PHOENIX (AZFamily) — It’s a fight to protect the Willo Historic District’s historic fabric.
Hundreds of people from the neighborhood attended a Monday night community meeting hosted by the city of Phoenix at the Burton Barr Central Library. They packed up the meeting room and even spilled out into the hallway.
“We’re mostly concerned about losing that historic character, the things that make the community unique,” said Michelle Kopp, a Willo resident.
“You get these rare gems that are nowhere else in Phoenix, let alone Arizona, because they’re all gone,” said another neighbor, Courtney Sutherland.
Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill in 2024 called the Middle Housing Bill that requires cities and towns to allow “middle housing” such as duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes to move into neighborhoods for single-family homes. The goal is to help address the housing shortage.
The law would go into effect in January.
In Phoenix, neighborhoods within a 1-mile radius of downtown are fair game. Only one area on the map is exempt due to heavy flight patterns.
Willo residents thought their historic 100-year-old homes would get them an exemption too, but they were wrong.
“Why would you designate historic neighborhoods and then override that?” said Kopp.
Willo has a conservation plan with the city of Phoenix, but it doesn’t trump state law.
City of Phoenix officials told the crowd that they asked state lawmakers to exempt historic neighborhoods, but it didn’t go anywhere.
“We’re mandated by the state to allow middle housing, and we have to allow it in certain areas,” said Tricia Gomes, the director of the city’s Planning and Development Department.
A city official said that if they don’t follow the law, the state would have fewer restrictions for multi-family homes.
Willo residents said they hired a lobbyist to challenge lawmakers during the next state Legislature, which starts in January, to exempt all historic districts.
“It’s pretty special, and these homes are homes that once they’re gone, they’re gone. You can’t remake them,” said Sutherland.
The Willo neighborhood is one of the largest historic neighborhoods in Phoenix, with over 700 homes that were constructed beginning in 1878.
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