartisan majority for reform.It’s none too soon.The one bill that passed both chambers was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs. But seven others have passed in either the House or the Senate, and others are under consideration.Among bills that have passed one chamber:House Bill 2297 and Senate Bill 1506 relate to allowing new apartments on commercially zoned lots. HB 2720 and SB 1415 permit backyard casitas and garage apartments (accessory dwelling units, or ADUs) on single-family home lots. SB 1665 streamlines permitting approvals.HB 2815 allows churches to build affordable housing on their properties.HB 2584 allows building materials of any kind and prefabricated buildings as long as they meet national code standards.When 1 city clamps down, we all sufferYou might wonder why some of this was ever illegal. Mainly, it’s because our metropolitan areas are divided into smaller municipalities, creating what economists call a “prisoners’ dilemma.”If each agrees to generous housing policies, regional rents stay low, newcomers can move here and most neighborhoods change only slowly.But when a single municipality clamps down on new housing to limit crowding or ensure that only wealthy newcomers can move in, nearby municipalities must accept a little more of the change, growth and growing pains.One municipality gains at everyone else’s expense.So, over the last century, every municipality has tried to do just that.Affordability suffers everywhere. That’s the prisoners’ dilemma: Everyone aiming for local perfection at everyone else’s expense becomes the enemy of everyone’s “good.”Affordable housing solutions aren’t hardFo …
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