Tucson residents share ideas on housing at community meeting

For Tucson residents struggling to afford rent, facing eviction, or sleeping outside, the city’s housing debate is not an abstract policy question. It affects where people can live, how long they can remain in their homes, whether they can reach work and services, and what happens in neighborhoods where new housing is proposed. Those concerns were at the center of a community meeting hosted by Arizona Town Hall, where residents, city officials, nonprofit organizers and other community members discussed possible responses to Tucson’s housing crisis.

The meeting followed Tucson’s declaration of a housing emergency and came as housing costs have climbed faster than household incomes. Arizona Town Hall has reported that home prices in the state have increased by more than $160,000 since 2019, while homelessness reached an all time high in 2024 and eviction filings are at record levels. In Tucson, at least 2,000 people do not have a place to sleep on any given night, while the city has 730 available shelter beds. Those figures helped frame the discussion about what Tucson can do with the resources it has and what responsibilities should fall to government, nonprofits, residents and other local institutions.

Tara Jackson, president of Arizona Town Hall, said the organization’s goal is to hold fact based conversations that lead to areas of agreement. The group, a nonpartisan nonprofit, is focusing on housing this year after previously examining workforce development, voting and elections. Its Tucson gathering was part of a series of housing events being held across Arizona, including in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Florence through January. Rather than relying mainly on presentations from officials, the format placed much of the meeting’s emphasis on table discussions, where participants could raise questions, express concerns and propose solutions.

Some participants said housing must be paired with services that address the causes and consequences of homelessness. Ideas raised during the discussion included providing mental health and addiction treatment before helping people move into employment, identifying local resources and making those services easier for residents to find, raising the minimum wage and expanding wraparound support. Participants also discussed what should happen first, how affordable homes should be created and which parts of the community need to take action.

Jason Thorpe of the City of Tucson said housing instability affects the entire city, not only people who are unable to keep their homes. When residents lose housing, he said, the consequences extend to neighbors and the broader quality of life. Elisa Hamblin, deputy director of the city’s Department of Planning and Development Services, said the solutions discussed by residents can all be part of the response, but they must be combined with more housing. In her view, Tucson needs a full range of approaches because the problem is too large and complicated for any single intervention.

Not everyone at the meeting supported building more affordable housing in existing neighborhoods. Ramon Olivas attended after learning that the city is building units in his historic Tucson neighborhood. He said homelessness is among the city’s most serious problems, but he does not believe adding affordable housing in and around neighborhoods is the right answer. Olivas raised concerns about safety, security and parking, and objected to residents not being allowed to vote on the project. He said increasing the minimum wage and providing wraparound services would be better ways to address the crisis.

The disagreement reflects a challenge that housing advocates say must be confronted directly: many people support affordable housing in principle but oppose projects near their own homes. Austin Bates of the Arizona Housing Coalition said housing is deeply personal because it is where people seek safety, spend time with family and friends, and care for pets. He said conversations about new homes need to include the reasons some residents do not want developments in their neighborhoods. Bates and Jackson said respectful discussion can make room for competing perspectives instead of allowing fear to control the conversation.

One project illustrating that debate is a planned affordable housing complex at Stone Avenue and Speedway Boulevard, across from Pima Community College. The development will include 119 units, with 80 percent reserved for low income families, and is the next phase of the city’s Thrive in the 05 initiative. Its location was selected partly because it is close to bus lines, giving future residents access to public transportation. The city has secured funding, with the first construction phase scheduled for 2027 and the second planned for 2028. A separate community meeting about the project gave midtown residents an opportunity to receive an update and offer feedback about how the complex should fit into the neighborhood.

City of Tucson Housing and Community Development Director Ann Chanecka said those meetings help the department understand what residents need. She said Tucson requires both a larger housing supply and more homes affordable to local families. The city is also considering changes to zoning rules that would make it easier to build shelters in more parts of Tucson. Officials are reviewing feedback from rezoning meetings held last month and plan to prepare a proposal for the mayor and City Council, with approval potentially coming next year. Arizona Town Hall plans to publish a report identifying areas of agreement from its discussions, giving residents and decision makers another record of the ideas raised as Tucson continues debating how to make housing more available, affordable and acceptable in local neighborhoods.