Residents know Arizona’s historic neighborhoods are not wealthy enclaves—they are home to teachers, tradespeople, state employees, retirees, and multi-generational families.
As legislators reconsider SB1118, it’s important to separate fact from fiction. Our letter to AZ House members explains why protecting historic neighborhoods means protecting some of Arizona’s most diverse, affordable, and vibrant communities.
Please read, share, and help ensure your voice is heard by calling or emailing your Representative today and respectfully urging them to vote for SB1118.
#SB1118 #SaveHistoricAZ #HistoricNeighborhoods #ArizonaLegislature
Dear Representative,
We respectfully ask for your support of SB1118 and to look beyond the misleading narrative that this bill is being driven by wealthy or elitist interests.
The fact is many of Arizona’s historic neighborhoods are working-class communities. In Phoenix’s Oakland, Fairview Place, Del Norte Place, Villa Verde, and Woodland Historic Districts, for example, nearly half of households earn less than $50,000 annually. The homes in these communities represent the primary source of wealth and financial security for the generations of families who live and thrive there. They already provide naturally occurring affordable housing and are among the most diverse and densely populated neighborhoods in Arizona.
Arizona inarguably needs more housing for teachers, nurses, etc. and that is who already lives in many of our state’s historic neighborhoods. Tucson’s West University, Sam Hughes and Blenman-Elm historic districts, for example, house many professors and university employees as well as teachers from nearby schools and medical and nursing professionals employed at Banner-University and Tucson Medical Centers.
Many of Arizona’s historic neighborhoods already punch far above their weight in terms of density and diversity, yet the current Middle Housing law puts the onus of “fixing” Arizona’s housing crisis on the backs of a few small neighborhoods, most of them on the National Register of Historic Places, and many with modest homes on small (by today’s standards) 6-8,000 square-foot lots, while wealthier outlying neighborhoods that enjoy large homes on ample lots remain unavailable for added housing in most of our cities. This is not a balanced or equitable approach to solving our state’s housing shortage.
SB1118 restores some of that balance. Most importantly, it does not stop housing development. SB1118 preserves the Middle Housing entitlement of up to four units per lot while simply ensuring that historic homes are not demolished in the process. It is not an exemption bill or a carve-out from Middle Housing. It is a preservation bill.
This is not about privilege. It is about protecting our state’s long-term commitment to historic preservation while allowing more density to be added in a thoughtful and balanced way in our state’s irreplaceable historic neighborhoods.
Thank you for your consideration, and we respectfully urge you to vote YES on SB1118.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Cannon
Opal Wagner
Co-Chairs, Save Historic Arizona
Save Historic AZ 