Posted Jan 27, 2023, 7:44 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
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Originally Posted by ChelseaFC
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The fate of a massive $1.8 billion development on Tempe Town Lake may soon be decided at the ballot box, after an Arizona Court of Appeals panel ruled Thursday that Tempe can't block voters from weighing in on the long-planned project.
The ruling was a setback to city officials who have resisted sending the deal to residents for nearly a year.
The project, called South Pier at Tempe Town Lake, is located on Vista Del Lago Drive near the lake’s south bank. It’s currently an empty plot of city-owned land that developers hope to transform into a “resort-inspired” community with apartments, stores and restaurants.
Shortly after the city council approved the deal in March, a citizens' group collected thousands of signatures in an effort to send the project to voters. Those who led the push said the lack of on-site affordable housing was a dealbreaker, especially given the eight-year property tax break the developers were slated to receive.
“A major thing about it was the lack of affordable housing included in the project,” said Joshua Wells of Central Arizonans for a Sustainable Economy (CASE). “We (also) didn't feel like there was enough community engagement with it before the City Council voted.”
Tempe rejected CASE’s petition, saying that the development deal is an “administrative” issue rather than a “legislative” one that can be referred to voters. That logic was shot down by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge, who ruled that the deal qualified as a new city policy, not just the implementation of existing rules.
But Tempe was able to keep the deal off the ballot due to a technicality. The judge also decided CASE's signature form wasn't organized properly because it flipped the order of two key sections.
Both sides appealed their respective losses last year and the project has been in limbo ever since, but Thursday's ruling could unjam that process.
A panel of judges in the court of appeals decided that CASE's signature form was OK because it contained all of the required information, reversing Tempe's previous victory. The appellate judges also confirmed that the development deal is eligible for the ballot.
Tempe could still appeal that ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court, however. That would likely delay both the project and the referendum for many more months, meaning the legal battle might be far from over.
But absent such an appeal, there may still be enough time to put the deal on the ballot this year. That would make South Pier the second major Town Lake project to be sent to voters in 2023, given that Tempe already called an election on May 16 to decide the fate of the Arizona Coyotes deal ― a move made, in part, because of the South Pier debacle.
Tempe officials did not comment on the possibility of appealing Thursday's ruling or about whether South Pier may show up on May's ticket alongside the Coyotes deal.
City spokesperson Kris Baxter-Ging told The Arizona Republic that, "the City of Tempe has received the Court of Appeals opinion and is evaluating next steps."
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