The City of Tucson is asking for feedback on proposed zoning adjustments that would make it easier to open homeless shelters.
In February, the council declared a housing and homelessness emergency for one year, during which the Planning and Development Services Department can adjust certain zoning and permitting requirements that the city says make it harder to build emergency shelters quickly.
The city needs about 1,500 more shelter beds to address the demand, according to data from the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness.
The unhoused population increased 53% between 2021-24, without significant decline, the emergency declaration reads.
The city is considering adjusting parking requirements, minimum setbacks from a property’s boundaries, the amount of people that can occupy a space and reducing the minimum distance between shelters throughout the city.
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Planning officials are now gathering community feedback to inform the proposed changes.
One in-person session and one virtual meeting are scheduled for this month. The city will also have an exhibit at the Park Place Mall during the first weekend in October.
The community sessions are:
In-Person:
Sunday, September 13
11 a.m to 5 p.m.
The Fourth Avenue Coalition Space
311 E 7th St.
Virtual:
Thursday, September 24
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Zoom
Park Place Mall Central Exhibit Space:
5870 E Broadway Blvd.
Friday, Oct. 2: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 3: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 4: 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For more information and RSVP information, visit the Planning and Development Services website:Â https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Planning-Development-Services.
Comments can also be emailed to Amanda.Smith@tucsonaz.gov.
