By Richard Smith | YourValley
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge denied a lawsuit filed by the Voice of Surprise against Surprise city officials, the entire City Council and affordable housing developer Dominium Inc.
Voice of Surprise Facebook group members delivered 409 petition sheets with 5,432 signatures collected and notarized on Sept. 16 in efforts to force a ballot referendum on the council’s approval of Dominium’s Truman Ranch Marketplace affordable housing plan,
Surprise City Clerk Sherry Aguilar informed the Voice of Surprise group in an email and letter Oct. 5 that its petition drive was rejected because it failed to attach a copy of the full title and text of the measure sought to be referred, City of Surprise ordinance 2022-18. Attaching the ordinance is a requirement of state law.
Tim LaSota, the Phoenix-based attorney representing Voice of Surprise, filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court Oct. 7 on the group’s behalf. Judge Scott Blaney filed his decision on Nov. 15.