HB2721 Passes Unanimously Bringing Multifamily Housing into Historic Neighborhoods

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PHOENIX — After months of fierce pushback from residents, Phoenix City Council unanimously

approved a bill that brings multifamily housing into historic neighborhoods — a move many say

puts profit ahead of affordability.

“The only things that are going to get built are going to be by primarily out-of-state investors

who build short-term rentals or luxury landlords,” one Encanto Manor resident said in opposition

at the Nov. 19 city council meeting.

House Bill 2721, known as the Middle Housing Bill, requires cities with a population greater than

75,000 to rezone all single-family lots into multi-family, allowing the building of duplexes,

triplexes and fourplexes, within a 1-mile radius of downtown.

This radius includes 22 of Phoenix’s 36 historic districts. These neighborhoods feature homes

built more than 50 years ago, many showcasing unique architectural styles and traditional

construction methods.

“The reason our neighborhood is so beautiful, and so safe and so desirable is because we put

our blood, sweat, and tears into making it that way,” a lifelong Willo resident said at the meeting.

The bill aims to create greater density and affordable housing amid the affordable housing crisis

in Arizona. Supporters, including council members and residents, believe middle housing would

give people a realistic chance at homeownership. Many in opposition believe the bill would fuel

profit-driven development.

“The values are too high for any kind of developer to make any real profit on affordable units,”

Phoenix historic preservation consultant and activist, Roger Brevoort, said.

Developers will want to maximize profit, Brevoort said, meaning the multi-family units would

become high-end or short-term rentals, rather than affordable homes for sale.

“Which is not in any way, shape or form affordable housing,” Brevoort said. “That’s economical

nonsense.”

Short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, are already contributing to the affordability crisis and

impacting neighborhoods, Brevoort said.

“That’s already occurring to some degree, the perception is that this bill would accelerate that to

the point of no return,” he added.

The math doesn’t add up for historic neighborhood resident Jamie Cowgill.

“Nobody will come in and pay me $1.5 million to tear [my house] down and build four houses,”

Cowgill said. “You haven’t made any money. You cannot sell that.”

It would more likely become a $3-4,000 per month rental unit, Cowgill said.

“There’s no sensibility to it at all,” she said.

The 1-mile radius the bill targets is already Phoenix’s densest area, said Opal Wagner, co-chair

of Save Historic AZ, a community effort aiming to get historic districts exempted from HB 2721,

and longtime historic district resident.

“Phoenix is 520 square miles. And you’re going to target 5 square miles,” Wagner said. “That’s

just crazy to put that huge of a burden on such a small group of people and a small group of

neighborhoods.”

Beyond affordability and location, Wagner said the homes themselves are held nearest to

residents’ hearts.

“Each little home is a unique, distinct little gem,” Wagner said. “We’re going to lose all of that

architectural richness, architectural diversity and all of the historic context of our city for gain and

profit.”

Historic districts serve as their own economic engine, drawing tourists every year, Wagner said.

“We have home tours every year where we invite the public and it brings in a lot of visitors,”

Wagner said. “People love looking at these old homes.”

After the city council vote approved the bill, Save Historic AZ’s focus will now be “pushing hard

for a bill that exempts historic districts from the Middle Housing law altogether,” according to

their website.

Cowgill, an active member of Save Historic AZ, said they will protect their houses.

“We’ll never give up,” she said. “We will fight.”

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