The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled former Surprise City Clerk Sherry Aguilar overstepped her authority in rejecting signatures for a referendum petition opposing an approved affordable housing development.
After Surprise City Council approved Dominium Management’s vociferously contested plan for a master-planned affordable and senior living development known as Truman Ranch Marketplace near Cotton Lane and Waddell Road, the organized opposition group Voice of Surprise submitted a petition with more than 5,400 signatures in Sept. 2022 to force the issue onto a referendum ballot.
Aguilar, who has since retired as City Clerk, rejected all the signatures because VoS did not attach a copy of the full title and text of the measure requested when it applied for a referendum serial number. The group appealed the Clerk’s decision.
The Arizona Supreme Court recently found that deciding if a serial number application is legal or not was not within Aguilar’s authority and should not have been used as grounds for rejection.
Dominium may still challenge the referendum on the same facts that led Aguilar to her original rejection, along with other items relating to the petition. Among those other considerations is a possible claim that Council’s approval is an administrative or executive matter not subject to a referendum.
Dominium has filed a separate counterclaim against VoS that will be heard in Maricopa County Superior Court. In the meantime, Dominium and Surprise have progressed with other items related to the development, including approval of a site plan by the Planning and Zoning Commission in May. Company representatives have also said they are seeking final approvals on financing to build the residential communities.
For its part, VoS representatives have asserted they collected enough signatures to force a referendum and the issue will still need to be determined in court. They said they expect the matter to eventually be decided by voters. (Source)