SCOTTSDALE, AZ — On Monday night, the Scottsdale City Council passed an ordinance that state lawmakers say does not align with a new Arizona state law that is aimed at tackling the housing crisis.
It is a unique idea: turning old or unused commercial and office buildings into new housing.
Starting next year, a new state law would require cities with more than 150,000 people to put the idea into practice. And it is something the City of Scottsdale is fighting tooth and nail.
“The city is intending to minimize the negative impacts that may come from the proposed legislation… or the enacted legislation,” said Brad Carr, the planning and development manager for the City of Scottsdale.
House Bill 2297, signed by Governor Katie Hobbs, says in part:
"On or before January 1, 2025, the governing body of a municipality with a population of 150,000 or more persons shall establish objective standards to allow multi-family residential development or adaptive reuse on not more than 10% of the total existing commercial, office or mixed-use buildings within the municipality without requiring a conditional use permit, a planned unit development or rezoning application or any other application that would require a public hearing."
The key words at issue are “not more than 10%” and whether that means at least 10% or up to 10%.
State lawmakers say 10% is the minimum for which all commercial real estate buildings that are shown to be economically or functionally obsolete in a given city can be retrofitted or destroyed for new living spaces.
About 10% of those would be saved for moderate or low-income tenants. It will also let developers bypass the rezoning process, which could help speed up construction.
However, state lawmakers are accusing Scottsdale of applying this law to only 1% of their eligible commercial buildings. They are also saying the city is imposing unnecessary eligibility criteria, like how long a building has been empty.
Arizona House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci sent a letter to the city council saying, “The City’s actions not only contravene the law but also jeopardize the legislative intent behind HB2297, which aims to address critical housing needs statewide.”
Scottsdale resident Sonnie Kirtley tells ABC15 she is glad the city is standing up, arguing the city’s interpretation of the state law is within the bounds of the text itself.
“It impacts the grocery stores, it impacts the strip marketing areas, and it’s important, again, to the character of Scottsdale,” said Kirtley, who is also the executive director of the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale.
“You wrote the law, and it said up to 10%. Scottsdale chose 1%,” added Kirtley.
After conferring with their lawyers in a closed executive session, it seemed the council agreed. In a unanimous vote, the council voted to move forward with their interpretation of the state law.
We have not learned if there will be any response by state lawmakers.
