Bisbee declares housing crisis, takes steps to increase affordable housing via zoning

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A historic mining town nestled in southern Arizona’s Mule Mountains declared a housing emergency and is taking steps to address a housing shortage.

The Bisbee City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday expanding zoning laws to allow for an increase of housing density on underutilized or vacant lots in certain areas in Bisbee.

Two weeks earlier, the council passed a resolution declaring a housing emergency, stating the need to prioritize affordable housing and urging the state Legislature to allow for local control of zoning laws.

Bisbee followed in the footsteps of Sedona, which declared a housing emergency two months earlier.

“We need housing and I’m going to be sending this up to the Legislature through a group of us mayors that are doing this… We think that local control is the best way to go and the best way to solve our problems,” said Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge at a Feb. 18 city council meeting.

This resolution is a response to state legislative bills that have been aimed at overriding local zoning controls, and accessory dwelling unit requirements for the last couple years according to city officials.

What will the zoning expansion mean for Bisbee residents?

The ordinance passed Tuesday to expand zoning laws, is one effort Bisbee is taking to address the city’s lack of housing. The ordinance allows additional housing to be built on existing lots near amenities like parks, schools and shopping areas, as well as near existing amenities like sewer lines, power lines, streets and roads.

City planning officials said the housing types that could be built include cottages, duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes.

“It’s a great idea,” said Pete Skinner, a Bisbee councilmember, at a Jan. 21 work session on the resolution. “We need more affordable housing. We need more duplexes and triplexes … there is really not very many in this town at all. I’m all for it.”

The zone expansion reduced minimum lot sizes to 2,500 square feet compared to 6,000 square feet for a single-family home and allows for range of buildings, from duplexes to tiny homes.

The infill development could reduce the cost per resident to maintain infrastructure, city officials said. As more people pay property taxes, more money can go towards community and infrastructure projects. The flexible zoning code could also attract housing developers.

“This will be the first step. Before you can attract developers, you’ve got to have the zoning, so they don’t have to fight the zoning laws,” Budge said.

The Bisbee mayor said he first saw the need for more flexible zoning options when the city had to remove a tiny home in Saginaw. Even though the tiny home would have been a suitable addition to the neighborhood, the zoning code did not allow for one to be built.

Housing officials said the benefits of the zoning expansion could be seen shortly after the overlay zone goes into effect, and residents could get relief as soon as one year as Bisbee solicits bids for a property called Sierra Cobre.

Sierra Cobre is a 16-acre property off Melody Lane, near the county’s administration buildings. The city said this ordinance, which will go into effect in April, will benefit the developer chosen for this property. City officials said after speaking with the applicants, the city could see around 25 units built on this property, with the potential for future expansion.

Why is Bisbee facing an affordable housing crisis?

City officials blame the large number of vacation rentals for the lack of affordable housing options.

Recent data shows that out of 2,600 occupied housing units about 9% of Bisbee’s housing stock is short-term rentals, Budge said.

“Of course, Sedona is the poster child of what’s going on with this, but we’re not very far behind if you consider the amount of units we have,” he said.

The city has spent the last several years trying to address the issue of affordable housing. In 2021, the city partnered with the nonprofit Step Up Bisbee/Naco as part of the Bisbee Workforce Housing Initiative to remediate dilapidated houses and sell them below market value to essential workers. Since the formation of the Workforce Housing program, the program has completed 10 homes.

In 2022, Bisbee passed an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units. That was two years before Gov. Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2720, legalizing the construction of casitas, or auxiliary dwelling units.

Bisbee also acquired Hillcrest apartments to turn the historic former hospital into affordable housing. This project has been stalled due to a lack of available low-income housing credits. City Manager Stephen Pauken said although two buyers completed bids to purchase the building, the sale was contingent on obtaining low-income housing tax credits, which it failed to win.

What happened in Sedona?

Similar to Bisbee, Sedona also blames vacation rentals as part of the lack of housing options.

The vibrant northern Arizona city has led the call for help in local control over short-term rentals. In January, the Sedona City Council passed a resolution declaring a housing shortage emergency while urging state lawmakers to pass a law allowing local governments to regulate the number and location of short-term rental units.

The city has struggled to address its affordable housing crisis and previously introduced different programs and incentives to prevent short-term rentals and for homeowners to rent to local workers or displaced long-term residents.

The resolution came after the number of short-term rentals tripled from 400 units at the beginning of 2020 to approximately 1,203 in October 2024.

Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bisbee declares housing crisis, approves denser zoning