Federal land eyed for affordable housing in Flagstaff

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily)- The Trump administration has created a task force to investigate how federal public land can be used for affordable housing.

It’s a partnership between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

With abundant federal land in the southwest, Arizona is a state where this could be implemented.

Cities like Flagstaff have both a housing crisis and are surrounded by these federal lands.

The city of Flagstaff declared a housing emergency in 2020, so many people in town said something needs to be done, but they are worried about the repercussions of building on federal land.

Coconino County contains nearly 5 million acres of federal land.

Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstman said this government-owned land is beneficial not only for people who enjoy the outdoors but also for the economy through tourism. “It is a major economic engine here in Coconino County,” Horstman said. “Due to just the Grand Canyon alone, we bring in almost a billion dollars. Many of us live here because we love the beauty of our environment.”

However, Flagstaff, like many other communities across Arizona and the country, is facing a housing crisis. Overall, the U.S. is more than 7 million housing units short. “It’s also really endemic across the whole country, and it especially hits hard here in the mountain regions of the West,” Horstman said.

So, the Trump administration created a new task force to cut through red tape and focus on building affordable housing on federal land. This idea isn’t new. In 2024, under Biden, 20 acres in Nevada valued at $20 million were sold for $2,000 for affordable housing.

However, the new plan has some concerns for Flagstaff residents. “We have an extreme need for affordable housing here in Flagstaff,” Flagstaff resident Dara Marksman said. “I don’t think building on BLM land or any other protected land would make sense.

Flagstaff is surrounded by national forests, and local George Hamblin said he’s worried about how new infrastructure built on these lands would impact the forest, wildlife, and fire danger. “It’s a bad idea because of the forest with the climate crisis and everything, you get rid of more forest could upset that,” Hamblin said. “Also, like this year, we’re very high in fire danger.”

They suggested building up instead of out in town or creating more duplexes and apartment complexes instead of houses. Horstman said she’s glad the need for housing is getting national attention, but there’s a reason the land hasn’t been developed. “It’d be very difficult terrain to build homes and also most of this is away from public centers,” she said.

However, Horstman said the biggest roadblock is the cost to local government as federal funding is already being cut. “The problem is we in Coconino County, again, we want to work in partnership,” she said. “We want to be part of the solution. We do not have the funding necessary to build large-scale affordable housing complexes.”

Horstman said she’s looking forward to the federal government’s more detailed explanation of this program and how the new task force can help local governments accomplish this goal financially.

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