Scottsdale approves BB Living's 191-unit townhome project 7-0 with enhanced design standards
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA — June 10, 2025

Scottsdale approves BB Living's 191-unit townhome project 7-0 with enhanced design standards

Contentious Scottsdale City Council meeting featuring approval of BB Living development with design improvements, significant public opposition to Old Town parking garage, internal council conflict over budget staff positions, and exposure of alleged mayor conspiracy by council members.

Scottsdale Council Approves BB Living Design Overhaul; Mayor-Council Rift, Budget Warfare, and Ethics Clash Dominate Contentious June 10 Session

The Scottsdale City Council's June 10, 2025 meeting delivered landmark approval for the BB Living residential project alongside a cascade of controversies that exposed fractured governance, alleged conspiracies against the mayor, and sharp disputes over municipal staff and transparency. The 7-0 vote to affirm the development review board's decision on BB Living, contingent on substantial design improvements, was eclipsed by public allegations of conspiracy, a contentious budget amendment that narrowly passed 5-2, rejection of an ethics panel finding, and withering community commentary on parking, sustainability, and council dysfunction.

Key Speeches

"Brandon Leardi is now fully engaged in the design of this project and he recognizes the importance of this to his hometown company." — John Barry, counsel for BB Living

"This becomes a legacy project. This becomes a showcase, a showpiece for BB Living, for their communities throughout the country… This is a project that is uniquely Scottsdale and it is a project that is now right for Scottsdale." — John Barry

"There is a tsunami moving toward this council composed of residents opposing construction of a garage at the Brown Avenue parking corral… the city council may provoke a furious political response." — Steve Sutton, public commenter

"You are wasting time and money. I can only think of one reason you would do so. In plight company, it's called grandstanding… Politics trumps the needs of Scottsdale." — Dan Isaac, public commenter on BB Living review

"I don't believe the ethics code was adopted… we actually put that on a ballot and opened it up a little bit… we realized it was preventing people from council members from doing their jobs." — Kathy Littlefield, public commenter on ethics panel report

Timeline

BB Living Project (Item 22)

Non-Agendaized Public Comment (First Public Comment Period)

Budget and Tax Levy Actions

Council Discussion on Budget

Ethics Panel Report (Item 25A)

Mayor and Council Items (Item 27)

Opposition

Old Town Parking Garage (Brown Avenue Corral):

Number of speakers: Three primary speakers (Steve Sutton, Vanessa Goldberg, Jane Adamson) explicitly opposed or questioned the garage; French Thompson and Tom Frankle spoke in favor; others referenced it in passing.

Main Concerns:

  1. Aesthetic incompatibility: A garage design, no matter how beautiful, is fundamentally incompatible with the historic and cultural character of Old Town.
  2. Parking availability vs. management: Residents believe the real issue is parking management, not availability; even on busy days, plenty of spaces exist.
  3. No baseline study: A formal, transparent parking study (similar to the 2015 Walker study) focusing on the southeast and southwest quadrants should precede the decision.
  4. Business impact: Historic Old Town merchants and property owners will suffer economically from the visual and functional disruption.
  5. Public sentiment: A petition is circulating demanding a study; residents expect a "furious political response" if the council ignores this opposition.
  6. Parking loss history: Between 2005 and present, the city removed 600 parking spaces from Old Town without replacement; the garage is a reactive, not proactive, fix.

Most compelling argument: Steve Sutton's warning—"Unless the council proves discussed standings at this garage at this location is essential, the council may provoke a furious political response… I believe the council is about to come under a level of scrutiny that equals or is greater than at any time in Scottsdale Council history"—framed the opposition as a potential political reckoning rather than a simple design dispute.

Organized opposition: A petition is circulating requesting a parking study; residents appear to be mobilizing for sustained pressure.

Support

Old Town Parking Garage (Brown Avenue Corral):

Number of speakers in favor: Two primary speakers (French Thompson, Tom Frankle).

