lonetree development: action alert

Phoenix based Vanderbilt Farms plans to destroy 620 acres of ponderosa pine forest just off Lonetree road to complete their top level golf course and high end housing development. The multimillion dollar project, "Fairway Peaks", will include 1,285 total dwellings with 1/4 and 1/2 acre lots starting at a hefty $800-$900 thousand dollars. "Affordable housing" makes up less than 10% of the entire development--125 homes which will be segregated from the rest by a major road. For years this area, previously owned by the Chamberlain family, has been a refuge for both nature lovers and wildlife, providing a natural corridor to Walnut Canyon. According to city planning and zoning, Vanderbilt Farms must spare 50% of the original trees from destruction, but this count will take place only after the forest is cleared of all trees less than six inches in diameter, and all those that grow under the canopy of another tree. Performing the count after this "fire prevention" process significantly reduces the total standing number of trees in the Fairway Peaks project, allowing the net destruction of more trees with in the parameters of law. Is this what the community and land of flagstaff want? All assurances that this is not a "gated community" aside, the plans clearly belie a vision for flagstaff that is comprised of segregated havens where the very rich may consort amongst themselves in their second or third home, occasionally venturing out in the SUV to contribute to traffic problems on their way to the new big box store in town. The Flagstaff citizen picks up the tab on several levels. Golf courses, need we remind ourselves, are as much a nightmare for biodiversity and ecological health as box stores and SUVs are for cultural diversity and egalitarian politics--a single golf course consumes as much water yearly as 60,000 average American families. This plan invites, on massive scale, consumer culture to Flagstaff, chasing ever further the dream of a sustainable local economy. Vanderbilt Farms managed to sqeak their plan through the city council as the last item dealt with before the new electees were ushered in. However, the project is not at all a done deal. According to the city planner, permits still need to be filed and these must be cleared and the ground broken within 2 years, else the city council would need be consulted again. This might allow for more citizen input and awareness that could sway the council towards the good sense of nixing such a project. Contact city officials, raise awareness, make a stink of some sort or another. Fairway peaks is bad news for Flagstaff culture, local business, ecosystem, and it must be stopped!


- by Heather and Owen
8/03/00, Flagstaff AZ



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