By Bob Christie | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Court rules Arizona Department of Water Resources acted illegally in 2023 when it restricted housing development in Phoenix over water supply concerns
- The state water department’s decision affected thousands of home sites
- ADWR says it will appeal the ruling
The Arizona Department of Water Resources acted illegally when it changed its housing development regulations regarding groundwater and homes built in metro Phoenix in 2023 — a decision which left builders with thousands of lots they could not develop.
The April 21 decision from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney came via a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona and lawyers with the Goldwater Institute. They alleged that the Water Resources Department violated state law by changing how it evaluated the availability of groundwater that builders have long relied upon to meet demands of new homes.
Blaney agreed, writing that the department sidestepped the law when it unilaterally adopted a new formula for determining if a builder could pump enough groundwater to support new construction without going through a formal rulemaking process.
