A lengthy process: “Because land zoned for apartments is so difficult to come by, most apartment developers — affordable or not — need to go through… multiple rounds of public hearings and approval from the City Council.” It’s also not cheap: “There are legal costs for a zoning attorney, money for hiring experts to write impact studies that answer questions like how the apartments will affect traffic, schools and the provision of public services, and staff time spent on various meetings and submittals.”
Commenting on this AZCentral story, Rose Law Group Founder and President Jordan Rose tells RLGR: “Zoning cases for apartment buildings have various dynamics that really just call out for more communication with nearby existing neighbors.” Each is unique: As Rose explains, “Neighbors are usually initially fearful the building will look menacing and create host of problems that just need to be discussed. Every neighborhood and zoning case for apartments is different.” Case in point: “We had one where the positive turning point was when the neighbors realized the apartment building could provide an ability for whole generations of families to live in close proximity to each other. They are all different.”