Phoenix: Arizona House Kills Bill to Protect Historic Neighborhoods From Middle Housing Demolitions

The Arizona House voted 25-30 on Monday to kill a bill that would have shielded historic neighborhoods from being torn down and replaced with multifamily housing. The defeat leaves a 2024 "middle housing" law in full force, allowing developers to build duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and townhomes within a mile of central business districts in cities including Phoenix and Tucson.

The measure, Senate Bill 1118, was sponsored by Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix. Gress had watered down his original proposal after it stalled in the Senate. The compromise version would have barred middle housing development on sites where a building had been designated as historic, unless demolition was necessary due to public health or safety concerns.

"We do not want developers buying perfectly good historic houses, tearing them down to build multifamily housing," Gress said before the vote. "Under the current law, that is perfectly permissible, and cities and towns can't do anything to stop that."

The bill drew opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Housing advocates and developers lobbied heavily against it, arguing it would undermine the 2024 middle housing law designed to expand Arizona's housing supply.

Former Sen. Steve Kaiser, one of the original advocates for the 2024 law, was introduced to the House chamber shortly before the vote. Kaiser confirmed he was lobbying against SB 1118.

"It would completely unwind the middle housing bill," Kaiser said in a text message.

Phoenix Democrats joined the opposition. Rep. Sarah Liguori, D-Phoenix, argued the bill went in the wrong direction.

"I think that we can get to preservation and I think that we can produce a greater diversity of housing supply," Liguori said. "I don't think this policy gets to that. What this bill does is it goes backwards; it reduces property rights; it reduces property values by diminishing the use back to single-family use."

Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, also voted no. She said she supported Gress' efforts to protect downtown Phoenix neighborhoods but objected to creating carveouts for only some homeowners.

"The rule for thee is not the rule for me, and I hate that kind of attitude," Martinez said.

Gress blamed Spencer Kamps, the main lobbyist for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, and Kaiser, who lobbies for the Arizona Housing Coalition, for killing the bill.

"I want to thank them for coming in and blocking this bill, even though we watered it down so much that it's doing (just) one key thing related to protecting perfectly good historic homes," Gress said in his floor speech.

Gress changed his vote to "no" in a procedural move that allows him to seek another vote before the legislative session ends at the end of June.

"Make no mistake, this issue is not over," Gress said. "We will continue to advocate for communities and neighbors and historic preservation and this isn't the last word on it."

What the 2024 middle housing law requires

The 2024 law went into full effect early this year. It requires Arizona cities and towns to allow the following developments within a mile of their central business districts:

• Duplexes
• Triplexes
• Fourplexes
• Townhomes

Residents of historic neighborhoods in Phoenix, Tucson, and other cities raised concerns that the law would allow developers to buy up and demolish older homes. SB 1118 was intended to address those concerns.

What happens next

The bill is not dead. Gress' procedural move opens a path to bring it back for another vote. The Arizona Legislature's session ends at the end of June. If Gress cannot gather enough support before then, the fight over historic neighborhood protections will likely move to the ballot or to the next legislative session.