Vice Mayor Leads Statewide Housing Panel, Highlights Comprehensive Plan to Boost Housing Options

Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien will moderate a high-profile panel on housing solutions today at the Arizona League of Cities and Towns Annual Conference, where municipal leaders from across the state will explore strategies to address the housing affordability crisis.

Wednesday’s session, “All of the Above: Housing Solutions for Growing Communities,” comes just days after O’Brien unveiled her comprehensive Housing Solutions Plan, a roadmap to increase housing options for all income levels.

“Phoenix can’t solve this crisis alone,” O’Brien said. “This is about aligning cities, counties, and the state around a shared vision, so we can protect affordability, attract talent, and keep our economy strong.”

O’Brien’s Housing Solutions Plan lays out strategies across four key pillars:

1.     Local Development Streamlining – Cutting red tape, expediting permits for smaller housing projects, reducing fees for affordable units and establishing an alternative materials and methods commission to lower costs.

2.     Regional Coordination and Efficiency – Creating shared building plans and standardized processes across municipalities, as well as a dedicated housing committee within the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG).

3.     State-Level Policy Reform – Advocating for source-of-income protections, condo defect law reform to spur townhome and condo development, requirements for homelessness services, and adopting models like Florida’s Live Local Act to accelerate more workforce housing.

4.     Housing Creation and Preservation – Expanding community land trusts, launching a Phoenix Land Bank, providing sustainable funding to increase and preserve affordable housing stock, and setting new ambitious targets through an updated Housing Phoenix Plan.

The full plan is available here.

Arizona League of Cities and Towns session: All of the Above: Housing Solutions for Growing Communities will take place on Wednesday, August 20 at 2:45 p.m. at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess.

Moderator: Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien

Panelists:

·        Shannon Cox Baker, Vice President of Mountain Region, Pennrose

·        Nico Howard, Co-founder and CEP of Silverback Capital Partners and co-owner of Nidax Limited Partnerships

·        Brian Stark, Co-founder and Principal at STEEL+SPARK.

About Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien

Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien has been a consistent advocate for affordable housing, sustainable development, and regional coordination. As Chair of the City’s Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee, she has led initiatives to expand housing supply, support vulnerable renters, and strengthen Phoenix’s position as a leader in housing innovation.

Media Contact

Christina Estes, Director of Communications
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