Council directs staff to implement online preapproved housing-plan program to comply with SB1529

At its Jan. 22 meeting, the Huachuca City Council directed staff to begin code changes necessary to comply with Senate Bill 1529 (2025), adopting the staff recommendation to implement Option B: an online program to list preapproved housing design plans.

Town Attorney Thomas Benavidez told the council that SB1529 requires Arizona municipalities to either develop permit-ready design plan sets or establish a program to accept and list such plans for single-family, duplex, triplex and accessory dwelling unit housing. Staff recommended Option B as a lower-cost path: the town would create an online library accepting plan submissions, review them for local-code compliance, and post compliant plan sets to the town website. Dr. Jim Johnson presented the two options outlined in the staff report: Option A—procure architects to produce plans for public use; Option B—create an online library that accepts externally developed plans for review and listing.

Council member Johann Wallace moved to begin the necessary code amendments and to direct staff to implement Option B; the motion was seconded by Cynthia Butterworth and passed unanimously. The minutes record that the program would allow architects to submit plan sets for pre-review, that plan review fees apply as usual, and that property owners would still be responsible for site planning and permitting. The minutes do not specify a timetable for code changes or the budget for implementation.