Peoria staff outline state-mandated "middle housing" changes, warn of loss of local controls if deadline missed

Peoria planning staff told the Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 18 that state legislation called out in meeting materials as “house bill 27 21” requires the city to permit certain “middle housing” types — duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhouses — on qualifying single-family lots by Jan. 1, 2026, and that the law leaves little local discretion. Planning Director Hawkes and staff member Elias Valencia led the study-session presentation and answered commissioners’ questions.

The item matters because staff said the bill is largely preemptive: if Peoria does not adopt compliant code language by the 2026 deadline, the law could allow middle housing on every single-family lot in the city without the local controls the city now applies, staff said. That could remove the city’s ability to require setbacks, height limits, parking above the statutory minimum, or other design controls that currently shape neighborhoods.

Staff summarized the bill’s two main applicability scenarios. First, the statute requires jurisdictions with populations of 75,000 or more (including Peoria) to allow middle housing as a permitted use on lots zoned single-family within a one-mile radius of the city’s designated central business district — which Peoria staff said the city designated as the Peoria Sports Complex (P83). Staff said their inventory shows roughly 2,200 single-family lots lie inside that one-mile radius. Second, the bill requires jurisdictions to allow middle housing on 20% of the land area of any new development of 10 contiguous acres or more; staff said that second scenario applies citywide for qualifying new development.

Staff noted several statutory exemptions that remove parcels from the requirement, including county islands, areas without urban services such as sewer or water, and the defined military vicinity around Luke Air Force Base (staff said the Luke exemption extends 10 miles north, south and west and 4 miles east of the base and currently excludes much of South Peoria). Staff also said planned-area development (PAD/PCD) and planned community development (PCD) overlays that are not zoned straight single-family are not automatically included under the statute’s “single-family zoned” trigger; staff counted only straight single-family zoning categories in the one-mile analysis.

Staff emphasized several specific statutory constraints that will be built into the local code because the bill limits local regulatory choices: the bill prevents jurisdictions from imposing more restrictive rules than those that apply to single-family lots, bars a local requirement of more than one parking space per middle-housing unit, and allows use of the International Residential Code (IRC) standards rather than commercial building code for these housing types in some circumstances. Staff also said the statute does not require an owner to occupy any unit; owners may rent or sell units.

Commissioners asked practical questions about maximum unit counts on a single lot (staff said the law contemplates duplex to fourplex product types for typical lots but acknowledged a property owner could consolidate lots and develop multiple buildings if setbacks, lot coverage and other local dimensional standards could be met), how lot coverage is calculated (staff: anything under roof counts; some open-air features can be counted differently under current code), whether homeowners associations can block the change (staff: the bill is silent on HOAs; CC&Rs are private contracts and would be a private enforcement matter), and whether neighbors could appeal an administrative permit (staff: if a qualifying middle-housing proposal meets the statute and the implementing code, it would be a permitted use and not subject to a public hearing or a Planning & Zoning discretionary decision).

Staff described the implementation timeline presented in the packet: staff will return to the commission Oct. 2 with draft ordinance language, seek a recommendation on Oct. 16, and aim for a City Council hearing on Nov. 18 so the city is in place before the Jan. 1, 2026 effective deadline. Staff warned of a “penalty clause” in the law that could allow middle housing without local limitations on noncompliant jurisdictions.

Staff reiterated that Peoria has already provided a variety of housing products compatible with middle housing through PAD/PCD tools and other code allowances, and told the commission that their current assessment shows limited exposure under the one-mile scenario because most affected lots already contain single-family homes.

Commissioners and staff discussed follow-up steps staff will present in October; no formal action was taken at the Sept. 18 study session.

The commission will receive the draft ordinance Oct. 2, deliberate again Oct. 16 and staff anticipates a council hearing Nov. 18, staff said.