The new casita law anticipates Gilbert’s regulations | News

Last week, Gilbert had to scrap proposed changes to accessory dwelling unit standards after the governor signed a new law that takes away local control over these structures.

According to the new regulations, owners of single-family houses will be able to legally build a maximum of two plots for rent – one adjacent to the main house and the other in the yard.

Homes on acre and larger lots can be placed in three units. Cities cannot force additional parking or require ADUs to look similar to the primary home.

The new law goes into effect 90 days after the state legislature ends its session. It is not known when the session will end, as not even a preliminary state budget for 2024-25 has been proposed.

City staff has been working for more than a year to amend the city’s zoning code to streamline the process and ensure design standards are on par with the rest of Gilbert, Planning Director Eva Cutro said during last week’s study session.

She noted that demand for ADUs, or casitas, in the city has doubled in the last three years.

“We will now need to make changes to comply with House Bill 2720,” Cutro said. “House Bill 2720 states that a municipality must adopt regulations by January 1, 2025, or residential development will be allowed on all lots in the municipality without restrictions.

“So we will have to quickly come up with a code language. We will meet soon before January 1.”

Cutro said Gilbert is currently more generous than its neighbors and already allows a guest house and one accessory dwelling unit to be built on lots 6,000 square feet and larger with a certificate of occupancy. She said it was unclear whether the law would apply to all remaining residential lots in the city.

“Many other municipalities only allow one or don’t allow at all,” Cutro said.

Where the city differs from the new law is that it allows an accessory detached dwelling unit on lots of one acre or larger, but that third unit must be “restricted affordable housing,” according to Cutro.

Affordable is defined as households earning up to 80% of the area median income, she added. Mayor Brigette Peterson pointed out that in Gilbert’s case, that equates to a household income of about $81,000.

According to Cutro, under the current Gilbert code, guesthouses cannot be rented or have a full kitchen, while ADUs can be rented and have a kitchen.

“House Bill 2720 makes no distinction between the two,” Cutro said. “Additional housing may or may not include kitchen facilities, but prohibits municipalities from imposing restrictions on long-term rental housing.

“If you look at long-term rentals, their definition was 90 days or month to month.”

Cutro said the law also does not require the tenant to be related to the landlord in some way.

She said Gilbert currently only allows rentals of the main house and an ADU, but under the new law, larger lots can be rented to a maximum of three people.

According to Cutro, under city code, secondary dwelling units, except those built above a detached garage, must meet the same requirements as the primary home.

Under the new law, municipalities cannot place rear and side obstructions to ADUs that are more than 5 feet from a property line.

This is probably the biggest change, according to Cutro, as the city now requires ADUs on residential lots to have side and rear setbacks of 30 and 40 feet, respectively.

“Only in our smallest plots are we starting to get close to 5- to 3-foot setbacks,” she said.

The new law also eliminates the city’s requirement that ADU designs be consistent in materials, colors and architectural style with the principal residential building.

Cutro said the city has rejected requests to build container homes on the lots because they don’t correspond to the main house on the property.

She added that Gilbert is prohibited by law from requiring the ADU to provide additional on-site parking. Currently, the city requires an ADU to provide one additional off-street parking space.

“And finally, the Zoning Code requires administrative occupancy approval for all accessory dwelling units, and throughout this process, staff inspects the dwelling unit to ensure it fits in with the main home,” she said.

“Letters are also being sent to neighbors to let them know that additional housing may be built in their neighborhood. While they cannot make demands, they can certainly make suggestions during this time.

“Under House Bill 2720, accessory dwelling units are now permitted. So legally you can have them. Therefore, it would be sufficient to apply for a building permit and no occupancy permit would be required.

Although the new law requires a single-family home to have more square footage than an accessory dwelling unit, Peterson noted that “there is no minimum, maximum or percentage.”

“So if I have a 2,000-square-foot house, the other one could be 1,999 square feet if they fit on the property,” Peterson asked.

That’s what employees assume, Cutro responded by saying they were still checking the language.

Councilwoman Kathy Tilque criticized state legislators for the bill.

“It really takes away the opportunity for the public to participate in what’s going on in their community and neighborhood,” Tilque said.

She then asked what impact this law has on HOAs.

Cutro stated that it is her understanding that the law will impact HOAs “that currently have no restrictions on ADU standards in their CC&R facilities.

According to City Attorney Chris Payne, the law expressly allows HOAs that have banned ADUs in their CC&R centers to continue to comply with the ban.

“I assume the HOA could ban if it goes through this process and changes its existing CC&Rs,” he said.

Peterson approached the city’s HOA.

“If there are HOAs listening right now that don’t have ADUs in their CC&Rs and want to update something, they have 90 days from the close of session,” Peterson said.

Councilman Jim Torgeson expressed “exasperation with our Legislature.”

“You almost wonder why we’re here,” he said. “They tell us how to manage our municipality remotely.

“I support people having secondary housing for a myriad of reasons. But doing it this way is counterproductive to society.”

According to the governor and legislators, the new law is a response to the lack of housing in the state.

However, those who lobbied against HB 2720 objected to this claim because the law did not prohibit ADUs from being used for short-term rentals like Airbnbs.

“I’m pleased that the Legislature has heeded my calls for commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will expand housing options and help mitigate the effects of rising costs, making life more affordable for everyday Arizonans,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. in a statement.

The governor also signed HB2721 last week, which is expected to spur construction of new and smaller “mid-housing” options, such as duplexes, triplexes and townhouses.

The law states that cities with 75,000 people or larger must allow construction companies to build such homes on all single-family lots within a mile of the central business district, areas designated by cities.

Bob Christie of Capitol Media Services contributed to this story.