By J. Graber
Mail | X: @AzNewsmedia

Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday signed a bill that opens the door for Axon to build 1,895 apartments as part of the company’s plan to construct a world headquarters in Scottsdale.

Specifically, the bill would require cities ranging in population of 200,000 to 500,000 to allow hotels and multi-family housing in areas zoned for light industrial use without a zoning hearing as long as they are located on a property that would contain an international headquarters.

Axon wants to build its campus on 76 acres near North Hayden Road and Loop 101, which would include a 401,085-square-foot world headquarters, condominiums, five five-story retail buildings, one three-story retail building and a 435-key hotel. There also will be seven restaurants on the site.

But the final piece of the campus is the apartments, which Axon originally proposed at 2,500 before negotiating down with Scottsdale leaders and area residents.

Opponents of the apartments remain concerned.

“I am incredibly grateful to Gov. Katie Hobbs for signing SB1543 into law, and to the many Arizona legislators, business leaders and community members who stood behind this important measure.

"The hundreds of Axon team members and Scottsdale residents who made their voices heard played a critical role in shaping this outcome - and I offer my thanks to each of them,” Axon founder and CEO Rick Smith said.

Hobbs signature is a blow to the Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions political action committee, which sought to place a referendum on the ballot forcing a referendum on the zoning change. The group gathered more than 26,000 signatures to force the referendum.

However, Smith had said he would not wait for an expected November 2026 vote and would move to either Florida or Texas.

That’s when the battle moved to the Arizona Legislature.

Earlier this week, Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky indicated on X that the matter is not over:

“Scottsdale residents, myself included, are expecting @GovernorHobbs to do the right thing and veto the Axon Bill, SB1543.

The voters have spoken and called for an election to determine the fate of the unwanted apartments. The legislature chose to ignore them and pass the bill anyway. The Governor has the opportunity to give the voice back to the voters.

 If this bill is indeed signed, the fight against the 1,900 apartments will certainly not end.”

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.