PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. – The Town of Pinetop-Lakeside will hold a special election on its recently Town Council-approved Future Land-Use Map on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. This election is the result of a citizen referendum (2022-01) filed with the Town. In 2015, the voters of the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside approved the General Plan, which included a Future Land-Use Map that had several technical errors and omissions. The 2015 voter-approved General Plan outlines the requirements for approving a General Major Plan Amendment: 1.) “A major plan amendment is any proposal(s) that substantially alters the mixture or balance of these land uses, which is fifty gross acres or greater in area”; 2.) “After a staff review, a Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing and recommendation, and a public hearing by Town Council, a major amendment will require a two-thirds vote”.
On October 6, 2022, after a series of nine open public meetings, the Town Council unanimously approved the updated Future Land-Use Map. A citizens group circulated a petition and collected enough signatures to require a special election which will cost the Town and its citizens approximately $20,000.
This will be a mail-in or drop-off-only election.
The following is a list of key dates leading up to the election:
February 12, 2023 - First day to request an early ballot.
- April 17, 2023 – Last day to register to vote.
- May 5, 2023 – Last day to request an early ballot.
- May 12, 2023 – Last day to vote early (ballot drop off)
- May 16. 2023 – Election day.
“This is a very complex issue, as is the case with most ballot measures,” said Pinetop-Lakeside Mayor Stephanie Irwin. “I encourage our citizens to become educated about the true facts on their own by going to a trusted and reliable source, rather than what they might hear on the streets or via social media. Oftentimes, information spread by special-interest groups is not factual, but emotion based. We looked to our Town Code, the current 2015 voter-approved General Plan, held public hearings to gather public input, and put a lot of thought and effort into studying these issues in order to guide our decisions. This is what you, as citizens of the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside, have elected your Town Council to do.”