Scottsdale residents working to stop the Southbridge II project near Fifth Avenue in Old Town say they have turned in more than enough signatures to send the project to the ballot in November.

About a dozen volunteers, some using a U-Haul truck, delivered the petitions to the Scottsdale City Clerk's Office about 5 p.m. Friday, about 30 minutes before the deadline.

Critics of Southbridge II mounted the campaign to send the proposed development to voters after the City Council narrowly approved the project in December.

The 10-acre development plans include more than 1 million square feet of condos, retail and office space and a 150-foot hotel near the Arizona Canal in Old Town Scottsdale.

The project would update aging shops along Fifth Avenue, but construction would displace more than 70 tenants.

The project's critics immediately hit back after the council vote and began gathering signatures to send the project to a public vote in November through the city's referendum process.

Volunteers filed 1,326 petition sheets with approximately 17,116 signatures, according to the City Clerk's Office.

Resident Laurie Coe said a project of this scale shouldn't move forward only at the direction of four City Council members.

"I'm not against the project," Coe said. "I'm against that kind of growth without a weigh-in from the citizens."

What's next for Southbridge II?

Councilman Guy Phillips, who voted against the project in December, was among the residents who turned in signatures Friday afternoon. He praised the hard work of the volunteers and the momentum that the movement had picked up.

"This last week, we didn't even have to go out to people. People were coming to us," Phillips said. "This is their First Amendment rights. I love to see people getting involved."

The Scottsdale City Clerk's Office verified the petition sheet count, but had not yet verified the 17,116 signatures as of Friday night, Jagger said.

The Scottsdale City Clerk's Office has 20 business days to review the petitions, conduct a random sample of signatures and transmit the selected signatures to Maricopa County. The county will then have 15 business days to verify the random sample of signatures.

Jagger said the signature counting would take place next week. Once counted, the review process would begin.

But the referendum is likely to see a challenge before it makes it on the ballot.

Challenge likely on the way

Challenges seeking to disqualify the referendum can be made in Maricopa County Superior Court for such claims as duplicate signatures or signatures from unregistered voters.

Carter Unger, president of Spring Creek Development, which is behind Southbridge II, could not be reached for comment Friday.

Andrea Alley, a south Scottsdale resident who is a vocal supporter of the project, says a challenge should be expected. She questioned the validity of the signatures and said paid petition gatherers might not have told residents the whole truth.

"It was very disappointing to me that most of their campaign was based on misinformation," Alley said. "People just want to be mad at big buildings."

Challenges are not uncommon. In 2018, Alyssa Robis, a candidate for Scottsdale City Council, withdrew from the race after her signatures were challenged.

Have a tip out of Scottsdale? Reach the reporter Lorraine Longhi at llonghi@gannett.com or 480-243-4086. Follow her on Twitter @lolonghi.

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