Tempe City Council Approves Reserving May Election Date

Tempe City Council unanimously agreed at its Nov. 10 Special Meeting to reserve a spot on the county’s May 2023 Special Election ballot regarding a proposed hockey arena and entertainment district.

The Council’s action indicates the possibility of holding a Special Election on May 16, 2023; however, it does not mean the Council has placed this issue on the ballot. State law requires governing bodies to provide a Call of Election at least 180 days in advance of any election.

City Councilmembers and Arizona Coyotes representatives made comments during the Nov. 10 Special Meeting; the video for the meeting is here. The meeting agenda is here.

Later this month, the City Council will hold two public hearings on the proposal itself, which has not yet been approved. These Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 public hearings, including a Nov. 29 vote, will focus on three aspects of the Tempe Entertainment District proposal from Bluebird Development, the affiliate for the Meruelo Group and the Arizona Coyotes. Those items include a development and disposition agreement (DDA), a General Plan map amendment and a zoning map amendment with a Planned Area Development overlay. A DDA includes the specific elements of a proposed development, including all commitments between the city and the developer.

The agenda and all materials for the Nov. 22 meeting are expected to be published at tempe.gov/clerk on Nov. 16.

Should the Council approve these items on Nov. 29, Arizona Coyotes pledged to take out petitions to refer the ordinances to the May 2023 ballot. If Arizona Coyotes get the required number of legal petition signatures to qualify for the ballot, Tempe voters would then decide whether the project should move forward. If the Council rejects any of the three items on Nov. 29, the development would not move forward and there would not be a need for a May election regarding these items.

In addition, the Development Review Commission, the recommending body to Tempe City Council, will consider the General Plan and Zoning-related items for the proposed at its Nov. 15 meeting at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers or virtually.

For all information publicly available from the City of Tempe about the proposed development, visit tempe.gov/PriestRFP.