By Town of Fountain Hills
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz has ruled in favor of the Town of Fountain Hills and Sandor Development Company LLC, following a recent lawsuit suit filed by Reclaim Our Town, a local political action committee (PAC). The suit challenged the Town’s authority to disqualify the Reclaim Our Town petition to place a referendum on the November ballot.
On January 17, 2024 the Town Council voted 4-3 to approve two rezoning efforts in the Four Peaks Plaza, home of the existing Target Center. Following this approval, residents had 30 days in which to file a petition and the supporting documentation and signatures to refer the items to the November ballot for voter consideration. Reclaim our Town submitted this paperwork on February 16 to the Town Clerk per filing requirements. The Town Clerk had until March 18 to conduct the statutory review of the petition sheets and signatures before submitting to the Maricopa County Recorder.
During the required review, the Town Clerk found that the petition sheets filed for Referendum 2024-01 (Apartments) and Referendum 2024-02 (Monument sign) failed to bear the correct petition serial number on the back side of each sheet. The signature sheets were declared ineligible due to noncompliance with applicable Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS). Therefore, the petition sheets were disqualified and further review of the filing was discontinued.
ARS §19-121(A)(1)(c) requires all petition sheets “not bearing the correct petition serial number and, if applicable, the paid circulator registration number in the lower right-hand corner of each side”, to be removed from the filing. Because “the legislature recognizes that a referendum may overrule the results of determinations made by representatives of the people,” ARS §19-101.01 requires “strict compliance” with the referendum process.
On May 21 an evidentiary hearing was held where several witnesses offered testimony. Findings by Moskowitz were based on these proceedings as well as closing arguments that were submitted on May 31.
