Along the street of a Central Phoenix neighborhood, there's a little oasis. Maturing trees dotted with oranges and grapefruits lean over footpaths through blossoming wildflowers.
A showerhead hangs over a tree branch, ready to grant a reprieve from the hot Arizona summers, and a mural showing Arizona's transition from dawn to dusk fills an entire cinderblock wall.
This is the result of Nicole Rodriguez and her husband's 15 years of work - but it's missing something.
Rodriguez lives in a house that's just 750 square feet in size, barely enough room for what's soon to be four adults. She knows the housing market won't be so friendly to her two teens, nearly at the age where they're ready to leave the house.
"The reality is, in most cities, it's easier to build a swimming pool than to build a house and put a room over someone's head," Rodriguez said.
Her solution is an accessory dwelling unit, also known as an ADU, casita, or granny flat. Her next big backyard project is a casita for her children to live in as a way to save money while starting adulthood.
But the current challenge for Rodriguez isn't how building a site plan or installing a water line, because Arizona's current law won't allow Rodriguez's plan to come to fruition at all.
That could change with a piece of legislation moving to Governor Katie Hobbs' desk, which will require Arizona cities to allow accessory dwelling units.
House Bill 2720 , dubbed the "casita bill," is the latest effort by state lawmakers to address the state's housing crisis. According to a 2022 legislative study, Arizona is short about 270,000 housing units, and the state's population has only grown since.
The bill has garnered bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and the House placed a final seal of approval on it Wednesday afternoon.
"Why not make it multi-generational?" asked state Rep. Michael Carbone, R-25th District, suggesting the casitas could be used for grandparents or children coming out of college. "That's what this bill does."
The bill would allow ADUs to be built on the properties of single-family homes within a mile of "central business districts" in Arizona cities with populations higher than 75,000.
Similar legislation has already been implemented in other states, but in Arizona, there have been groups vocally against the bill.
"ADUs can have a positive impact," Neal Haddad, president of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, said. "The way this bill is written, it will not."
Haddad and other critics worry the bill will facilitate a boom in short-term rentals - also known as STRs, such as Airbnb - and make Arizona's housing shortage worse. HB 2720 is opposed by the League of Cities and Towns, and the mayor of Scottsdale has spoken out strongly against it, out of concern about the potential for misuse as short-term rentals.
"The solution is simple," Haddad said, suggesting that a 30-day minimum rental period be required for the units. 'Casita bill' critics believe that adjustment would keep STRs from taking over much-needed housing for Arizonans.
Lawmakers supporting the bill have expressed the same concerns about STRs but went a different route to fix the issue. The Senate place an amendment on the bill, requiring owners of an STR to live on the property.
"So, it really cuts down on those investor-owned short-term rentals, which really are creating problems," said state Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-24 th District.
Ortiz explained that the policy had a special significance for the Latino and Hispanic population, which places particular value in care for one's family and community.
However, critics say the amendment is not enforceable.
"We see no penalty in the bill," Haddad said. "So, I don't understand what it's really going to do for anything."
The bill is past the point for changes now, though, as it heads to Hobbs for a veto or a signature.
"I am hopeful because it's really all I can hang onto right now," Rodriguez said.
Hobbs has indicated this legislative term that resolving the housing crisis is a priority for her administration.
Most Popular
Comments / 0