Main arguments:

  1. Historical inadequacy: The city intentionally built the corral lot with foundation capacity for three additional levels (later limited to two by council decision to preserve height). The infrastructure is already in place and paid for.
  2. Parking scarcity in peak areas: Within a 1,000-foot walking radius, there are 169 unique small businesses with employees; Fashion Square has ample parking, but the corral area is parking-constrained.
  3. Best location available: The corral is city-owned, centrally located south of Indian School, not in the heart of Old Town, and better suited than any alternative (which would cost 4-5 times more to develop).
  4. Public process: The decision followed extensive outreach and study; it did not materialize from nowhere.
  5. Precedent and value: Other downtown garages underwent similar disruptions during construction and are now integral to downtown vitality. The investment is justified.
  6. Mayor's sincerity: Tom Frankle defended Mayor Barrowski, stating she was sincere in her desire to find a better location but that none exists; her position is not self-serving.

Organized support: Tom Frankle claimed he could secure "almost unanimous agreement of the actual owners of the real estate" in the area for the garage.

Project Details

BB Living at Cabasasan

Vote Breakdown

BB Living Project Approval

Property Tax Levy (FY2526)

SLID Taxes (FY2526)

Budget Adoption (Whitehead Motion to Cap Pay Grades)

Budget Adoption (Littlefield Motion to Remove Two Unfilled Positions)

Ethics Panel Report

Smoking Prohibition (Item 27)

Outcome & Next Steps

BB Living: The project is approved. City staff will finalize construction documents in conformity with the June 3, 2025 revisions. The applicant may now proceed toward permitting and construction. No continuance; project decision is final.

Property Tax Rate: The 2.1% decrease (from 93.2¢ to 91.2¢ per $100 assessed value) will be formally adopted by ordinance on June 24, 2025. Scottsdale maintains one of the lowest property tax rates in the Phoenix valley.

FY2526 Budget: Approved with the Kathy Littlefield amendment removing two unfilled staff positions (one from the mayor's office, one from the city clerk's office). The budget will be formally adopted on June 24, 2025. The savings are estimated at $200,000–$250,000 annually (including associated taxes and benefits). Both positions remain in the city clerk's office structure for council support, but one is unfunded this fiscal year; the executive assistant position in the mayor's office is removed but may be reinstated if demonstrated as necessary next budget cycle.

Ethics Panel Report: Rejected. No action taken. The panel's finding of technical but unintentional ethical violation against Barry Graham will not be formally accepted by the council. Barry Graham status is unaffected.

Smoking Ordinance: The city attorney will draft an ordinance prohibiting smoking within 50 feet of city playgrounds for council consideration at a future meeting. No timeline specified.

Old Town Parking Garage: Remains unresolved and ongoing. The council did not vote on the garage or issue a final decision; the item was discussed during public comment but not agendaized for formal action. Community opposition is mobilizing (petition circulating), and the council appears divided. Expect this to return to the agenda in future meetings.

Sustainability Plan: The January 2025 repeal of the December 2024–approved sustainability plan remains in effect. Multiple speakers urged reversal; no motion was made to reconsider. The plan is still repealed.

Controversies & Context

Alleged Council Conspiracy Against Mayor

Public commenter Dan Isaac revealed a leaked audio recording in which Councilmembers Jan Debasquez, Barry Graham, and Adam Kwasman discuss a potential criminal investigation against Mayor Lisa Barrowski. Key points from the recording (as related by Isaac):

Impact: This explosive disclosure hung over the entire meeting, casting the council's decisions (particularly on the budget and parking garage) in a shadow of alleged personal vendetta and conspiracy. No council member directly addressed the allegations during the meeting.

