Assigned to FICO AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2721
municipal zoning; middle housing
Purpose
Requires certain municipalities to allow, as a permitted use, the development of duplexes,
triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes on all lots zoned for single-family residential use.
Background
Statute authorizes municipalities to adopt zoning ordinances and codes to conserve and
promote the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare. A municipality may:
1) regulate the use of buildings, structures and land between agriculture residence, industry and
business; 2) regulate the location, height, bulk, number of stories and size of buildings and
structures, the size and use of lots, yards, courts and other open spaces, the percentage of a lot that
may be occupied by a building or structure, access to incident solar energy and the intensity of
land use; 3) establish requirements for off-street parking and loading; 4) establish and maintain
building setback lines; and 5) establish floodplain and age-specific community zoning districts and
districts of historical significance (A.R.S. § 9-462.01).
The governing body of a municipality must adopt by ordinance a citizen review process
that applies to all rezoning and specific plan applications that require a public hearing. The citizen
review process must include at least: 1) notifying adjacent landowners and other potentially
affected citizens of the application; 2) informing adjacent landowners and other potentially
affected citizens on the substance of the proposed rezoning; and 3) providing adjacent landowners
and other potentially affected citizen an opportunity to express any issues or concerns regarding
the rezoning. Any zoning ordinances that propose to change property from one zone to another,
that imposes any regulation not previously imposed or that removes any such regulation previously
imposed must be adopted following procedures in accordance with the citizen review process and
in the manner set for public hearings (A.R.S. § 9-462.03).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires, by January 1, 2026, a municipality with a population of 75,000 persons or more to
authorize by ordinance and incorporate into its development and zoning regulations and other
official controls the development of duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes as a
permitted use on all lots zoned for single-family residential use. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2721
Page 2
2. Prohibits the municipality from:
a) discouraging the development of middle housing through unreasonable costs, fees, delays
or other requirements or actions, which individually or cumulatively make impracticable
the permitting, siting or construction of middle housing;
b) restricting middle housing types to less than two floors or a floor area ratio of less than
one;
c) setting restrictions, permitting or review processes for middle housing that are more
restrictive that those for single-family dwellings within the same zone;
d) requiring owner occupancy of any structures on the lot; or
e) requiring any structure to comply with a commercial building code or to contain a fire
sprinkler.
3. Requires the municipality to allow the property owner to determine the location, number and
form of off-street vehicle parking spaces.
4. Stipulates that the middle housing requirements do not prohibit the governing body of a
municipality from allowing:
a) single-family dwellings in areas zoned for single-family dwellings; or
b) additional types of middle housing not required under the middle housing requirements.
5. Stipulates that the middle housing requirements do not apply to areas that:
a) are not incorporated;
b) lack sufficient urban services;
c) are not serviced by municipal water and sewer services;
d) are not zoned for residential use;
e) are not incorporated and are zoned under an interim zoning designation that maintains the
area's potential for planned urban development.
6. Requires middle housing to be allowed on all lots in the municipality zoned for single-family
residential use without any limitations if the municipality does not adopt the regulations
required by the middle housing requirements.
7. Defines duplex as a parcel or lot with two dwelling units that are designed for residential
occupancy by up to two households living independently from each other.
8. Defines triplex as a parcel or lot with three dwelling units that are designed for residential
occupancy by up to three households living independently from each other.
9. Defines fourplex as a parcel or lot with four dwelling units that are designed for residential
occupancy by up to four households living independently from each other.
10. Defines townhomes as dwelling units that are constructed in a row of two or more attached
units in which each dwelling unit shares at least one common wall with an adjacent unit and
that are accessed by separate outdoor entrances.
11. Defines middle housing as building that are compatible in scale, form and character with
single-family houses and that contain two or more attached, detached, stacked or clustered
homes, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2721
Page 3
12. Defines floor area ratio as the ratio of allowed square footage in a middle housing project to
the square footage of the parcel on which it is built.
13. Defines household as either:
a) a single person living or residing in a dwelling or place of residence; or
b) two or more persons living together or residing in the same dwelling or place of residence.
14. Defines permitted use as the ability for a development to be approved without requiring a
public hearing, variance, conditional use permit, special permit or special exception, other than
a discretionary zoning action to determination that a site plan conforms with applicable zoning
regulations.
15. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
• Eliminates fiveplexes from the middle housing requirements.
House Action Senate Action
GOV 2/15/24 DP 5-4-0-0 FICO 3/18/24 DPA 6-1-0
3
rd
Read 3/12/24 36-18-6-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 25, 2024
JT/cs