Paradise Valley election: Mayor, council candidates talk development, short-term rentals and party houses
The Aug. 2 election is fast approaching, when Paradise Valley voters will elect a mayor and three Town Council members.
Early ballots will be mailed out on July 6.
In the mayoral race, incumbent Jerry Bien-Willner faces challenger Julie Pace.
In the council race, voters will decide between incumbents Ellen Andeen, Paul Dembow and Anna Thomasson, and challenger Christine Labelle.
Residents who choose to vote by mail are advised to mail their ballot by July 26 or drop it off at a ballot drop-off location or voting location by 7 p.m. Aug. 2. Search the Maricopa County Elections Department website to find a location near you.
The Arizona Republic asked Paradise Valley's candidates to answer three questions on issues in the town. Here's how they responded.
2022 elections: Here’s who wants to be your next city council member in metro Phoenix
Mayoral race
Do Paradise Valley’s regulations for short-term rentals do enough to solve neighborhood concerns about “party houses”? If not, what more would you propose and how would you do that considering the limits placed on municipal leaders by state officials?
Bien-Willner: "As mayor, I am proud of my work leading the Town of Paradise Valley to enact the strongest rules in Arizona for short-term rentals. We even withstood a legal challenge from Airbnb because of our bold moves. While our community has made significant progress, there is more work to do.
"We need better tools at the local level to prevent short-term rental activities from negatively impacting our citizens. This is why I have been insisting that state law be changed to require licensing of these properties at the local level, and for serious consequences — up to and including suspension — when things get out of hand. The "slap on the wrist" approach under current state law is unacceptable. With your ongoing support, I will continue to find solutions and will lead the change until this issue is solved to our community's satisfaction."
Pace: "Paradise Valley has no property tax, is a gem for our world-class resorts, visitors and residents, and has only residential driveways with no businesses. Our town needs to control our destiny and avoid commercialization of our one-house-per-acre unique residential town.
"Arizona residents vote for elected officials based on choosing core values and direction for their respective communities. We request that state legislators not erode local zoning control. We need the support of legislators to keep it that way. We thank them for respecting residents’ choice on local zoning.
"Our town’s regulations and penalties provide consequences for party houses and bad actors but do not go far enough. Residents deserve the quiet enjoyment of their homes without having to repeatedly call the police about violations. People’s homes are their sanctuaries. Knowing your neighbors and the rhythm of one’s neighborhood fosters increased public safety and reduction in crime.
How would you balance development along with the desire of some to maintain the town’s current feel?
Bien-Willner: "I have a proven record of strengthening and standing up for the town’s historic low-density, high-quality standards, and I have consistently opposed and fought against developments that were not consistent with our town’s unique character. While I have been mayor, no developments have been approved that endured significant opposition or did not measure up to our town’s residential feel.
"All development in town must follow our rules, which are based on the town’s historic, high standards. I will continue to keep it that way. Thanks to the work of our community and town leaders, the town has enshrined our low-density residential zoning, and doesn’t allow commercial development as a matter of right — only projects that are worthy of our community should be approved. I will continue to work with my colleagues on Town Council, our Planning Commission and residents to protect what makes our community special."
Pace: "I fight for the quality of life for residential living in Paradise Valley. I support responsible development that fits the character of our community. I am an attorney, problem solver and develop creative and collaborative solutions.
"Our town is experiencing the pressures of overdevelopment, attempts at commercialization of our one-house per acre homes and to increase density, traffic congestion, and undermining our iconic mountains, open space, and desert ambiance. This is a critical election between those who have a consistent track record to preserve Paradise Valley and those who support slippage from our town’s historic precedence.
"I created a working group of custom home builders and engineers to create the hillside safety improvement plan and a construction staging plan. I invite community input. I mediated a dispute between a neighborhood and redevelopment applicant with successful results. I step in to become involved to solve problems in a constructive manner."
What are the top 2 most critical issues facing the town and how would you help solve them?
Bien-Willner: "Based on citizen feedback, the two most important issues are maintaining the town’s top-notch and low-density residential character, and keeping our citizens safe. Maintaining the town’s premier status takes constant effort and skill, which I respectfully believe I have demonstrated over the past four years — including successfully dealing with pressures from developers, and leading the charge against problem short-term rentals.
"All data shows our town only continues to improve.
"Keeping our town safe requires an ongoing commitment to funding our Police Department and support from steady leadership. I am the only mayoral candidate with endorsements from former town law enforcement leaders, and I am proud that under my leadership our town remains extremely safe — even after facing civil unrest and the pandemic. Our work must continue, and I am as committed as ever to keep getting the results our citizens expect and deserve."
