The first half of Scottsdale City Council’s year was marked – or, perhaps, marred – by one exhausting battle after another.
There were the repeals of DEI programs and the city’s sustainability plan; the “Parkingate” dramas that swirled around a planned parking garage; wild skirmishes over Mayor Lisa Borowsky’s staff; a standoff over an independent ethics’ panel report; “canceling” a roundabout and risking $30 million in funding; a behind-the-lines battle over Axon’s plan for 1,900 apartments.
Just to name a few.
So, the second half of 2025 can scarcely match all that furious in-fighting, right?
Well …
A big week at City Hall features back-to-back meetings Monday and Tuesday to meet the two meetings per month mandate.
One week before Monday’s meeting, the agenda with proposed changes to the city’s General Plan threatened to spark a full-on war.
The likes of Jason Alexander have a nasty term for what they say the majority is attempting: “culture cleansing.”
When the city released the agenda for the 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 25, meeting that kicks off City Council’s second half of 2025, it featured a love-or-hate star:
“City of Scottsdale General Plan 2035: Targeted Policy and Implementation Alignment.”
But the topic is perhaps too hot to handle.
Like a quarterback lining up under center and seeing a blitz coming, City Manager Greg Caton apparently called a last-moment audible.
As Kelly Corsette, a city spokesman, explained:
“The revised General Plan attachment is being replaced with a version that focuses solely on updates required by recent state law changes.”
That means that the revision that featured scrubbing of references to “diversity” and “sustainability” has been pulled.
“Hallelujah,” commented Councilwoman Maryann McAllen. “It should be pulled.”
McAllen said the originally proposed changes “should have never been on the agenda. It’s up to the citizens to make changes: they voted on it.”
According to a staff presentation published on the original agenda, the changes to the voter-approved General Plan were aimed at putting the document in alignment with recent state zoning changes – as well as some of the recent, controversial city changes mentioned above.
The requested action was first pitched as “a minor amendment to city of Scottsdale General Plan 2035 for the purpose of amending applicable sections, consistent with recent actions of City Council and changes to state law.”
Language has been added to reflect new state requirements that overrule the city’s previous stance on “casitas,” for example.
But some are furious over the “redlining” of dozens of references to “diversity” and “sustainability.”
Alexander, who frequently takes to the microphone to bash bloc members during the public comments section, was not buying that.
Hundreds of changes, he insists, “go far beyond the stated purposes of aligning the Plan with the discontinuation of the Office of Diversity and the repeal of the Sustainability Plan.
“They attack the fundamental values the residents of Scottsdale voted for.”
And, Alexander raged, “The changes also attack the integrity and voice of the voters as expressed in the passage of the Plan in 2021.”
Councilwoman Solange Whitehead, who was frequently out-maneuvered and out-voted during the first half of the year, agrees with Alexander.
“There (are) no DEI references in the General Plan,” Whitehead insisted.
“There are references on how to represent, serve and embrace diversity in our community. Diversity of age, income, ethnicity, religion etc. ‘Diversity’ and ‘Sustainability’ are part of the vision statement on page 4.”
The veteran, liberal-leaning councilwoman stopped just short of calling the changes a sneak attack:
“None of this came up in my regular city update meetings with the city manager.”
New security measures
When Scottsdale City Council returns to regular meetings this week, after an extended “summer break,” one thing will be different.
As part of new security measures, visitors will be required to walk through metal detectors.