Arizona lawmakers press Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign housing bill

Howard Fischer

PHOENIX — A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressuring a reluctant Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign legislation they believe will lead to more affordable housing in Arizona.Rep. Analise Ortiz, a Tucson Democrat, said Tuesday she believes HB 2570, sent Monday to the governor, is the only viable legislation that actually would provide some price relief to those who want to have a starter home. And that, she said, includes her.“I have been a renter my entire adult life,” she said. And Ortiz said that, despite working full-time her entire adult life, she doesn’t have enough for a down payment on what developers are building.“In my community, people like me are tired of being told the only way we can have an affordable place to live is if we rent it — and rents are no longer affordable — or if we have government subsidized housing,” she said. “We deserve that same opportunity to own a home. And the governor needs to recognize that.”

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House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu City, said there’s nothing in the legislation overriding certain local regulations that’s terribly radical.“Should the city tell you you can’t have a carport (instead of a garage) if you want a carport?” he said. “Should the city tell you that you can’t have a certain type of roof, that it has to be shingle instead of tile?”All that, Biasiucci said, should be decisions left to homeowners.“This is when the price goes up,” he said. “This is when regulation gets in the way.”And Sen. Anna Hernandez, D-Phoenix, said there would be another benefit: getting rid of the cookie-cutter homes and creating more neighborhoods where each house is individual.But the real heart of the measure is not about amenities and design. It’s about zoning.It would spell out that, for new developments of more than five acres, cities cannot require a minimum lot size of more than 1,500 square feet in any area zoned for single-family homes.Also gone would be minimum square footage or dimensions for any single-family home as well as requirements to set back a house more than 10 feet from the front or back lot line or more than 5 feet on either side.Now the future of the entire package rests with the governor.She has until Monday to sign or veto the measure. And if she does neither, it becomes law without her signature.Gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater was noncommittal, saying his boss is still studying the measure. But the govern …

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