Foreign investors should not become land barons on the American taxpayer's nickel
Why Canyon Forest Village is 'Just Too Much'

By Rick Lopez, Flagstaff Resident

Theodore Roosevelt once said that the best thing we could do for the Grand Canyon would be to leave it alone. We have failed miserably. Today almost 5 million visitors travel to the Grand Canyon on a yearly basis. This has led to a whole variety of philosophical debates over how best to manage the Canyon in the future.  We only have one shot at doing this right. I say that because of the issue which is on the Nov. 7 ballot.  Proposition 400, better known as Canyon Forest Village, will be a turning point in our ability to do the right thing.

A lot of people believe that Canyon Forest Village is capped at 900 motel rooms and 250,000 sq. ft. of retail space.  The truth is that in the year 2010 CFV can re-apply to the county for more density.  It is conceivable that CFV could eventually reach its original proposal of just under 5,000 motel rooms and 500,000 sq. ft. of retail space. This, of course, would require significantly more housing units.  Of course there is no guarantee that the county would approve any greater density, but once the property has the zoning they want, there is certainly no reason to assume that they won't be successful in their application.

Each and every one of us should be outraged by the land exchange itself.  This would make an excellent story on Peter Jennings' weekly reports on "The Fleecing of America." The Forest Service hired an appraiser from Texas with somewhat questionable credentials, gave him specific directions which would achieve the desired result, and expects us to accept it without question. Without boring you with the fine art of real estate appraising, let me just say I wish I had known the Forest Service was selling land at the entrance to the park for $19,000 an acre.  I guess only the big guys with money get opportunities like this. What's even worse, in this case, it's foreign money.

Canyon Forest Village is providing nothing that couldn't be provided without them. Other than some shared parking, they are no longer contributing to the transit system. They aren't building a school, but they are providing land for a school - a school that may not be needed unless Canyon Forest Village is built. The Forest Service has contributed land for schools in the past, so CFV is not needed to accomplish that. The Park Service will have to purchase land from CFV at fair market value (and I guarantee it won't be $19,000 an acre), in order to build employee housing if they still want employees housed outside of the park.  As for the community enhancements (fire station, churches, a library, a community center, etc.), let's not forget that CFV sued Tusayan and denied them the opportunity to incorporate.  That incorporation would have allowed the community to collect taxes thereby providing those enhancements themselves.  The process to incorporate began several years before CFV was even a twinkle in Tom De Paolo's eye.  So why do we need them?  Very simply - we don't.

We can accept all of the "sustainable development" sound bites, but so what?  Sustainable for whom? This is a massive commercial development (probably the largest in the history of this region) and nothing more. It contributes nothing, and upsets the fragile economic balance of existing gateway communities. Foreign investors reap the benefits and we breathe the exhaust fumes. Foreign investors get wealthy and local businesses go bankrupt. Foreign investors become American land barons on the American taxpayer's nickel. If Canyon Forest Village is approved and turns out to be the wrong thing to do - we can't fix it. On Nov. 7, help me send these foreign investors a message: Our Canyon is not for sale!

Rick Lopez is the Chairman of "It's Just Too Much! No on Prop. 400" and a former two-term Flagstaff City Council member. He is office manager and associate broker of Prudential Foothills Real Estate and is a third generation native of Flagstaff.