Tucson presents third annual update on housing affordability strategy; city highlights pipeline and zoning changes

Tucson Mayor and Council heard the city’s third annual update on its Housing Affordability Strategy during the January 7 study session, with Housing and Community Development staff laying out progress on development, preservation and zoning measures meant to expand affordable housing across the housing continuum.

The update matters because city staff say the region remains underproducing housing and faces competing demands — emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, affordable multifamily and single-family units — and because the city is using local funds, federal grants and zoning changes to close financing and permitting gaps.

Director of Housing and Community Development Anne Chineka and Interim Director of Planning and Development Services Corin Manning led the presentation, summarizing 10 initiatives in the strategy and citing projects under construction and in development. Chineka said the city “works across the housing continuum” and argued that preservation of existing city-owned stock and targeted gap funding are central priorities. “Keeping people in their homes is one of the best ways to move towards housing affordability,” she said.

Officials said the city directly owns roughly 2,000 housing units across public housing and the El Portal portfolio; they said about 550 of those are single-family scattered homes. The city’s Housing Choice Voucher program serves “over 7,000 households” comprising “over 17,000 residents,” according to staff. Chineka told council staff are working on a financial stability plan for the city-owned portfolio and three priority projects for the coming year: the Tucson House rehabilitation project (408 units), a strategy for the single-family homes in the portfolio, and work on the Craycroft Tower Apartments.

Staff described several projects already in the pipeline: Milagro on Oracle (nearing completion and included in the presentation images), Amazon Flats (a conversion of a former motel to 30 studio apartments to provide permanent supportive housing with on-site services from Old Pueblo Community Services), Sugar Hill on Stone (a planned 66-unit family project) and Rincon Manor (an 84-unit senior affordable development that used an expedited permitting pilot).

On financing, staff emphasized the role of gap funding to improve competitiveness for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) rounds. They said local gap awards of roughly $500,000 make applications more competitive and catalyze private equity: staff cited a typical pattern whereby about $500,000 of local support helps bring roughly $18–20 million of private equity for a 9% tax-credit project of about 75 units. Staff warned that federal funding used for gap financing may be less reliable in the future.

Planning and Development Services described an affordable-housing fast-track permitting pilot that assigned a dedicated project manager to LIHTC projects and compressed review time frames; staff said site-plan approval for Rincon Manor took about 2½ months under the pilot versus typical longer timeframes. Planning staff also described a proposed “community corridors” optional zoning tool that would allow additional height and density, reduced parking and setbacks, and design requirements (wide sidewalks, shade, open space) to encourage transit-oriented mixed-use redevelopment of underutilized sites. Staff said the corridor tool could yield, on one modeled 7-acre arterial site, about 190 housing units in a mixed-use layout that transitions to surrounding neighborhoods.

Chineka and Manning described other recent code and program changes: an updated ADU ordinance adopted last year now allows two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) per lot and a third on sites of an acre or more if the third unit is restricted as affordable housing; a casita model plan library (seven preapproved plans, funded by AARP grant) aims to reduce time and cost for homeowners building ADUs; and an adaptive reuse code amendment adopted in December adds a tool for converting commercial buildings and includes an affordable-housing requirement for projects using that path.

Councilmembers asked about how production projections translate to private-market behavior, eviction-prevention measures and the types of units in demand. Staff said 2023 production in the city exceeded 2,000 units (about half single-family and half multifamily) and that most immediate demand on public-housing waiting lists remains for one- and two-bedroom units. Staff also said the city is working with Pima County on eviction prevention and highlighted an award from HUD (discussed separately by the city’s legislative update) that will include funding for eviction-prevention services and manufactured-home assistance.

Staff reported that, at present, about 1,200 affordable units are in active development citywide in various stages; they also said a consultant’s updated housing-needs assessment projects a need of roughly 13,000 units to address current homelessness and underproduction, and — when accounting for growth over the coming decade — a projection of up to about 35,000 units across the housing continuum. Staff called that latter figure a prediction rather than a firm target.

The presentation included staffing and capacity updates: new HCD positions (a deputy director focused on development, a community development manager, a management coordinator — Antonio Carranza — focused on financial transactions and project management, and a lead planner, Evern Somez, working on HUD submissions), and Planning and Development Services adding a project manager dedicated to affordable housing permitting. Staff said collaboration with the Drachman Institute (listed in the presentation as the Drockman Institute) and other partners will support middle-housing code updates required by the state’s 2024 middle housing law.

Why this matters: city staff said the mix of zoning changes, gap-funding tools, streamlined permitting and targeted use of city-owned sites is intended to accelerate affordable housing delivery. Several councilmembers and staff warned that funding uncertainty — at the state and federal level — and complex household needs mean the city must keep scaling efforts and coordinating with county and nonprofit partners.

Chineka said the city will return with more detailed budget requests and additional project updates to the Public Housing Board of Commissioners and mayor and council, including a planned February presentation focused on Tucson House. The council did not take a formal vote on policy changes during the update; the presentation was an informational update with follow-up items and grant applications noted as pending.