Sen. Steve Kaiser
By Sen. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix | YourValley
As the sponsor of Senate Bill 1117, I know with great certainty what’s in the measure, which seeks important changes in state law targeted at solving our housing supply crisis.
As a state senator, I’m more than happy to debate the measure on its merits. But debating a fictional version of the bill? That I cannot do, which is why I’m writing in response to Paradise Valley Councilwoman Julie Pace’s Feb. 8 critique of SB 1117, headlined “Pace: Proposed bill could eliminate town’s 1 home per acre zoning.”
SB 1117 would do no such thing — a fact Pace, an attorney, would surely know if she had read the bill before calling on residents to “Start writing and calling all legislators today.” To be clear, Paradise Valley is exempted from the measure, as is every Arizona city with a population of less than 25,000 residents.
Other points of disinformation include the fact that SB 1117 does not “eliminate single family zoning,” as Pace claims. Nor does the bill “allow use of public right of ways,” “increase short-term rentals everywhere,” or eliminate the “public engagement process completely.” These would all be great scare tactics — if they were in fact true.
