Phoenix, Tempe to drop lawsuit spurred by proposed Arizona Coyotes arena
Dec 11, 2024, 3:00 PM
Phoenix and Tempe have agreed to drop a lawsuit that was initiated last year in relation to the proposed Arizona Coyotes’ purchase of land for an arena. (Phoenix Photo)
(Phoenix Photo)
PHOENIX — Phoenix and Tempe have agreed to drop a lawsuit that was initiated last year in relation to the proposed Arizona Coyotes’ purchase of land for an arena.
The two Valley cities decided to make changes to a 1994 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that had disputes over noise issues and the possibility of residential buildings.
Tempe approved to an amended agreement on Nov. 21, while Phoenix accepted the agreement Dec. 4.
Phoenix filed its initial lawsuit in March 2023.
“We have finally put this matter to bed, which will allow our respective cities and the airport to move forward with future planning,” Tempe Mayor Corey Woods told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego agreed with her mayoral counterpart.
“By reaching this agreement, we are protecting Phoenix Sky Harbor for the benefit of current and future residents in Phoenix and Tempe and also ensuring that we have a strong foundation for the future development of both our cities,” Gallego said in a press release.
What was dispute that spurred Coyotes arena lawsuit?
The complaint in Maricopa County Superior Court had Phoenix, the owners and operators of Sky Harbor International Airport, suing Tempe for a breach of contract, “asking the court to rescind Tempe’s recent zoning and land use changes and prohibit future residential uses in an area that the Federal Aviation Administration says is incompatible with residential development.”
The legal action regarded a 1.2 square-mile area the Coyotes wanted to build an arena district in that is exposed to noise levels of a high degree from the nearby airport.
Both cities in that 1994 agreement said they wanted to keep planes away from homes in one of the airport’s flight paths due to safety and noise. Phoenix had said Tempe would break the agreement because the Coyotes arena plans also included residential units.
As a result of the updated agreement, Tempe won’t have any for sale housing on the land, the largest undeveloped parcel of land in the East Valley city, if it is developed.
Here are other key parts of the agreement:
• Developments can reach 135 feet in height west of Hardy Drive on the north/south alignment or 150 feet east of Hardy Drive on the north/south alignment.
• Future residential buildings will include noise mitigation measures be incorporated into their design and construction.
• Future landowners in the 65 DNL – the high noise area – will receive noise disclosures.
• Tempe will defend Phoenix from and against any claim regarding any noise, vibration, or emission related to airport operations or aircraft overflights, made by any developer, tenant or representative of a developer or tenant.
• Tempe will not object to the list of developments in the 2019 and 2021-2022 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Comprehensive Asset Management Plan (CAMP) Update.
What’s next for former proposed Coyotes land
Woods said his city is expected to net 70,000 residents in the next 30 years, so having the option to build housing for rent on the plot of land is a victory for Tempe.
The city currently isn’t seeking any proposals for the land.
“The big thing for Tempe is that we have a piece of land that at one point was the center of the dispute where the proposed Tempe entertainment district was going to go,” Woods said.
