The Scottsdale City Council has announced a significant change to the residential plans for the Axon world headquarters campus in north Scottsdale. The council, led by Mayor Lisa Borowsky, approved a reduction in the number of multifamily housing units at the site near Hayden Road and Loop 101.
Previously, city approval allowed for approximately 1,900 multifamily units at the location. Under the new agreement, Axon will be limited to building no more than 600 apartments. Additionally, permission has been granted for up to 600 condominiums that will be available for individual purchase.
Mayor Borowsky commented on the development: “While I had planned to vote against the proposed MOU at last night’s City Council meeting, which included a total of 1,500 units, we were able to get Axon to reduce the density by another 300 units overall.”
She also explained some of the expected outcomes from this decision: “These additional reductions will dramatically reduce the previously approved egregious density, the traffic coming to and from the project, lessen infrastructure strain, and foster better compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods.”
Addressing procedural decisions regarding public input on this issue, Mayor Borowsky said: “It was a very difficult decision to eliminate the referendum election, which I had urged the council to schedule earlier. However, given the situation that the Arizona Legislature put us in, the referendum election would have been rendered moot in the final analysis, resulting in Axon being entitled to build 1,882 apartment units or more.”
