The City of Tucson’s Planning and Development Services Department (PDSD) partnered with U of A’s Drachman Institute to hold a community event Sunday to review current zoning codes, identify what changes are needed to build more homeless shelters, and gather feedback from residents.
Amanda Smith, lead planner with the Tucson’s PDSD, said the session was designed to inform the community about the scope of the homelessness crisis and what potential solutions could look like.
“In February of 2026, mayor and council declared a housing and homelessness emergency declaration and that set the direction for us to look at our current policies about where shelters are allowed and how they get approved, to look at what kind of barriers we might be presenting and how we can alleviate some of those barriers, provide opportunities for more providers to build homeless shelters, and provide that kind of first step to getting people off of the streets and into more permanent housing,” Smith said…