PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix has been forced to revise its regulations for accessory dwelling units and city leaders are not pleased about it.
On Wednesday, the Phoenix City Council voted to approve changes to rules regulating backyard casitas, or accessory dwelling units, in order to comply with new laws passed by the Arizona Legislature.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: La Ciudad de Phoenix renuentemente se apega a las reglas estatales sobre casas en patios traseros
"I'm not really happy with it," Councilwoman Laura Pastor said before Wednesday's vote, noting how the city passed an ordinance last year on ADUs and that ordinance's language will now have to change.
City officials had hoped its ADU ordinance would increase Phoenix's housing supply during a time when residents continue to feel the financial pinch of expensive rents and home prices.
But when Gov. Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2720 earlier this year, the city was forced to make the following revisions to its ADU standards:
- The number of permitted dwellings increases from one to two ADUs per lot with a single-family home. A third ADU will be permitted on lots measuring at least one acre and one of the ADUs is considered "affordable housing."
- The design of an ADU no longer has to match with the exterior of the single-family home.
- Setbacks for ADUs have been reduced to five feet where adjacent to a side property line.
Perhaps most notably, the city has removed its previous prohibition of not letting residents rent out an ADU as a short-term vacation rental.
Phoenix's leaders said the city had been making innovations in addressing the Valley's housing shortage and feel the new state law hinders the work they've already done.
"No matter what Phoenix leads on, the state continues to punish us and I don't understand why," Councilwoman Ann O'Brien said on Wednesday.
The council expressed reluctance with revising the city's ADU regulations, claiming the changes are a "disservice" to the local community.
"Unfortunately, I'm voting 'yes' because I don't want to be penalized financially by the Legislature," Vice Mayor Debra Stark said.
More info on HB 2720 can be found below: