By Mark Carlisle | Daily Independent
On Sept. 6, Phoenix City Council will vote on whether to allow detached guest houses with kitchens.
Guest houses may soon be legal in the city of Phoenix.
Or rather, detached guest houses with kitchens.
The city already allows detached guest houses without kitchens as well as attached units with their own kitchens. On Wednesday, Sept. 6, Phoenix City Council is scheduled to vote on legalizing accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
Council members supporting the move say it could be a small but easy tool to provide more housing, especially for those looking to give family members such as elderly parents or adult children more independence while still living at the same house.
“I think casitas are such low-hanging fruit and obviously very much a partial solution to our housing shortage,” Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari told staff during last week’s Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee meeting. “But I hear from my residents very frequently about their support for this and just the ability for them to be able to build ADUs and house their parents, elderly residents, young adults throughout our city. I think it’s going to be a huge, huge help.”
This month, the zoning ordinance is going through Phoenix’s 15 village planning committees for recommendations. On Thursday, Aug. 3, the Phoenix Planning Commission will give its recommendation before it goes before council in September.
There is plenty of new housing coming on the market in Phoenix, but many council discussions have centered on whether new housing is affordable for low-income residents, those who may be on the verge of homelessness.
Scott Bourque, with the veterans group Arizona Vets Forward, spoke to the committee about the importance of adding more affordable housing to the city’s inventory, both for veterans and the general population.
Bourque spoke about a friend who was a disabled veteran unable to work and forced to live in his car because he cannot afford an apartment in Phoenix.
“Having access to affordable housing like ADUs would help veterans like him avoid homelessness. He’s one missed paycheck away, one missed VA pension check away from being homeless,” Bourque said. “We acknowledge that ADUs aren’t the perfect solution, but they go a long way toward ending veteran homelessness by creating supply to match the demand.”
Unlike duplexes or triplexes, ADUs would be under the same address as the primary residence on the property. Christopher DePerro, a Phoenix planner, said the new ordinance will add definitions for duplex and triplex to the city code for the first time to ensure there is no confusion with the new units.
If approved, ADUs in Phoenix can be built on properties in single-family detached zoning or in multifamily zoning. They would be limited to 75% of the size of the primary dwelling on the property. They are limited to 10% of the net lot size and capped at 3,000 square feet.
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