Canyon gateway mulls taller buildings
TUSAYAN, Ariz. — Seconds after rounding the highway curve on the final stretch to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim entrance, the first sign appears: Yes on 400. Housing. Jobs. Independence.
The ballot measure being decided Tuesday is the latest push in a decadeslong effort to build new hotels, boutique shops and commercial centers in Tusayan, Arizona, a tiny town that millions of people pass through on the way to the Grand Canyon eachyear.
A simple majority of 262 registered voters will decide the all mail-in election that could have huge consequences for the landscape and skyline surrounding one of the most-visited national parks in the country. An Italian real estate developer is a major landowner in town and wants to change the law to raise the maximum building height to 65 feet, clearing the way for a hotel development and other businesses.
Supporters say the ordinance is a critical step to bolster tourism and jobs in Tusayan by making it more of a destination than a quick stop on the way to the natural wonder.
“It’s going to allow us to
CANYON
capture the visitor for longer than six hours,” Vice Mayor Becky Wirth said. “We would like them to stay more than a night.”
Opponent Clarinda Vail says she worries about the effect on water, traffic to the Grand Canyon and a skyline whose buildings could approach treetops and be visible from the North Rim.
“Love your Legacy,” one of her campaign signs read, pointing to the area’s history as a promoter, not a detractor, of the canyon, she says.
Vail’s family settled Tusayan in the 1930s as cattle ranchers. Her family made a deal with Arizona in the 1950s to run Highway 64 through their property as more visitors traveled to the Grand Canyon. Their Red Feather Lodge still stands along the roadway, and the family owns other businesses and leases property.
Another major landowner, Elling Halvorson, counts a hotel and restaurant among his business ventures but is more widely known for air tours over the Grand Canyon.
Among his business partners is Italy-based Stilo Development Group USA, and they are leading the effort to raise building heights.
They pushed for the vote after the U.S. Forest Service rejected access for development on Stilo’s two large properties in town. No longer able to
build out, Halvorson and Stilo made a move to build up at an existing RV park they own.
Incorporating the community as a town in 2010 became the way to move development on Stilo’s other properties forward. Tusayan later approved annexation and rezoning agreements, but none of it came withoutafight.therewerelawsuits, allegations of voter fraud and intimidation, costly campaigns and bitterness among residents.