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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona has a new law aimed at making new homes more affordable by creating an infrastructure financing tool for housing developments.
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Gov. Katie Hobbs and other supporters held a signing ceremony for at a property where new homes are being built near Sonoran Desert Drive, east of Cave Creek Road.
The new law creates state affordability infrastructure districts to help pay for roads, water, sewer and other infrastructure needed for new housing projects.
The infrastructure costs are typically paid early in the development process and can be added to the price of a new home.
But with the new financing tool, those costs can be paid over time while using tax-exempt bonds, “breaking down a massive barrier to housing production,” Hobbs said.
“When we make it easier to finance the infrastructure, we are driving down the purchase price of the home, and Arizonans will feel the difference,” she said.
Hobbs said the measure also levels the playing field.
“For too long, only the wealthiest investors have been able to pay for long-term assets over the entire life of those assets. With this tool, everyday homeowners can effectively do the same for the public infrastructure in their communities, and that leaves more money in their pockets today to reach their goals and provide for their families,” she said.
Rep. Jeff Weninger, a Republican from Chandler, sponsored the measure and said it will speed up construction. It also states that cities, counties and taxpayers outside the project are not responsible for the district’s debt.
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“Arizona needs more homes people can actually afford, and that means we have to be honest about what drives up the cost of building,” Weninger said in a written statement after the ceremony. “Infrastructure is one of the biggest costs baked into the price of a new home.”
The law does not change local control over zoning or land-use decisions. Cities and counties will still handle those approvals.
HB 2999 passed the Legislature with bipartisan support and was officially signed into law last week.
“This is what good government looks like when we focus less on politics and more on solving problems for the people that we serve,” Weninger said.
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