Budget Warfare and Transparency Crisis

Councilwoman Solange Whitehead raised concerns about pay grade increases for non-sworn city employees, noting one position increased seven grades (from 37 to 44) in less than a year, representing an approximately $100,000 salary increase. She argued:

City Manager Greg Kaitton responded that the position in question was initially classed at 37, was subjectively reduced to 39 by council (per prior budget amendment), and the current proposal to move it to 44 reflects internal alignment and market analysis, necessitated by the elimination of two assistant city manager positions (reducing the office from three to one).

Kathy Littlefield countered by removing two unfilled positions entirely (one from the mayor's office, one from the clerk's office) as a cost-control measure. This decision was controversial: Mayor Barrowski and Councilman Quasman noted that the council had previously agreed the mayor's office staffing was settled, and they perceived the last-minute amendment as political retaliation. Solange Whitehead called it "grandstanding" and said the council had "reearned" its reputation as "the most toxic council."

Sustainability Plan Repeal and Community Pressure

Three public speakers (Vanessa Goldberg, Jane Adamson) urged the council to reverse the January 2025 repeal of the December 2024 sustainability plan. The previous council had spent nearly three years drafting the plan with citizen input and scientists; the new council repealed it in January using a procedural rule to prevent discussion (per Goldberg's account, Barry Graham invoked this rule).

Goldberg and Adamson both emphasized climate threats (drought, heat, wildfires) and the risk of losing Scottsdale's reputation as a livable, sustainable community. Neither speaker was satisfied with the council's dismissal of environmental stewardship.

Status: The plan remains repealed. No motion to reverse was made. The council did not engage substantively with the environmental concerns raised.

Old Town Parking Garage Stalemate

The proposed Brown Avenue parking garage in historic Old Town emerged as a significant flashpoint. Public opposition (Sutton, Goldberg, Frankle) centered on aesthetics, disruption, and the lack of a transparent parking study. Proponents (Thompson, Frankle) argued the infrastructure is city-owned, the location is optimal, and historical precedent shows garages are eventually accepted as valuable.

Notably, Barry Graham asked Sutton if he had attended an outreach meeting; Sutton said no due to a prior engagement. This exchange suggested prior efforts at community engagement, but those efforts clearly did not satisfy residents.

Status: No formal council vote was taken; the item was not agendaized for decision. The garage remains in limbo, with community organizing (petition) building momentum for a parking study as an alternative.

Ethics Panel Finding Rejection

An independent ethics panel found Barry Graham had committed a "technical but unintentional ethical violation" for meeting with staff members of City Treasurer Sonia Andrews regarding an operational matter. Public speakers Kathy Littlefield and Timothy Lota argued the finding was baseless and reflected misapplication of the ethics code, which is overly restrictive and prevents legitimate council-staff interaction.

The motion to accept the ethics panel report failed 3-3 (tie vote), resulting in rejection by default. The panel itself had stated, "We hope this doesn't have a chilling effect," but Kathy Littlefield and Lota warned that it would and that the ethics code needs major reform.

Status: The ethics finding is not officially accepted and has no binding consequence. However, the rejection itself highlighted the council's fractious nature and deep disagreement over governance norms.

Duration

Other Notable Items

Scottsdale Food Bank Expansion: Kira Peters and Sue O presented the relocation of the food bank from Vista del Camino Community Center to a larger warehouse facility on McCelson Miller Road. The food bank serves 533 households monthly, provides healthy packs to 349 students, operates with 30+ volunteers and 5 staff members, and partners with St. Mary's Food Bank and Scottsdale Community Partners. Council members praised the work (Solange Whitehead emphasized food rescue and composting; Vice Mayor Debasquez highlighted the compassion and efficiency of the program). Barry Graham asked about pet food donations, which the food bank confirmed it provides. No vote was required; this was an informational presentation met with unanimous appreciation.

Property Tax and SLID Approvals: Both the FY2526 property tax levy (2.1% decrease) and streetlight improvement district taxes passed unanimously with minimal debate, reflecting broad consensus on fiscal discipline and rate reductions benefiting residents.