House committee backs limits on middle housing near demolished historic properties

The Arizona House on March 9 advanced House Bill 23-75 as amended, a measure that would restrict development of duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes on sites where a historic structure listed on the National Register or designated locally was demolished unless demolition was necessary to address a threat to public health, safety or welfare. The Committee of the Whole gave the bill a do-pass recommendation and the floor adopted the sponsor’s amendments.

Representative Gress, the bill sponsor in committee, said the amendment narrows the bill’s focus so it does not bar middle‑housing broadly but instead prevents buyers from demolishing historic homes to build multifamily housing. “What this amendment does is it says you can't buy a historic property just to demolish these historic structures in place of multifamily housing,” Gress said on the floor.

Representative Marquez, a co-sponsor, urged colleagues to support a version that preserves historic neighborhoods while leaving local officials authority to designate which properties are protected. “How do we build affordable housing for the great state of Arizona and at the same time how do we preserve the history that we also have here in Arizona?” Marquez asked, noting the amendment leaves local decision-making to mayors and city councils.

Opponents raised property-rights concerns. Representative Cruz, who said he works as a real-estate appraiser, warned the bill may overrule local zoning choices and “tie the hands” of property owners and municipalities that want middle housing in some historic districts.

The sponsor and supporters said the measure is intended to prevent speculative demolition that replaces historically significant homes with luxury multifamily developments, and they described further negotiations planned in the Senate on exemption language.

What happens next: The House reported HB 23-75 as amended out of the Committee of the Whole to the active calendar; proponents said they expect additional work in the Senate on narrowly targeted exemptions and implementation details.