Simply put — the compromise was the best the city could get out of a no-win situation. On three separate occasions, I requested the City Council schedule the Axon referendum election when your vote would have counted.
Every time, my colleagues voted against having the voters weigh in. The delay in holding the election was unnecessary but it was helpful for candidates set to run in the 2026 election. While the city sat on its hands, Axon did an end run around us at the state legislature.
Following adoption of the new Axon law, lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Axon bill were filed which gave Axon a “roadmap” to fix the defects in the original bill — and they were already working on that before the legislature re-convened this year. In the end, even if the council majority had their way with suing the state, costing millions of dollars, the Axon statute would have been “cured” this session which would have had the practical effect of “gutting” the legal claims.
Our voters would have been left with the misunderstanding that their vote would count on the referendum in November 2026 — but that would not have been true. It would have been a very expensive “straw poll,” having zero impact on the outcome or Axon’s ability to move forward with 1,900 apartment units or more.
There’s been a lot of misleading talk about the 1,200-unit compromise approved by me and my council colleagues, stating it doesn’t matter that the “deal” requires 600 condos. This is false.
The deal struck with Axon limits apartments to a maximum of 600 units and a maximum of 600 condos. Axon can’t build 1,200 apartments as you are being encouraged to believe. Condominiums are subject to specific statutory legal requirements, found in A.R.S. §33-1201, et seq, which are enforceable against Axon if they try to build more than 600 apartments — this will not be tolerated on my watch.
Regarding the misinformation that’s been spread about water to the Axon project. First, state statute requires municipalities to provide water for all development within municipal boundaries. While the prior council’s 1,900 apartment unit approval included a provision that Axon supply “water credits” (not actual wet water) for the development’s water needs — requiring them to do so violates state law. Meaning, Axon could sue the city if such an “exaction” was mandated —something our city attorney strongly advised against.
It is important to note, my vote in support of the Axon compromise hinged on getting the developer and TAAAZE to a point of agreement through respective compromise, and that happened. In fact, before the council vote, TAAAZE confirmed agreement for a deal that included 500 apartments immediately and 200 apartments after a certain number of years. They also agreed to “unlimited” condos.
In the end, the council approved compromise included a max of 600 apartments and a max of 600 condos; far less than TAAAZE had confirmed they would agree to.
Getting the Axon dispute resolved was necessary for many reasons, including:
In her first term as mayor of Scottsdale Lisa Borowsky has focused on practical leadership while maintaining strong ties with local organizations through lifelong residency and community involvement official website. She has supported initiatives aimed at children and older adults official website, engaged residents through regular updates official website, served previously as city council member from 2008–2012 promoting fiscal conservatism official website, and has contributed significantly across various sectors including hospitality official website.
In conclusion regarding negotiations over development projects like those involving Axon:
In the end, we didn’t get exactly what we wanted. Speaking for myself, zero apartments was the best outcome. As I’ve stated many times, Scottsdale does not need more apartment projects, and I don’t expect we will approve any in foreseeable future.
However this council was “stuck” with previously approved plans allowing up to 1,900 apartment units for Axon alongside legislation limiting future oversight—results Mayor Borowsky attributes partly due delays by previous councils failing set earlier referendum elections despite several opportunities—a decision she says ultimately led towards achieving what she describes as best possible outcome under circumstances.
