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From Uptown to Downtown, covering Chandler like the sun.
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Inside This Week
Sugarland debuted in Chandler, adding a lure for shoppers.
COMMUNITY................ 22 Floridino hostess has the mostest, Yelp survey finds.
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he Chandler City Council approved allowing backyard chickens in residential neighborhoods on a divided vote. But the fight may not be over. Les Minkus of South Chandler, who has been leading the opposition to the change, said he and like-minded residents intend to get enough signatures so local citizens can vote on the measure in a referendum. If that fails, then he hopes the new and reconstituted City Council may revisit the issue in January after Angel Encinas and Jane Poston replace Rene Lopez and Terry Roe.
Ferguson opens huge Chandler warehouse to serve region.
REAL ESTATE......................................20 COMMUNITY....................................22 BUSINESS........................................... 26 GET OUT............................................. 32 CLASSIFIEDS...................................... 36
“We’re going go for it,” Minkus said after the council’s 5-2 vote Nov. 10. “Let’s see what’s going to happen in January, because they may repeal it, right?” It took years for Council to approve backyard chickens, which was rejected by one vote in 2013. Lopez had made passing the change a priority before he left office. “I can appreciate those that … have concerns about this,” Lopez said. “We’re not breaking ground. Every city around us allows chickens. “It’s not like we have a mass exodus from other cities that are seeking refuge in Chandler because of chickens.”
There are only two scheduled meetings left for the current council. Encinas and Poston are scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 12. To force a referendum, opponents must collect 5,619 verifiable signatures of Chandler residents in a 30-day window that will start after the measure’s final adoption, scheduled early next month. That number is determined by the number of votes cast in the last certified city election, which in this case is the August Primary. They need 10% of the 56,181
see CHICKENS page 6
Chandler Council approves Raising the woof non-discrimination ordinance BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor
BUSINESS........................ 26
November 27, 2022
Chandler’s new chicken law could face referendum BY KEN SAIN Arizonan Managing Editor
NEWS................................. 12
FREE | chandlernews.com
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he advocates for a non-discrimination ordinance gathered outside Chandler City Council Chambers to celebrate even before the Nov. 10 meeting was officially over. Chandler is no longer the largest city in Arizona without an NDO. “I think tonight was a very, very important step forward, and culminates a two-year process,” said Tyler Conaway, co-founder of Chandler Pride and who chairs the Chandler Chamber of Com-
merce’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. “It’s inspiring to be part of a bigger process that’s intended to make Chandler more inclusive, and make everyone feel like they have a place to belong. So, I’m very excited.” Support from businesses may have been the key to adoption. The Chandler Chamber has been lobbying hard for the adoption. During the Nov. 10 meeting, Thomas Barr of Local First Arizona called on the Council to pass
Quesy (short for Quesadilla) the border collie chased bubbles at Woofstock, which brought out a number of residents and their furry friends to Tumbleweed Park in Chandler on Nov. 19, Arizona. Check out some of the other attendees on page 9. (David Minton/Arizonan Staff Photographer)
see NDO page 3
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