(July 13, 2023) Green light for Quail Canyon: The Pima County Board of Supervisors approved the rezoning of a former golf course to make way for a housing project at North Oracle and West Rudasill roads, the Arizona Daily Star’s Nicole Ludden reports. Neighbors who opposed the project, which would put 310 housing units on the former Quail Canyon Golf Course, organized under the banner “Save Pima Wash.” They are concerned about damage to riparian areas and traffic congestion. Supervisor Adelita Grijalva was the lone “nay” vote on Tuesday.

(August 4, 2023) Help for homebuyers: Pima Tucson Lighthouse, a down payment assistance program funded by the Tucson Industrial Development Authority and Pima Industrial Development Authority, is accepting applications, the *Star’*s Gabriela Rico reports. The program, which received $25 million in funding from the two groups, allows eligible homebuyers to lock in interest rates of 6.2% on their mortgage and 4% on the down payment assistance, typically around 14%. If the person remains in the home for three years, the down payment assistance is forgiven.

(September 5, 2023) What to do with a budget surplus: Pima County supervisors will consider putting part of the expected budget surplus into affordable housing at their meeting today. District 2 Supervisor Matt Heinz put the item on the meeting agenda.

“We MUST accelerate the building and preservation of affordable housing units across the county if we have any hope of maintaining a community in which all people can afford to live and raise a family,” Heinz wrote.

(September 19, 2023) The City of Tucson and Pima County have ventured into the property business together, with the July purchase of the Knights Inn. The east side motel is replacing the Comfort Inn Suites as the location of the county’s Emergency Eviction Legal Services Emergency Housing program, which provides shelter and assistance to people and families facing eviction. County officials compared working with this particular population to trying to save people from going over a cliff, saying that many times, program participants are able to get back on their feet faster than individuals who have been chronically homeless. (Tucson Agenda)

(September 21, 2023) It’s refreshing when people see a supposedly unfixable problem and say to themselves, “Nah, everything’s fixable.” For the past few months, we’ve watched the issue of homelessness pop up all over the place. City and county officials decided to turn a motel into temporary housing. They created a tier system for homeless encampments, along with a tool for the public to report them. They debated whether housing or treatment for substance abuse should come first. (Tucson Agenda)

(October 27, 2023) End of the line: The federal funds Pima County used to help 17,000 households with rental assistance during the pandemic are going to run out in December, KJZZ’s Alisa Reznick reports. County officials said they used $89 million on rental assistance and now they’re trying to find other funds they can use to keep helping people cover their rent and utilities costs.

(January 22) Tucson-based Bourn Companies is trying to move ahead with Vail Crossings, a master-planned community south of the Cienega Creek Natural Preserve in Vail. The developers pointed to the housing needs of the anticipated 3,000 workers at the Rosemont Mine, about a dozen miles to the south. Bourn asked the Pima County Design Review Committee last week to approve their plans for a mixed-use project on nearly 100 acres of vacant industrial land. Bourn bought the property early last year and Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy championed the project.

(February 5) The state is putting $3.5 million toward a local effort to deal with eviction-related homelessness at the former Knights Inn (which we wrote about last September). The state is joining a bunch of local government entities that already are invested in the effort at the hotel, now know as The Craycroft. The City of Tucson bought the hotel last summer. Pima County moved its Emergency Eviction Legal Services program into the hotel and hired three staff for case management and general support. The Tucson Unified School District ensures children continue at their schools while in the program. Right now, 86 people are staying at the shelter. The money will go toward operating payments to the city, direct rehousing assistance, capital improvements (such as building a fence around the property), food, and hotel/motel vouchers. With the new funding, officials expect the program to continue through 2026.

(February 20) A developer is claiming they lost out on affordable housing contracts in Pima County because of a conflict of interest. The board of supervisors will consider approving $6.9 million to develop or preserve 835 units of affordable housing. They’ll also hear an appeal from Rio Azul Partners and Southwest Nonprofit Housing Corporation. They sent a letter of protest, saying their proposal was scored unfairly due to a conflict of interest on the housing commission that recommended who got the funding. County officials said they reviewed the recommendation process and it was done by the book. (Tucson Agenda)

(February 21) A roof over their heads: The Pima County supervisors approved nearly $7 million for 835 units of affordable housing at their meeting Tuesday, KVOA’s Eric Fink reports. That was welcome news to a local family who just spent six weeks living in a shelter.

"Stability, the ability to always be together and never have to be in fear of being apart," the mother of the family said. "It means no more microwave chicken nuggets, it means actual home-cooked meals.”

(March 14) Housing troubles continue: Despite the low statewide unemployment rate, evictions remain a big problem in Pima County, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. A study from the UA’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women showed about 10% of renters are behind on their rent. The good news is that average rents in Tucson grew by 5%, which is a “significant slowdown.”

(March 19) A step too far: Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have changed how cities like Tucson can regulate housing, Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reports. The Arizona Starter Homes Act got bipartisan support in the Legislature, but some Democrats, and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, opposed it. In the end, Hobbs said “this expansive bill is a step too far and I know we can strike a better balance.” Hobbs cited concerns that higher housing density would make firefighters’ jobs harder, along with residential encroachment on military bases, which can lead to base closures.

(April 17) Evictions drop: In what appears to be some good news, evictions in Pima County fell by more than 40% over the past couple months, AZPM’s Hannah Cree reports. The county saw more than 1,300 evictions in January, but that dropped to about 700 in March. Rent increases also plateaued, but low-income households are still feeling the pinch of rent costs, experts say.

(May 1) Zoning changes incoming: Big changes could be coming to municipal zoning rules for multi-housing units, Capitol Media Services’ Bob Christie reports. State lawmakers are close to a deal with cities that would make it easier to build duplexes and other units on land that currently is zoned for single-family houses. The new rules would apply within one mile of a city’s central business district and also would require cities allow some of those units in developments larger than 10 acres. A vote on the package could come as soon as today.

(May 6) The idea of raising property taxes is still hanging on at the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Matt Heinz urged the rest of the board to consider it last month, alongside Supervisor Sylvia Lee. Now he’s asking Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher to explain exactly how much a 5.61-cent raise in the tax rate would cost the average homeowner. He also wants to talk about the drop in the tax rate in recent years, as well as the financial situation the county would be in if they had raised property taxes in fiscal 2023, as a board policy says they should have done. In a separate agenda item, Heinz wants to establish a Pima County Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing and pointed to property taxes as one way to fund it. He said it would use $10 million annually and be funded by existing property taxes, a new secondary property tax, document recording fees, impact fees, or a sales tax, among other options. (Tucson Agenda)

(May 10) Casita rules: A bill is making its way through the state Legislature that would require cities to allow homeowners to build casitas on their property, Capitol Media Services’ Bob Christie reports. The measure passed the state Senate on Wednesday, but city officials oppose it, partly because it doesn’t block homeowners from using the casitas, or accessory dwelling units, as AirBnBs or other short-term rentals. The measure would override any conflicting parts of the rules approved by officials in Tucson and Phoenix.