Littlefield: ‘Axon apartment proposal is a bad deal for Scottsdale residents’
By Terrance Thornton | Community Updates
A political action committee formed by Scottsdale resident Bob Littlefield — husband of Scottsdale City Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield — filed 26,748 signatures Saturday, Dec. 21 to force a public vote on recent zoning approvals paving the way for Axon Enterprises to create its envisaged corporate headquarters in the northern region of the municipality.
“The petition seeks to refer Ordinance No. 4658, which was approved by the City Council on November 19, 2024, to Scottsdale voters for their approval or rejection,” Scottsdale City Clerk Ben Lane told the Digital Free Press Sunday, Dec. 22. “A total of 2,292 petition sheets containing approximately 26,748 signatures were filed today, and an initial receipt was issued The petitioner needs 15,353 signatures of registered Scottsdale voters to have the measure qualify for the ballot.”
The issue appears to be the organizers of the PAC have found stark issue with the amount of dwelling units — a total of 1,895 units — that could sprout at the Axon Enterprises site following the Nov. 19 Scottsdale City Council approval of 5 to 2.
Scottsdale City Councilmembers Barry Graham and Kathy Littlefied did not vote for the zoning entitlements now in question.
According to state law, the Scottsdale City Clerk’s Office has begun the statutory verification process for signatures gathered through Phoenix-based political consulting firm, InCompliance, LLC. Ashley Ragan of InCompliance is serving as treasurer of the newly formed PAC, records show.
“This process involves reviewing each sheet to ensure all information is completed, each petition sheet is correctly notarized, and each signature line is completed, among many other steps,” Mr. Lane explained of the general verification process. “Any sheets or signature lines that do not comply with the statutory requirements are removed. If the total number of remaining signatures equals or exceeds the minimum required number of signatures, the City Clerk is responsible for selecting a 5% random sample of the total signatures for verification by the county recorder.”
The deadline for the City Clerk’s Office to complete its portion is Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 whereas the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has 15 business days to complete its verfication process. The deadline to complete this process is Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.
If signatures are verified, according to the Arizona Constitution, the city of Scottsdale is obligated to place the measure at the next available general election, which is the November 2026 general election; however, City Council can host a special election at an earlier date.
Read a detailed account of the zoning hearing at the Scottsdale Planning Commission regarding this matter, HERE.
Challenges to aspect of zoning entitlements but not Axon Enterprises?
A neighboring community to the site of now-approved Axon Enterprises headquarters — a master-planned community coined ‘SaddleBrook’ — raised concerns regarding the zoning entitlements first at the Planning Commission then later at City Council during last month’s zoning amendment approvals.
But each speaker who spoke in contrast to the presented plan lauded the mission of Axon Enterprises and the efforts now spanning two years to find the right fit for both neighbors and blossoming Big Tech firm.
The vision of the 70-acre corporate campus seeks to rival the exalted landmarks of Big Tech firms in places like Cupertino, California, and Redmond, Washington. Axon Enterprises is a Scottsdale-based technology and weapons production company with a reported market capitalization of $15 billion. Axon is the leader in the manufacturing of electroshock weapons and camera technology used by law enforcement officials across the globe.
It is reported a total of 18,000 law enforcement agencies in 107 countries use Axon Enterprises technology including tasers and body-worn cameras.
Rick Smith, a Scottsdale resident today, founded the company in 1993 in his garage whereas it is the leader in specialized technology serving major law enforcement agencies across the nation with the Phoenix Police Department most notably the first department to activate a body-worn camera program for all sworn officers.
But for Mr. Littlefield, he says, the recent zoning entitlements are a bad deal for the community of Scottsdale.
“The Axon apartment proposal is a bad deal for Scottsdale residents,” he said in an update to supporters. “This bad deal was forced on Scottsdale residents by a lame duck council, most of whom had been soundly defeated in the last election. The Axon apartment proposal is exactly what voters resoundingly said in the last four elections they do not want.”
