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All new homes built in Tucson after mid-2010 will need to include plumbing for a graywater system, the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday.

The new rules require plumbing — also called stub outs — for graywater systems for all new homes that are issued permits after June 1, 2010.

The regulations affect only new construction, not existing houses, unless the homeowner builds an addition with a new bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. A newly constructed guesthouse on an existing property would need the graywater plumbing.

The regulations would not require installation of a graywater-pumping system, which can cost thousands of dollars, only the plumbing so the bigger system could be installed later.

Dozens of environmentalists came out to cheer the new rules, which were proposed by Councilman Rodney Glassman.

Architect Corky Poster said the new rules are a key way to save "gray" water from showers, bathroom sinks and laundry sinks from becoming "black" water that can't be reused to water vegetation. Water from toilets and kitchen sinks is considered black water and cannot be pumped into graywater systems.

"This is a way to save substantial water," Poster said. "We are throwing that water away."

Builders would be required to install pipes and other plumbing hardware to collect the graywater. A separate set of pipes would be required from the home builders to take water directly from washing machines to yards.

The graywater plumbing would cost $500 to install — although home builders can knock off $200 of that through a state income-tax credit — and the cost would likely be passed on to home buyers.

Homeowners then could choose to install additional pipes, underground tanks to store the water and a pump to move the water outdoors. However, several speakers said the systems can be set up without the expensive tanks and pumps, relying instead on gravity to move the water outside to irrigate plants and vegetation.

In other business, the council:

● Approved a a plan by developer Ross Rulney to convert apartments into 53 condominiums in a 91-year-old building near the southwest corner of East Broadway and South Fifth Avenue.

The project, called the Flats at Julian Drew Block, was delayed last week after Councilwoman Regina Romero suggested imposing a "voluntary fee" of 1 percent on the deed transfer on every sale after the unit is sold for the first time.

Money from the fee would have gone into the city's affordable-housing trust fund.

Romero agreed to drop the suggestion, and the council voted 6-0 to approve the agreement, which speeds up the city's infrastructure and street-scape work in the area. She said the project "hit a bump in the road" but added that everything worked out in the end.

Councilman Steve Leal left the dais before the vote.

Before the vote, Councilwoman Nina Trasoff secured an agreement from Rulney to up his contribution to the housing trust fund by almost $4,000 from the $5,300 Rulney previously agreed to.

● Approved the sale of Downtown's historic MacArthur Building to Madden Media for $1.7 million. The council also approved an agreement for Madden to lease surface parking nearby along with spaces in a future underground parking garage.