The Arizona Legislature approved a bill to allow Axon to build a new corporate campus in Scottsdale and negate a referendum effort that would have sent the development to the city’s voters for final approval.
Last year, the Scottsdale City Council approved Axon’s development plan, which included a spaceship-inspired headquarters along with a hotel, restaurants and nearly 2,000 apartment and condo units.
Critics of the plan, who opposed the number of apartment units included in the development, collected enough signatures in December to send the project to the ballot in 2026.
That prompted Axon to engage in a monthslong lobbying effort at the Arizona Capitol in an attempt to convince lawmakers to support legislation to render the referendum moot.
Senate Bill 1543 would prohibit cities with populations of 200,000 to 500,000 people from blocking businesses from building hotels and apartments as part of a new international headquarters, as long as the headquarters meets certain requirements. Those requirements include employing at least 1,000 full-time employees at wages at an above average wage.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Senate approved that legislation on a 17-13 vote with bipartisan support and opposition. The bill passed the Arizona House last week on a 40-19 vote.
Axon, the homegrown Taser and body camera manufacturer that had threatened to leave Scottsdale and Arizona altogether due to the referendum, praised the vote.
“SB 1543 provides Arizona with the tools we need to grow our economy,” according to a statement from the company. “In our case, it will help to create more than 5,500 high-quality jobs in Arizona and deliver $38 billion in economic impact to our home state over the next decade. It helps ensure that Arizona remains competitive for valuable economic development opportunities.”
Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) called the situation a “bait and switch,” because the land was zoned for a light industrial use when Axon purchased the land from the state for $49 million and indicated it would not build apartments.
Axon later sought zoning changes to add multifamily — or apartment and condo — zoning to the property, which Chaplik, a commercial real estate broker, said increased the price of the land.
“Hence if they bought multifamily land, they would have given the state of Arizona approximately $150 million for K-12,” he said, referring to the state land trust that provides funding for education and other uses.
And critics argued it disenfranchises the Scottsdale voters who signed the petition to put the development on the ballot in the first place.
“They don’t want the election, because they know they will lose 90 to 10 in the city of Scottsdale,” said Chaplik, who alleged the bill violates a state constitutional provision banning legislation that benefits a particular individual or business.
Rep. Tony Rivero (R-Peoria) argued it didn’t violate the law, because it would apply to any business building a headquarters in the handful of cities with populations between 200,000 and 500,000 people.
But he admitted Axon approached him about the legislation, and that he sponsored it to stop the company from moving to Texas or Florida.
“My goal in carrying this legislation is to do everything I could to keep this company here,” Rivero said.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs declined to say whether she will sign the bill, saying she is still reviewing the legislation.
“But what I will say is they’re a company that is here, they want to stay here,” Hobbs said. “They are creating jobs, and not only that, they are now helping to address the affordable housing crisis by using the state land that they bought to build housing to house their workforce.”
Members of the Scottsdale City Council who support the Axon referendum are lobbying her to veto SB 1543. Councilman Barry Graham, who voted against Axon’s development last year, said he has requested a meeting with Hobbs.
“We sincerely hope Gov. Hobbs allows us to explain that SB 1543 suppresses the constitutional voting rights of the 245,000 Scottsdale residents who the governor will be asking for their vote next year,” he said on social media.
