Tucson looks to expand homeless shelter options

For people living or working in Tucson, the city’s effort to make it easier to build homeless shelters could determine whether more residents find a safe place indoors, particularly during the region’s extreme summer heat. Tucson officials are reviewing zoning rules after Mayor and Council declared a housing and homelessness emergency in February 2026. The goal is to identify where shelters can be located, reduce obstacles that prevent them from being built, and create more opportunities for service providers to expand emergency housing.

The city’s Planning and Development Services Department partnered with the University of Arizona’s Drachman Institute for a community meeting focused on the current zoning code. Residents were asked to consider what changes could support new shelters and to share concerns, preferences and ideas about potential locations. Participants wrote comments and placed pins on a map showing where they would want a shelter if they needed one. One attendee called for more shelters and more possible sites, along with fewer restrictions and administrative hurdles for organizations providing services.

The need is substantial. Tucson’s most recent Point-in-Time count identified more than 1,200 people living without shelter, according to Amanda Smith, a lead planner with the city. She cautioned that the figure likely understates the problem because outreach workers cannot find everyone during the count. A separate 2025 count identified more than 2,200 people experiencing homelessness in Pima County, a 5.5 percent increase from the prior year. The two figures cover different areas, dates and categories, but together reflect the growing pressure on Tucson and the surrounding region.

Statewide data shows that pressure is part of a broader Arizona trend. The state’s homeless population rose from about 10,000 people before the COVID-19 pandemic to more than 15,000 in the 2025 Point-in-Time count. Nearly two-thirds of that statewide total were in Maricopa County, where Phoenix recorded 9,734 people without stable housing, the highest number recorded there. In the Tucson region, homelessness has increased about 47 percent since 2019, a change associated with population growth and rising economic pressures.

The statewide picture also points to a worsening shortage of places for people to go. In the Phoenix area, more than half of people experiencing homelessness were unsheltered in 2025, meaning they were living in encampments, vehicles or on the streets. Unsheltered homelessness there rose more than 20 percent in one year, while the region lost more than 1,000 shelter beds. Housing advocates and service providers say the system is taking in people faster than it can help them move into permanent housing. Rising rents, stagnant wages, job losses, medical bills and evictions can push people into homelessness after a single financial setback.

Tucson officials say the city’s current zoning rules leave few practical opportunities for new shelters. Some available parcels are on the city’s outskirts, where residents may lack reliable public transportation and access to essential services. Land closer to the city center is more competitive because nonprofits must compete with other potential uses for the same property. Smith said organizations with limited money and time face a difficult process, and that changing the rules could make it easier for additional providers to enter the field.

Only two new emergency shelter projects are currently in progress, Smith said. Together, those projects are expected to produce roughly 30 to 40 beds, and they will take several months to complete. That limited pipeline is one reason officials are examining the zoning code rather than relying only on projects already underway. The city is also considering what kinds of shelter models can better connect people to transportation, services and eventual permanent housing.

Marcellina Rojas, who supervises shelter operations for Tucson’s Housing First, described the Wildcat Inn as one example of a low barrier approach. The facility accepts families together and allows nonaggressive pets when residents provide documentation such as vaccination records, including for emotional support animals. Families receive private rooms with beds, a microwave and a refrigerator. On-site care coordinators and housing service agents help residents seek jobs, arrange child care, apply for food assistance and access other services. Rojas said she would like to see more low barrier shelters across Tucson so people can adjust to indoor living while receiving support tailored to their circumstances.

For people seeking immediate help, the Tucson-Pima Shelter and Community Resource Dashboard provides real-time information about available beds. The city plans to hold additional public feedback sessions before the proposal moves through public hearings with the Planning Commission. Smith said the amendment is expected to go to Mayor and Council for adoption next year, with the city hoping to complete or nearly complete the zoning process by February 2027. The review comes as Arizona’s heat makes outdoor homelessness especially dangerous. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 110 degrees, and public health data has linked a significant share of heat deaths in Maricopa County to people experiencing homelessness. Tucson’s zoning changes will not solve the housing crisis alone, but officials and providers say expanding shelter capacity is a necessary first step.