In this guest column, the president of a Scottsdale polling firm weighs in on the controversy surrounding the plans by Taser maker Axon to build a multi-use office and residential campus in Scottsdale.
Editor’s note: The Data Orbital poll referenced in this article was commissioned and funded by Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions (TAAAZE).
Recent polling numbers dramatically contradict Jason Alexander’s editorial in this publication in February (Scottsdale residents who care about the future want Axon’s campus) stating that almost everyone he knows supports the Axon Enterprise Inc. proposal that would see some 1,900 apartments being built near Hayden and the 101.
I am a proud Scottsdale resident and president of the polling firm Data Orbital, which in January surveyed 350 likely Scottsdale voters about the Axon rezoning proposal. And While Mr. Alexander’s guest editorial makes some interesting points about the challenges of home ownership and generational wealth, that is not the point of my writing now.
Mr. Alexander’s guest column fails to acknowledge the major opposition from Scottsdale residents to Axon’s apartment plans. Public opinion can change, but here is where it is right now. For the benefit of readers, our firm has been acknowledged as one of the most accurate pollsters in the two most recent presidential cycles.
We polled 350 likely voters in January and found that nearly two-thirds (65.2%) of respondents oppose the zoning change to accommodate Axon’s proposed apartments. 48.6% are strongly opposed. Only 29.1% of those surveyed support the idea. Just 5.6% were unsure or neutral on the issue. That’s a remarkably low number.
Mr. Alexander also bemoans the shortage of apartments in Scottsdale even though thousands of units are being built or have been previously approved. As for the desire of Scottsdale residents to see more multifamily housing, the numbers don’t reflect Mr. Alexander’s anecdotal arguments.
The survey showed 59% of Scottsdale voters feel there has been too much apartment construction over the past few years, while 8.4% agree with Mr. Alexander’s claim that it’s not enough, and 29.7% feel Scottsdale has had the right amount of apartment construction.
At least for now, there is no mandate for Axon’s 1,900 apartment proposal. Nor is there a mandate for more apartments in general.
It is not my intent to criticize or praise Axon’s efforts to build a substantial number of apartment units in Scottsdale. Our firm was hired to look at the popularity (or lack thereof) of the proposal and its viability at the ballot box. Any objective review of the polling numbers shows Axon has an uphill battle.
As for the merits of the proposal, that’s for the voters to decide. But Mr. Alexander’s narrative needed to be rebutted, considering analytics – rather than anecdotes – tend to be more accurate.
George Khalaf is president of Scottsdale-based Data Orbital… read more >