Bad news for those who hate big apartment buildings: Arizona legislators are hell-bent on providing more multifamily homes – even if it means stripping zoning power from Scottsdale and other cities. State lawmakers again flexed support for apartments when an Arizona House of Representatives committee unanimously approved a “strikethrough” that may pave the way for Axon’s controversial North Scottsdale plan. The Taser maker wants to build a spaceship-themed corporate office surrounded by four apartment buildings and a hotel on Hayden Road near Loop 101.
Despite passionate pleas from Scottsdale City Council members Jan Dubauskas and Barry Graham to allow Scottsdale voters to decide the issue, the Arizona House Committee On International Trade unanimously approved an Axon-friendly “striker” at a March 26 meeting. Eight days earlier, City Council was warned something of the kind might happen.
At the March 18 council meeting, Dale Wiebusch – the city’s Government Relations director – gave a presentation on a handful of pending bills, all aimed at kicking cautious cities out of the way and rolling out the red carpet for apartment developers. He referred to two as “the Axon bills:” an Arizona Senate bill and its Arizona House companion with mirrored language that would eliminate referendum challenges to rezoning decisions… read more >