ZONING
Single family zoning has protected the residential character of Arizona neighborhoods for decades, mainly by limiting occupancy to a single true family or 5 or fewer unrelated people, and by requiring leases to be longer than 30 days. SB 1350 stripped these protections away and allows UNLIMITED OCCUPANCY and TRANSIENT LODGING for less than 30 days anywhere in the state. How could this happen? In Arizona the authority to enact zoning ordinances begins with the state. The state then grants zoning authority to counties, cities and towns, which then enact their own zoning ordinances to reflect the local concerns and needs for their communities.
What the state gives it can take away. Since SB 1350 is a state law it pre-empted all local zoning ordinances with regard to STRs, granted STRs UNLIMITED OCCUPANCY and prohibited municipalities from restricting or regulating STRs except in very narrow circumstances. In spite of huge differences in local character and concerns for places like Scottsdale, Yuma, Sun City, Globe, Sedona, etc., the state decided “one size fits all” for STRs across the state, no matter how local communities would be affected or disrupted.
Governor Ducey proudly signed SB1350 into law on June 1, 2016, which stripped away single family zoning throughout Arizona, granted preferential zoning to STRs and allowed the following uses in residential areas:
- Transient Lodging with unlimited occupancy, no on-site management
- RV parks and campgrounds with unlimited occupancy, no on-site management
- Homeless shelters with unlimited occupancy, no on-site management
- “Rent by the hour” hotels/motels with unlimited occupancy, no on-site management
- Etc.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TO REINSTATE SINGLE FAMILY ZONING!
FURTHER THOUGHTS ON ZONING
- 99% of U.S. families have 6 or fewer members. In order to have compatible, conforming uses, single family areas should have an occupancy limit of 6 people, unless it is a true family with more members. Allowing an unlimited number of transients to occupy a single family home defies common sense and is probably the largest source of problems created by SB 1350 and STRs for Arizona neighborhoods.
- If “pre-empting” local zoning is such a good idea, why did Governor Ducey do it only for STRs instead of for every property in the state? Why should STRs get special treatment at the expense of everyone else?
- All other transient lodging facilities classified as residential (like lodging houses or tourist homes) require the operator to be an actual resident of the property to qualify as residential. You need a resident to be residential. Why should STRs be exempt from this common sense requirement?
- All lodging facilities that do not have an actual resident as the operator are classified commercial, not residential. Why should STRs, with UNLIMITED OCCUPANCY, no resident, and not even on-site management, be exempt from this requirement?
- To those STR supporters who argue zoning is unconstitutional, please note: the Supreme Court disagrees. Zoning was established as constitutional with the Village of Euclid v Ambler Realty Co. decision in 1926. Zoning has been accepted as a constitutional municipal authority for almost 100 years.
- Some supporters of STRs claim zoning isn’t necessary since you can sue your neighbors for nuisance. The whole point of zoning is to clearly defining what is “acceptable” for an area or community and thereby avoid the enormous expense and complexity of litigating every neighborhood problem.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TO REINSTATE SINGLE FAMILY ZONING!