Protecting resources and planning for growth:
Grand Canyon Trust supports propositions 202 and 400, rejects 100

By Brad Ack and Nikolai Ramsey, Flagstaff Residents

This November northern Arizona voters have a unique chance to decide the future of the Grand Canyon, nearby communities, and the state. Two ballot propositions, Proposition 202 on the Citizens' Growth Management Initiative and Proposition 400 on Canyon Forest Village, offer a rare opportunity to better plan for growth in Arizona and at the Grand Canyon. A third proposition, Prop. 100, would allow up to 97 percent of state trust lands in Arizona to be developed and must be rejected.

Here is why the Grand Canyon Trust supports propositions 202 and 400 and rejects Proposition 100:

Proposition 202 allows voters to decide how to manage growth in their communities, rather than developers, and how to address issues such as traffic congestion, declining air and water quality, sprawling development, degradation of wildlife habitat, and loss of scenic vistas. This citizens' initiative - which the Trust co-authored - is a balanced, comprehensive approach to managing growth and preserving our quality of life.

Prop. 202 requires cities and towns to develop growth management plans that establish flexible growth areas to accommodate up to 10 years of growth. These plans must be approved by you, the voters.  Prop. 202 requires developers, not taxpayers, to pay for the roads, schools and fire protection new developments need.  Prop. 202 allows our elected officials to consider the capacity of ground and surface water supplies when deciding upon new development.  Prop. 202 gives counties some control over wildcat subdivisions, the most visible type of rural sprawl in northern Arizona.

Prop. 202 is supported by over 40 organizations and businesses, including the League of Women Voters, Arizona Public Health Association, Friends of Flagstaff's Future, and Republicans for the Environment.

Proposition 400 (CFV) is not about development versus no development near Grand Canyon National Park, as opponents would have you believe.  The park has seen enormous growth in visitation and much more is projected over the coming decades. That visitation drives development and Prop. 400 is about what that development looks like and who benefits.  Prop. 400 gives voters a voice in how to manage development at the entrance to our most precious national park.

Prop. 400 is the result of five years of planning by the Forest Service, Park Service, and many groups, including the Grand Canyon Trust. Prop. 400 addresses all the critical environmental impacts of current development patterns, such as stopping groundwater pumping that threatens Canyon seeps and springs.  Prop. 400 incorporates the best practices in water and energy conservation and waste management, and creates a self-imposed tax to fund continuing environmental protection.

Prop. 400 gives Native Americans a fair opportunity to participate in the economic engine of the Grand Canyon and creates sorely needed facilities and services for the people who serve the visitors to the Canyon.  Prop. 400 is part of the Park's plans to build a light rail transit system and to move visitor services outside the Park.

All of the commitments made by CFV are legally binding through enforceable covenants. The Trust is one of five organizations with legal enforcement authority if contracts are broken.

The Trust opposes Prop. 100, the so-called Growing Smarter Plus measure, because it leaves 97 percent of state lands open to development, nominally protecting up to 3 percent of state trust lands across the state.  Most of these lands are on steep hillsides or in washes that are not developable anyway.  Prop. 100 is portrayed as "the" way to preserve land and control growth. Unfortunately, while reform of the state land system is sorely needed, Proposition 100 is a development wolf in conservation sheep's clothing.

Nikolai Ramsey is a Legal Program Officer for Grand Canyon Trust. He helped draft the Citizens Growth Management Initiative, has worked on regional water issues aimed at protecting the Grand Canyon's seeps and springs, and coordinated several open space protection projects.

Brad Ack is program director at Grand Canyon Trust, where he has been working on environmental policy and sustainable development issues since 1993. Brad is a father of two Flagstaff natives and he is committed to leaving them a healthy, safe and sustainable community.