A long-gestating plan by Axon Enterprise Inc. to build a new global headquarters in Scottsdale hangs in the balance amid a war of words between city officials and company leaders.The sprawling multifamily component of the wider development plan received a frosty reception during a Jan. 24 meeting of the Scottsdale Planning Commission, leading Axon to request a continuance ahead of a Feb. 14 follow-up meeting in order to work through issues related to traffic and water use.Axon’s CEO has now accused a Scottsdale planning commissioner of having a conflict of interest, while Scottsdale’s city attorney confirmed that an Axon employee contacted the private sector employer of the planning commissioner about his opposition to the plan, according to reporting from the Arizona Republic.Axon (Nasdaq: AXON), which makes Taser stun guns and other law enforcement industry products, in 2020 spent $49.1 million at an Arizona State Land Department auction for north Scottsdale acreage it intends to develop into a 400,000-square-foot headquarters building. But additional plans to develop 1,975 multifamily residential units, a 425-key hotel and 47,000 square feet of restaurants and retail have been met with friction from residents and city officials, especially at that Jan. 24 meeting.According to documents obtained by the Republic, Planning Commissioner Christian Serena informed Scottsdale City Attorney Sherry Scott that on Jan. 25, an individual claiming to represent Axon’s leadership contacted his employer, Merrill Lynch, to talk about Serena’s public comments.Scott confirmed the outreach in a recent letter to zoning attorney Charles Huellmantel, in which the city attorney strongly urged “Axon to instruct its employees that they should not be contacting the private employers of volunteer City Board and Commission Members regarding their public work on behalf of the City,” according to the Republic.Axon CEO Rick Smith: ‘Political theater’For its part, Axon responded promptly on March 2 in a three-page response, the Republic said. In it, Ax …
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