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!
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