The same four Scottsdale City Council members who approved the Southbridge II project voted to repeal the project Tuesday night, capping months of controversy surrounding the project.

The project, led by developer Carter Unger, was proposed to revitalize the Old Town canal area by connecting boutique shops on Fifth Avenue to the original Southbridge project and the Scottsdale Waterfront.

Critics opposed the project's height and density.

After the City Council narrowly approved new zoning for the project in December, opponents mobilized and gathered more than 17,000 signatures to send the project to a public vote in November.

Now, no citizens will vote on the project.

Unger had requested that the council repeal the Southbridge II project. Unger told The Arizona Republic last week that he would be unable to move forward with the project even if he won the vote in November, having lost some of his properties in escrow.

The council was divided on whether to repeal. It would save money the city otherwise would spend on putting a moot issue on the ballot. But it would not let residents vote on the project, as they had qualified to do.

Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield warned against the precedent repealing the project would set, saying that the signature gatherers went through a "herculean-type effort" to put the project on the ballot.

"They wanted this vote, and they earned the right to have it," Littlefield said. "To my mind, it strikes a new low in our political process."

Councilwoman Linda Milhaven, who voted for the project in December, pushed back at the meeting, saying that the signature gatherers got what they wanted, which was to eliminate the project.

"It makes me very sad that we’re going to face a depression and a recession here," Milhaven said. "It's going to be a long time before we see anybody investing in our downtown again."

The move to repeal the project passed 4-3, with council members Littlefield, Guy Phillips and Solange Whitehead dissenting.

The decision was made during a remote meeting without public comment, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Legality of repealing the project

Littlefield and Phillips also questioned the legality of denying residents the right to vote on an issue they worked to put on the ballot.

City Attorney Sherry Scott said her office had analyzed the issue in detail and determined the council was within its rights to vote to repeal.

Scott cited an Arizona attorney general's opinion from 1982 that dealt with a similar matter.

The Attorney General concluded that "when the subject matter of the referendum has been repealed, any vote on the matter would be without legal effect," Scott said.

"The council doesn't have an obligation to send it," she said. "I feel very confident in our legal analysis on this point."

Mayor Jim Lane said the city should not drag Unger through a "torturous routine" by sending the project to a vote.

The cost to put the issue on the ballot in November would also cost approximately $100,000, according to an email sent by the mayor's management assistant.

Councilwoman Suzanne Klapp, who is running for mayor, said that the best course of action was to repeal, saying there was no ability for Unger to do anything further with the project.

"It’s a moot point," Klapp said. "There is nothing to be decided."

MAYORAL RACE:Race for Scottsdale mayor crowded as another candidate joins

Election politics come into play

Milhaven said at the meeting that she questioned the motives of any residents who still wanted a vote on a nonexistent project.

"I can only believe that this is a political ploy and a political machination," Milhaven said.

The Southbridge II project had become a lightning rod going into election season. Scottsdale will elect a new mayor, as Lane faces term limits. A slate of mayoral contenders expounded on the types of development that city leaders were approving in Scottsdale.

Bob Littlefield, a candidate for mayor and the husband of Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield, was heavily involved in the signature gathering to send Southbridge II to a vote.

Littlefield told The Republic last week that he would still use the project during his campaign, particularly to call out council members Suzanne Klapp and Virginia Korte, who both are running for mayor and voted for the project.

"They’re still going to have to defend their votes for the project," Littlefield said. "If they vote to take it off the ballot, they're going to have to explain to the voters why they weren’t willing to let the voters decide."

David Ortega, another mayoral candidate and former council member, said on Friday that petitioners who signed the referendum had "won."

"I expect an appropriate-sized project will come forward in the future, as economic conditions improve," Ortega said.

Whitehead reiterated similar sentiments, saying that she had been in talks with several developers over the past month and was confident there was still interest in development downtown.

"I think something went terribly wrong with Southbridge II," Whitehead said. "I don't think that it's in any way indicative of an inability to succeed here in downtown. I don't see any loss of enthusiasm, and I'm grateful for that."

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

Support local journalism.Subscribe to azcentral.com today.