This Wednesday, Tempe city staff will be taking feedback on expanding where duplexes, townhomes, triplexes, and fourplexes can be built. This process has been initiated by a new state law, which requires larger cities to allow this “Missing Middle” housing within one mile of downtown.
Tempe should allow Missing Middle homes citywide. It’s a good policy, which will build housing types that are more affordable and meet the diverse needs of our community. This also presents city council and staff with an opportunity to prove they can implement pro-housing policies without the state requiring them to.
The meetings will take place on 2/19 and there are both virtual and in-person options:
NOON – Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Register for Virtual Meeting Here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/C_C9YISrTd-2cWFeVUWr4A#/registration
6 PM – In-Person Meeting at the Tempe Public Library
Desert Willow Room, 3500 South Rural Road
Please attend if you are able to and tell city staff you want to see the Missing Middle provisions required by state law expanded to cover all residential areas in the city.
If you are unable to attend, you can comment online until March 5th.
What is Missing Middle housing?
In housing discussions, Missing Middle refers to a variety of housing types in between a detached single-family home and large apartment complexes. The state law in question defines them as townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes.
This middle is “missing” because it’s the least common type of housing built currently. Zoning laws often disallow or heavily restrict them.
Has anyone else done this?
Yes. Tempe would be far from the first city to allow missing middle on all residential lots. This would not be a radical change but a common sense step towards making Tempe more affordable.
Minneapolis allowed duplexes and triplexes on all residential lots. This, combined with more ambitious housing reforms, has spurred the production of new housing in Minneapolis. As a result, rents in Minneapolis have fallen, while other cities saw their rents increase.
There’s nothing magic here, it’s just allowing the construction of more housing to meet demand. Salt Lake City and Arlington, VA have also allowed Missing Middle recently, with many other places in the process of joining them.
Don’t miss on Missing Middle
A concern is that City Council will comply with the bare minimum required by state law, implementing loopholes and exemptions that will get few new homes built. There is good reason to fear this. Every attempt at pro-housing reforms in Tempe has been dragged through a slow process and watered down until the best parts are stripped from it.
To do this with Missing Middle would be a shame. It would prove critics of how cities have handled the housing crisis correct, demonstrating that cities will not take action unless required by the state.
Tempe YIMBY will be tracking how this process unfolds, monitoring changes to the proposed ordinance and grading how impactful they would be. Active feedback from community members like yourself will be key in pushing Tempe to be proactive in addressing the housing crisis.
For more on how you can get involved, reach out to us at [email protected].
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