The CAPER report represents a collaborative effort between the Arizona Department of Housing and the Arizona Department of Economic Security. This document outlines the State’s affordable housing and community development resources, their methods of distribution, geographic funding objectives, and actions by the State to meet those objectives during the past fiscal year.

Housing plays a major role in the United States and Arizona economies. It is estimated that the housing industry accounts for one-fifth of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Despite the economic importance of housing, Arizona did not have a comprehensive approach or strategy for dealing with housing policy issues. In 1994, a Housing Summit addressed increasing concerns about the cost of housing. Participants from across the state met to discuss growing housing needs. A major outcome of the summit was the formation of the Affordable Housing Task Force, designed to review the state’s housing market and suggest ways the state could address housing affordability. Its principal recommendation was the creation of a permanent body that would focus attention on workable housing solutions. The Arizona Housing Commission was created by Executive Order in 1996 to serve as an advisory body to the Governor, the Legislature and the Arizona Department of Commerce, which is the primary agency currently responsible for housing programs. In 1997, the passage of House Bill 2011 formally established the Commission in statute.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires all government entities receiving federal low-income housing and community development funds to prepare an Annual Action Plan. This is a one-year plan to address the low-income housing and community development needs in the state of Arizona, with a special focus on serving the small cities and rural areas of the state. It consolidates the planning, application, and funding requirements for several programs funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Community Development Block Grant; HOME Investment Partnerships Program; Emergency Solutions Grant; and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS. The federal and state-funded housing and community development projects and programs described within the Action Plan are administered and implemented by ADOH, the Arizona Department of Economic Security, units of local or regional government, or non-profit agencies.

This pamphlet describes CyberPort as multinational in its approach, considering the impacts of cross-border traffic at the local, state, and regional levels. The goal of CyberPort in Arizona is to increase the capacity of Nogales, San Luis and Douglas to serve as safe, secure and efficient gateways between the United States and Mexico. Nogales, as Arizona’s primary commercial port-of-entry, is naturally positioned to serve as the port of choice for western U.S.-Mexico trade.

The Nogales CyberPort Project began in the Spring of 2002 amid dramatic changes to the safety and security of U.S. borders. Throughout the following year, extraordinary change was experienced in policy and practice regarding the treatment of the border at the local, state and federal levels. While the movement toward a more efficient and effective border crossing environment has been underway in Arizona and the U.S. for a number of years, there is perhaps a no more appropriate time to undertake the effort to define and implement a CyberPort than right now.

The Nogales CyberPort Project began in the Spring of 2002 amid dramatic changes to the safety and security of U.S. borders. Throughout the following year, extraordinary change was experienced in policy and practice regarding the treatment of the border at the local, state and federal levels. While the movement toward a more efficient and effective border crossing environment has been underway in Arizona and the U.S. for a number of years, there is perhaps a no more appropriate time to undertake the effort to define and implement a CyberPort than right now.

This report includes both housing data and policy recommendations which are meant to stimulate debate and provide a menu of options for policy makers and intends to fulfill the following goals:
• Provide information on key socioeconomic trends which affect housing affordability including population
growth, household formation, age distribution and income growth.
• Communicate information on housing market trends including home ownership rates, rent levels and vacancy rates, home sales prices and new construction activity.
• Analyze cost components of typical new single-family housing and multifamily construction in Arizona.
• Identify potential regulatory and policy barriers to housing affordability.
• Recommend leadership and resource policies that will avert a potential housing crisis and improve housing affordability across the state.