By Justin Mathews | Pinal Post
San Tan Valley Town Manager Brent Billingsley presented a legislative update to the town council on February 4, 2026, covering eight Arizona bills related to local government authority over zoning, home design standards, permitting, and road funding. Several have already cleared committee votes. Billingsley asked residents to contact their local legislative delegation about the measures. “We talk every year at the state level, at the county level, at the league level about the number one priority that we all have, which is to preserve local control,” Billingsley told the council. He described that as “the ability at the lowest level, which is this town council, to make decisions” on “planning, land use, zoning, building safety, codes, et cetera.”
House Bill 2588 and Senate Bill 1431 would prohibit Arizona municipalities from setting aesthetic design standards for single-family homes and accessory dwelling units. Under these measures, municipalities could no longer regulate materials, colors, window styles, roof pitch, façade design, garages, driveways, fencing, or outdoor improvements for single-family homes and accessory dwelling units. The bills would also bar requirements for shared amenities, gates, walls, or perimeter enclosures that need a homeowners’ association to maintain. Building codes, fire codes, public health and safety regulations, minimum parking requirements, and dark sky ordinances would remain in effect. Historic districts, tribal land, and land in high noise or accident potential zones near military airports would be exempt.
The bills would also prevent municipalities from using the permit process to enforce design preferences. Under both measures, a city or town could not deny, delay, or conditionally approve a building permit based on any design requirement the bills prohibit — even indirectly through other rules or stipulations. HB 2588, sponsored by Rep. Michael Way (R), has a hearing scheduled for February 10 in the House Commerce Committee. SB 1431, sponsored by Sen. Shawnna Bolick (R), has bipartisan support from four Republicans and three Democrats in the Senate and two Republicans and one Democrat in the House. It is pending before the Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency Committee. “We need to be very mindful,” Billingsley said, noting the bills “would essentially do the same thing” across both chambers.
