Latest on House Bills 2720 and 2721

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - House Bills 2720 and 2721 both have their own way of trying to alleviate the housing problem in Arizona cities that have a population of more than 75,000 people, including the city of Yuma.

The bills' signings are drawing mixed reactions for different reasons.

House Bill 2720 legalizes accessory dwelling units, or casitas, in people’s backyards of single-family lots.

Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls is content with the new bills after both sides came to an agreement.

“Since the last time we spoke about those two bills, we’ve done a lot of work with the sponsor and have really changed the bills so that they’re more acceptable to the city," shared Mayor Nicholls.

The mayor explained how they put some constraints on building "Casitas."

Mayor Nicholls also explained how both bills still allowed local control regarding military installations.

“So that the military installations can be maintained without being encroached upon,” said Mayor Nicholls.

Representative Michael Carbone, who championed the bills, explained why he's in favor of them. 

“The constitution I like to say about you know why this country and why people migrate here because our constitution is about property rights we should be able to do what we want on our property as long as its safe and it doesn’t harm anybody,” said Rep. Carbone.

2721 focuses on allowing the development of “middle housing” such as duplexes, tri-plexes, and four-plexes in certain parts of cities and towns.

However, Yuma County Board of Supervisor Tony Reyes doesn't agree.

“It just does away with a lot of regulatory issues that cities deal with and just simply allows that to happen it's not a real solution especially because it doesn’t have any restrictions on rentals or anything it doesn’t solve the housing problem,” said Reyes.

The bills are set to take effect in 90 days.