After the Scottsdale City Council approved Axon’s plans to build a new headquarters, disgruntled residents are trying to give voters the opportunity to veto the development.
The council voted 5-2 on Nov. 19 to approve the homegrown taser company’s development plans for a new corporate campus. About 1,900 apartment and condo units, a hotel and restaurants are planned alongside the company’s headquarters on 74 acres in north Scottsdale, which Axon bought from the state for $49 million in 2020.
The council members who voted for the project praised it as a win for Scottsdale and Axon, a company founded by Chaparral High School alum Rick Smith in 1993 that is now valued at $48 billion.
“I can tell you that every city is vying for companies like Axon … including our neighbor right next door,” Councilwoman Solange Whitehead said.
But some residents aren’t happy with the plan, especially the inclusion of multi-family housing.
“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 former Councilman Bob Littlefield, who is leading an effort to refer the council’s approval to the ballot.
The council ultimately reduced the number of requested apartment and condo units from 1,965 to no more than 1,895.
But Littlefield said that was not enough, claiming the project would still be the largest single apartment project in the city’s history. He pointed out that several of the councilmembers who voted for Axon’s plan, including Tammy Caputi and Tom Durham, lost their reelection bids to candidates who were critical of what they called “overdevelopment.”
“Despite the fact that the voters have made their ideas and their preferences 100% clear, guess what? Well, these lame duck guys on the way out are approving more apartments,” Littlefield said.
David Leibowitz, a spokesman for Axon, defended the project, saying it will provide $11 million in tax revenues and thousands of new tech jobs, citing an economic impact study commissioned by the company.
“This new headquarters is going to be a huge positive for the city, the Valley and the state,” Leibowitz said.
He also pointed out that Axon — which provides Taser stun guns, body cameras and other services to police departments across the country — has the support of Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther.
“Scottsdale is safer with Axon in our backyard,” Walther told the City Council.
The referendum campaign must collect 15,353 valid signatures by Dec. 21 to send the issue to the ballot.
Liebowitz said the company will actively oppose the referendum effort.
“Rest assured there will be a fairly robust campaign to talk about what's going on here,” Leibowitz said.
