By BEX Staff for AZBEX
Unofficial election results show Glendale voters apparently casting a split vote over two May 20 ballots on the future of the VAI Resort development.
By narrow margins, voters appear to have upheld the Glendale City Council’s decision to rezone a 10-acre site for a parking area and resort employee offices but rejected Council’s decision to amend the General Plan to allow the same development, according to an article in The Arizona Republic.
The site had originally been zoned for parks and open space, though no plans were ever created to develop or use it for that purpose. Worker Power, the local political arm of California-based labor union Unite Here Local 11, has repeatedly attempted to thwart the VAI development and collected enough signatures to put the rezoning and General Plan amendment on the ballot. (AZBEX, May 16)
While the split vote does not affect the overall VAI Resort development, VAI representatives have said the 10-acre component, which is already under construction, is essential to the total project. Glendale officials have said they cannot issue a certificate of occupancy for the 10-acre project if the zoning and permitting requirements are not met.
With the zoning change approved, the project is now out of conformance with the General Plan. For the project to move ahead, Council would have to vote to approve the amendment again, but that approval would also be subject to a referendum if opponents could again gather enough signatures to put the measure back on the ballot.
