Casitas have been billed, with multiple local, and even statewide, efforts to expand their use. Known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), a casita is built in a backyard as a detached rental or guest house.
Mesa homeowner and real estate agent Bob Hunter said he’s concerned about Arizona’s housing shortage, prompting him to start building a casita in his backyard.
“My whole goal was to call attention to the crisis,” Hunter said. “If we wait on developers to build conventional developments, we’re going to be waiting for a long time.”
Hunter began sharing his process on social media to encourage others to do the same.
“We have to address the needs and I think it’s time that homeowners like myself and people in the community step up,” Hunter said.
Many Valley municipalities have already instituted ordinances allowing ADUs and are currently looking to expand the scope of those ordinances.
Recent examples include Phoenix, which passed an ADU ordinance in September.
Mesa is currently looking at ways to help homeowners build larger ADUs, as well as streamline city approval processes.
The city of Tempe is currently taking public comments on expanding its ADU ordinance to potentially allow casitas on single-family lots, among other things.
“Affordability for most cities has been some of the number one challenges we’ve been faced with,” Tempe’s Deputy Community Development Director Ryan Levesque said.
“It’s not going to solve for housing, but it’s going to provide an additional alternative to those affordable housing options.”
In addressing short-term rental questions, Tempe’s proposed changes plan to “restrict the use of an ADU separately for any short-term rent for less than 30 days.”
On a state level, senate lawmakers passed a bill that would require cities with more than 75,000 people to legalize casitas and restrict what municipalities can and cannot control when it comes to ADUs.
Proponents hope adding more casitas will cut down on housing shortages and create more affordable, alternative housing options.
Neal Haddad, with the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, said he agrees with the general idea of casitas for long-term, residential use.
“We need to think about moderation. We need to think about how this is going to affect not only the individual property but neighborhoods as well,” Haddad said.
However, Haddad questions the need for a statewide bill.
“So why do we need this right now? These municipalities already have this,” Haddad said.
