By YourValley
A Buckeye housing development stalled by a statewide moratorium could soon move forward under a new Arizona law that allows farmland to be converted into residential neighborhoods while conserving groundwater.
Gov. Katie Hobbs last month signed Senate Bill 1611, a bipartisan “ag-to-urban” measure that takes effect Sept. 26. The law permits landowners to retire irrigated farmland and transfer a portion of their historical water use to housing developments, under strict conservation and replenishment requirements.
The legislation was backed by developers including Cowley Companies, which owns land in Buckeye where a project was halted due to the governor’s 2024 decision on groundwater-based assured water supply determinations.
