PHOENIX — Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien has rolled out a sweeping proposal aimed at tackling Arizona’s housing shortage by expanding supply and removing barriers to development.
The plan highlights the need for zoning changes, updated policies, and legal adjustments at the city, state, and even federal levels. It builds on Phoenix’s existing Housing Phoenix Plan, which set a goal of creating or preserving 50,000 homes by 2030 — a milestone the city reached last year.
Key elements of the proposal include:
Pushing for a state law requiring all cities to invest in homeless services relative to their population.
Banning source-of-income discrimination in housing statewide.
Raising the Phoenix City Council’s threshold to block affordable housing projects, making it harder to deny them.
Shortening the liability period for developers on condominium projects to encourage new construction.
Using AI tools in planning and improving communication between city, county, and industry leaders.
Reviewing city-owned land as potential housing sites.
O’Brien said the goal is to bring together local, regional, and statewide solutions to meet demand in a region where affordability challenges continue to grow.
Arizona currently faces an estimated 270,000-unit housing deficit, according to the state Department of Housing. O’Brien stressed that Phoenix cannot resolve the issue alone, pointing to examples from Florida and California, where state-level reforms have sped up multi-family and small-scale housing development.
“When you cut out some of the red tape, homes get to market faster,” she said.
The proposal, if adopted, would mark one of the city’s most significant housing reform efforts in recent years.
