BISBEE, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Bisbee has been working on ways to make affordable housing more accessible. Now, they’re taking their needs to the state legislature, by declaring a state of emergency for housing.
"It's an emergency that we start to act towards it,” said Bisbee Mayor, Ken Budge.
One of the ways the City of Bisbee is trying to add more affordable housing to the area is by selling an old apartment building in Warren. Last week, they added to their strategies by declaring the emergency.
"We just want to make sure that that the legislature gets the idea that that, yes, we feel that we need to provide more housing, and let us go ahead and do it under local control,” Budge said.
Budge said this declaration is in response to current bills at the state legislature, that affect housing and zoning for local cities.
"It says an emergency because we wanted to put a stamp on it to say, yes, this is serious stuff and we want you to take us seriously,” Budge said.
Budge says he wants local government to control whats happening in cities because each city has different needs.
"It's all about local control, because we as mayors believe that the best way to solve these problems is locally. What works in Bisbee won't necessarily work in Mesa, won't work in Phoenix or won't work in Goodyear,” Budge said.
Bisbee has projects in the works to try and increase the supply of affordable housing in the city. Budge says the Hillcrest building is cleaned up, a $350,000 project. The city is planning to list the property for sale, with the hope of it being turned into affordable housing. The city also works with Step Up Bisbee/Naco, a nonprofit that builds and renovates homes to list at a discounted price for professionals working in Bisbee.
“There's no quick fixes in these types of things,” Budge said.
Budge says that he and the council will vote on Tuesday to approve the new changes to the planning and zoning that will allow for more affordable housing options in Bisbee. The overlay zoning allows for tiny homes, manufactured homes and more affordable housing options to be built or placed on property in the area.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
