Question to candidates: What steps should the City Council take to deal with rising housing costs in Tucson?Arthur KerschenI would vote to lift zoning restrictions and deregulate home manufacturing.Regina RomeroTucson needs to increase our housing supply, with affordability being the goal. Under my leadership, the City of Tucson has laid out the policies that will help us to deal with rising housing costs and the need for more housing stock in Tucson through our Housing Affordability Strategy for Tucson. It is important to use every tool available to us and to create the ones we need to address this complex issue.During my first term, I took concrete action to deal with rising housing costs by passing ordinances to allow for the construction of accessory dwelling units or casitas. Recently, this ordinance was reviewed, and improvements were made that will further reduce the costs and barriers of building these casitas.
People are also reading…
I have and will continue to identify opportunities to build density in suitable locations, particularly along transit corridors. Putting the City of Tucson’s non-profit development arm El Pueblo Housing Development, established during my first term, to work is essential.Leading the state in prohibiting source-of-income discrimination for renters who receive government housing assistance or Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers is another concrete action I have taken.In a historic partnership with the Arizona Department of Housing, the City of Tucson applied for and received its first-ever low-income housing tax credit project. This project, Milagro on Oracle, is an excellent example of adaptive reuse, with 63 units of new affordable housing for seniors supported with $2.1 million in tax credits. It highlights the possibilities that result from re-imagining what is possible with public/private partnerships.Janet “JL” WittenbrakerHousing prices (either low or high) respond to various factors such as inflation/interest rates, internal migration/attrition, supply and demand, and other market forces. It is not the function of the city government to control housing costs.City government has a duty to ensure the city’s financial stability and that residents’ taxes/utility costs do not cause financial hardship. The former and latter are achievable through fiscal responsibility, utility cost reductions, neighborhood beautification and attraction of new businesses thereby creating a competitive job market and increased wages.Ed AckerleyECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Encourage more companies to bring more jobs to Tucson, bolster the businesses established here to create more jobs, and foster an environment of economic growth for the community. A good-paying job is the best opportunity for good housing options.Victoria LemVictoria Lem did not respond to our questionnaire.Miguel OrtegaThe city should do all it can to identify more housing stock, including expediting the identification and use of available housing stock owned by the city. City bureaucrats should be directed to robustly promote the current city programs available to senior citizens on fixed incomes and working families. I also support the consideration of implementing rent-control measures to protect working families from the ongoing crisis of rent increases. We should not lean on the excuse that state legislation prevents us from advocating for rent control measures, as this has not stopped us from taking legal and political action on other issues that are not allowed by the state. I don’t support radical measures like eliminating zoning conditions and protecting open space for the sake of more affordable housing, especially when we have other alternatives to address the lack of housing stock. I will bring a sense of urgency to our housing crisis and propose sensible yet aggressive measures that do not carry with them intended or unintended consequences that impact working people and our precious environment.Lane Santa CruzAlthough the City of Tucson cannot control or regulate the cost of housing, there are things we can and should do to address the rising costs. Our city has a need to more rapidly develop a diverse array of middle housing such as row houses, casitas/duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, multiplexes, and cottage courts that fit seamlessly into existing Tucson neighborhoods and can fill the gap along the spectrum of affordability for our residents. We can more efficiently update building and zoning regulations that limit the types of housing developments. We can update building and zoning regulations like excessive parking requirements that limit the types of housing developments and increase costs. Tucson has an opportunity to show leadership along with Pima County and continue to invest in the Prosperity Initiative policy ideas to help mitigate other rising costs that put pressure on housing. Paul CunninghamWe have to figure out ways to increase density in our city to increase the general housing supply while remaining sensitive to historic preservation and neighborhood concerns. Develop more affordable housing projects and bring more partners and creativity into the conversation.Using the Code — The City Council recently approved a package of code amendments that will increase and standardize heights (and commiserate setbacks) along major streets and allow a more straightforward way to construct townhomes. We need to continue the refinement of our codes to promote the kind of city that we all want to live in. I want to continue to explore code amendments and other ways to increase density in appropriate areas and to incentivize the repurposing of abandoned big box stores for housing.Building Partnerships — We need to be working with more non-profit and for-profit developers to build more affordable housing projects in Tucson. I also support the City’s efforts to develop our own affordable housing projects. We also need to look at other, more creative ways to add to our affordable housing stock. Sometimes we can encourage developers seeking a rezoning to voluntarily construct affordable units as part of their project. We also need to be working with the faith community. I am working with a number of churches to allow places of worship on large parcels or with large parking lots to house a few people in need of housing, either in a trailer in the parking lot or in an actually small residence on site.More often than not, the issue with rising housing costs has as much to do with inventory as it does anything else. I am very much in favor of building out greater housing capacity but doing so in a fashion that (a) puts affordable housing central to job locations and public transportation, and; (b) we make regulations a little more common sense when it comes to building in an environment where critical elements like water resources need to be better managed or height restrictions need to be reconsidered. We also need to explore public-private partnerships as a way to leverage resources and reduce costs.Ernie ShackErnie Shack echoed Wittenbraker’s responses.Pendleton SpicerThe City of Tucson can interface with Pima County to work on reducing property taxes and rent while encouraging free market principles to dictate the market. Supporting the free market will create a more realistic supply and demand for housing and help create more affordable housing. Right now, there is an imbalance between large predatory companies buying up housing and smaller companies with fewer resources which are attempting to do the same, which prevents a truly free market. One way to combat the extreme imbalance that currently exists in our community is to educate the public about the situation. I don’t have answers to the whole dilemma at this time, and will do research to find possible solutions.Ross KaplowitchRising housing costs, like all inflation issues, are a concern for all Arizona communities. By improving city services, including safety, housing values in Tucson will organically increase. We should emphasize the value of financing affordable housing at the local, not federal level, and allow the free market to reign.The City of Tucson has been grappling with the issue of rising housing costs, affecting both homeowners and renters alike. Many cities across America, and the world, are experiencing these same challenges. Affordable housing has been a top issue for City of Tucson leadership during my entire first term and well before I joined the Council. Many strategies to focus on housing affordability have been in place for quite some time, and we’ve worked hard to expand efforts to create more affordable housing for the community.In 2022 alone, 226 new affordable rental housing units were constructed and opened with City of Tucson funds. Funds in the amount of $418,050 were provided to low-income homebuyers to provide down payment assistance to get into homes. Grant awards totaling $11 million were made to local nonprofit organizations for community services related to housing. The City of Tucson assisted 13,832 people with rent through Housing Choice Vouchers. To ensure maximum utilization of public housing, we achieved a 97% overall occupancy rate in public housing units. Over 1,490 people received housing navigation services to support them on their housing journeys.Tackling affordable housing is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring long-term dedication and strategic investments. By consistently investing in housing affordability, we can ensure a bright future for Tucson, with opportunities for all residents. This steadfast commitment will create a more equitable, diverse, and thriving community for generations to come.
Catch the latest in Opinion
Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!
See the full article on Arizona zoning regulations, or, read more Arizona real estate investing news. It’s up to you!