Pace: "My primary focus is fighting for quality of life and preventing overdevelopment and commercialization of our one-house per acre residential living. Our town is in good shape regarding finances and has a superb Police Department.
"As an attorney for companies for 30 years, I have good connections and relationships with legislators, other elected officials, state agencies, business community, government relations professionals, and myriad organizations to work on protecting our unique residential character and the undergrounding of our utilities. I have worked with legislators to adopt 10 bills and to defeat many other bad bills that would hurt our state and business economy. I respect the work that legislators do and their important role in protecting Paradise Valley, a town that has no property tax and exemplifies limited government.
"We need to work with the Governor’s Office and legislators to collaborate and build on maintaining the common goals we share."
Election guide: 2022 primaries
U.S. Senate | Governor |Secretary of state|Legislature | Treasurer | County attorney |Attorney general| Superintendent | Corporation Commission | District 1 | District 3 | District 4| District 5| District 6|District 8| District 9 | City council
Town Council candidates
Do Paradise Valley’s regulations for short-term rentals do enough to solve neighborhood concerns about “party houses”? If not, what more would you propose and how would you do that considering the limits placed on municipal leaders by state officials?
Andeen: "Although many of the short-term rentals that operate in our town are quiet … this trend changes our neighborhoods. There are people in your neighborhood with no connection to it … There is trash, — lots of it — parking issues, traffic issues ... When you are trying to sleep at night and can hear car after car driving by your house, the screaming at parties, music, and then the leftover trash peppering the street... The neighbors who live there are left to clean up the mess ... This is a public health and safety issue.
"I ... support the town's efforts to mitigate these issues within the constraints we have. ... Paradise Valley is becoming commercialized. It is a concern. My suggestion ... is to build a coalition of all the stakeholders that comprise the short-term rental industry so that we can produce a collaborative environment of sharing information and working together.”
Dembow: "Absolutely not! Our hands were tied when SB 1350 was signed into law usurping our local zoning and allowing short-term rentals in our town. What the current council recently passed is much better than what we or any other city or town had on the books.
"It was so good at addressing the party houses and bad actors in Paradise Valley that the short-term rental industry used one of their politicians (who owns a short-term rental) to file a 1487 complaint, so the state could withhold the town's state-shared revenue, against the Town of Paradise Valley.
"Over 92% of what we enacted was affirmed by Attorney General Mark Brnovich. This said, I'd like to see local zoning back in the hands of the Town of Paradise Valley. Until then, we need to be able to regulate through a license so we can cancel any bad actors."
Labelle: "Regulations enacted by Paradise Valley go about as far as can be legally allowed at this time due to the overly restrictive SB 1350 enacted in 2016 by our governor. Until we get change at the state level to put decision-making power back to municipalities, enforcement of the new measures afforded us by amended ordinance 2022-4 is a key factor in keeping bad actors out.
"There are also “Band-Aid” options available to certain neighborhoods in Paradise Valley who have CC&Rs, even without an HOA. My neighbors and I went door to door to get signatures and effectively amended our CC&Rs to put tighter restrictions on STRs and other attempts by opportunists to commercialize our neighborhoods.
"Empowering citizens with information ... to make that happen and prioritizing easy online reporting along with enforcement of the code we already have on the books is critical to protecting our single-family neighborhoods from commercialization."
Thomasson: "Our regulations are but a small Band-Aid on the wound of abusive short-term rental party houses. We have implemented what we can from a code standpoint, added another staff member to enforce compliance and supported our Police Department in their creative, constructive, and consistent enforcement efforts.
"Municipal governments should be able to regulate zoning in their own jurisdictions and allow their residents the quality of life they seek. SB 1350 should be repealed."
How would you balance development along with the desire of some to maintain the town’s current feel?
Andeen: "Paradise Valley is experiencing a shift in our population as home prices and sales are soaring. Articles are being written in various publications about our quaint small town which is attracting investors. Development and redevelopment and traffic are constant strains I’ve heard from residents.
"Party Houses, noise, public health & safety issues have become a larger concern with the onset of residential homes operating as businesses in our neighborhoods. Neighborhood connection & camaraderie is changing.
"With all of this, it is most important you pick the best leadership team to lead us into the future. My focus is on mountain and open space preservation along with public health and safety. … Picking a leadership team that is preservation focused, still mindful, collaborative & supportive of our developer community, is essential ... We must continue to seek those leaders that want to preserve & protect our Town. I am one of those."
