Scottsdale residents got busy the weekend before Christmas, getting more than enough signatures submitted to oppose a controversial apartment project.
The petition, Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions (TAAAZE), got over 26,000 signatures demanding a public vote on the proposed apartment project near Hayden Road and the 101. The petition required about 15,000 signatures to qualify.
Last month, the Scottsdale City Council approved 5-2 the rezoning of around 70 acres of land owned by Axon, the local law enforcement technology company, to include about 1,900 multifamily units in addition to the council’s prior approval for Axon to build its global headquarters. The land was acquired by Axon in 2020 under industrial zoning as part of the city’s General Plan 2035.
Vice Mayor Barry Graham and Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield were the “no” votes on the rezoning. Graham said on X the outgoing council members were exercising a final modicum of control after Scottsdale residents voted them out of office earlier that month.
“The irony isn’t lost: approving the most apartments in Scottsdale’s history while imposing a plan to punish you with higher taxes & fees to reduce your trash output by 90% and ration your water and utilities,” said Graham.
It’s nearly midnight and the lame duck Scottsdale City Council refuses to slow down.
After you voted them out, last week they rushed to approve 1,900 apartments in North Scottsdale—then celebrated by posing for photos with the developer.
This week, they’ll slam through midnight… pic.twitter.com/dIRPmK9EXF
— Barry Graham (@BarrySGraham) December 2, 2024
Earlier this year, Axon came under scrutiny for its alleged pressures on city officials, namely Scottsdale’s planning commissioner.
Axon develops body and in-car cameras, drones, tasers, and software for redacting, transcribing, enhancing, auditing, evidence collection, video playback, evidence and records management, and virtual reality training. The company bought the 70-plus acres for their headquarters in 2020.
TAAAZE adopted the motto for their effort, “Protect Our Scottsdale.”
Former councilman Bob Littlefield delivered the TAAAZE signatures to city council while dressed up as Santa Clause on Friday (the festive outfit was for a previous event). Littlefield is chairman of Protect Our Scottsdale.
Earlier this week, Littlefield reported that Axon had initiated efforts to undermine the TAAAZE petition such as by deploying “blockers” he says harassed their petition gatherers, and sending out mass text messages to Scottsdale residents claiming that TAAAZE was a “radical agenda.”
“Well, the voters have said in the last, I don’t know, at least four elections that they’re tired of over-development and specifically they’re tired of constant approval of zonings for apartments,” said Littlefield in an interview earlier this year with KJZZ.
Axon Referendum Update:
I am happy to report our effort to collect the necessary signatures to refer the massive Axon apartment complex to the ballot is ahead of schedule. This in spite Axon’s efforts to undermine our petition drive by deploying blockers to harass our petition… pic.twitter.com/opxb1Qaec6— Bob Littlefield (@BobLittlefield) December 15, 2024
TAAAZE and the 26,000 other signatories against Axon’s development say it will contribute to overdevelopment, and take issue with the addition of thousands of apartments when the construction of thousands more are already underway in close proximity.
Axon’s proposed units would spread across four apartment buildings, and would also be accompanied by a hotel (around 400 rooms). Axon revealed its plans for the land as a corporate campus last year.
These plans don’t sit well with those residing in the homes adjacent to the land. Leadership of the Stonebrook II neighborhood’s HOA said last month that they planned to file a legal challenge to Axon’s development plan.
In the recent past, Axon CEO Rick Smith said that resistance to their development plans would prompt them to go to Atlanta, Georgia or Seattle, Washington to build their headquarters instead.
If approved, the petition would be put on the ballot for a citywide vote in 2026.
