The council approved the plan unanimously, according to Mayor Kate Gallego. The fund, created by the council in 2025, supports the broader Housing Phoenix Plan, which seeks to increase the number of available homes.

The need is stark: Phoenix is short an estimated 59,000 affordable and available rental units for households with the greatest needs, according to a city news release. The city has already surpassed its goal of creating or preserving 50,000 units by 2030, reaching 71,000 units several years ahead of schedule.

"We set an ambitious goal to create or preserve 50,000 units by 2030, but we achieved that goal several years early," Gallego said. "We're now at 71,000, and we're not stopping."

The spending plan allocates the $15 million across six priorities:

- $6 million for affordable housing gap financing through competitive low-interest loans to private and nonprofit developers, with individual projects eligible for up to $1 million. - $4 million for city housing redevelopment projects on city-owned properties and other planned city housing, using low-interest loans that will be repaid to fund future projects. - $2 million to cover plan review and permit fees for qualifying affordable housing developments, with up to $300,000 available for eligible low-income tax credit projects. - $1 million for pre-approved housing plans for single-family, middle housing, and other infill homes, offered to property owners at no cost. - $1 million for homeownership programs, including down payment assistance and the Community Land Trust. - $1 million for eviction prevention through the Eviction Legal Services program within the city's Human Services Department.

Chicanos Por La Causa, a nonprofit that builds and manages affordable housing and provides housing counseling, welcomed the plan but said more will be needed. The group manages nearly 3,000 housing units across four states.

"So many times, the individuals and families that we help, they really don't know where to begin," said Patricia Garcia Duarte, a senior vice president overseeing homeownership and real estate development for CPLC. "They wanna become a homeowner, but they don't know where to start."

Garcia Duarte said Arizona's continued population growth is outpacing the supply of housing. "The growth is outpacing the number of housing units that are needed to meet the demand," she said.

She described the trust fund as another tool for nonprofits, adding, "I believe that once we have more proven models, there'll be a way to continue increasing those commitments financially."

Gallego said the fund is especially important given the scarcity of federal housing dollars, which she said are distributed through formulas set decades ago when Phoenix was much smaller.

"We need to see funding for some of those great programs so that we have more opportunities to take your tax dollars even further, and to make sure we in Phoenix get our fair share of federal dollars, which we have not traditionally done," the mayor said.

It remains unclear when the money will reach developers and residents. Garcia Duarte said she does not yet know the timeline, and the mayor's office said staff is still working on it.

The spending plan was announced in a city news release on Oct. 27.