Dembow: The same way I’ve balanced development in the town the last 11 years of my volunteer service on Town Council. Paradise Valley is one house per acre for all property with the exception of Special Use Permit properties which are our Houses of Worship and world-class resorts. My track record is consistent. I will only support one house per acre for our residential properties and only low-density resort development that complements the town and specifically the neighborhood located around the project.
"I always carefully review how any development will impact the town, the adjacent neighbors and the traffic. My voting record reflects my love for the town that’s been my home for over 31 years, where I choose to raise my family, and passionately serve through volunteerism for the last two decades."
Labelle: “I am a 45-year resident of Paradise Valley. I attended the same local schools that my twins did, and my parents still live in the same home I grew up in. I have had a front-row seat to the development that has happened not just in Paradise Valley, but the entire Phoenix Metropolitan area.
"As a realtor for the last 20 years, I also see how easily a neighborhood can be forever altered by overbuilding and the compromising of setbacks. One of the key reasons Paradise Valley is such a desirable location and now on the map globally is due to the foresight of our founders. …
"Residents incorporated the town to stop the encroachment of Scottsdale and Phoenix, and the goals in 1961 are the same now: To preserve the mountains, open spaces and scenic corridors; no commercial or retail projects, maintain dark skies and one-acre lots, and promote limited, but effective, government.”
Thomasson: "We are a semi-rural, residential community comprised of mostly 1-acre homesites and we need to not lose our focus on what we are.
"Proposition 207 limits our ability to further limit property owner rights and we will comply with all state and federal laws. However, I will not support code or zoning changes that allow increased density in our residential or Special Use Permit properties. Some of our resort properties seek redevelopment, but those must be done in a responsible way and in keeping with the character of our semi-rural town."
What are the top 2 most critical issues facing the town and how would you help solve them?
Andeen: "I ran in 2018 on a platform of preservation & public safety and that is my focus still.
"I am a native of and third-generation resident of the town. … There is no place like it. Quality of life here is so very important and that’s why it is important to elect council members who embrace and preserve the unique world-class brand of Paradise Valley.
"I did not support a proposed rooftop party house at a local resort that had very little buffer to a longtime resident. I did not support the reduction in our setbacks. I have supported our stricter laws to assist with public health and safety issues that come with short-term rentals/party houses.
"It is important … to embrace the vision of our founders. ... Picking a leadership team that is preservation focused, still mindful, collaborative and supportive of our developer community, is essential."
Dembow: "The Town of Paradise Valley is in excellent shape in almost all aspects. There are multiple reasons the Wall Street Journal recently identified Paradise Valley as the place where millionaires and billionaires are moving.
"The most critical issue is out-of-control short-term rental party houses. These party houses destroy neighborhoods. The town and members of council, myself included, are lobbying the state Legislature to get reform passed and signed into law. I won’t stop my efforts until we get local control of zoning.
"Life is great in PV, but if I had to pick a second issue it would be the cut-through traffic as a result of aggressive development in surrounding communities, which will only get worse. The current council has been working on a solution, which remains elusive since these are public roads. Our work continues."
Labelle: "Quality of life is why residents stay and move into Paradise Valley. Quality of life encompasses many things, (including) the ability to enjoy your home quietly and safely. This means mitigating cut-through traffic, speeding, and blowing through stop signs, and protecting residents from commercialization of their single-family properties by ventures that wish to create hotels out of homes …
"Our required open spaces help define us and differentiate us from other municipalities. … While there are many individuals, both on council and staff who work hard to listen and respond to resident interests, more can be done.
"Readily accessible data, easier website navigation, and online tools for residents to empower themselves and their neighborhoods would add value ... Creating more opportunities and communication regarding volunteerism, community outreach to new and diverse groups within Paradise Valley, and mentoring … new leaders to keep Council refreshed and accountable will serve Paradise Valley well."
Thomasson: "Residents have told us that maintaining our semi-rural, residential lifestyle and managing the scourge of short-term rental party houses are the top two priorities. I have previously addressed how I will respond to requests for increased density.
"Regarding abusive short-term rentals, I will:
continue to support our citizen group, along with fellow council members and staff at the legislature, as they work to enact legislative change
support my Town Council colleagues and staff as we work to implement changes in the Town Code and administrative processes to manage short-term rentals
provide resources to our code enforcement and police departments as they vigilantly and creatively work to uncover short-term rental offenders and shut them down."
Reach the reporter at endia.fontanez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EndiaRain.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Paradise Valley election: Q&A with mayor, council candidates
