Not everyone favors a mountaintop resort
About 70 people turned out for the second, and final, town hall meeting to talk about Canyon Ridge Resort, a proposed $106 million upscale luxury hotel and conference center to be built on Lookout Mountain.
During the second public meeting, several residents voiced opposition.
Eli Everette, 25, a neighbor to the Canyon Ridge property, sharply criticized the project saying this was “all about the money.”
Everette said he represented those too afraid to speak up.
“I think it is a terrible idea,” he said. “I think there’s already too many people up there and there’s going to be even more.”
Another resident, who declined giving his name, said the noise and odors from the current sewer treatment plant were unwelcome. And while the resort might lead to increased property values for nearby land owners, that would also mean an increase in
property tax bills.
The upscale complex will include 178 rooms, conference center, spa, infinity pool, and upgrades to an existing golf course. It will employ at least 180 fulltime workers and is scheduled to open by summer 2020.
The first town hall meeting was held June 4, with about 100 people attending.
Developer
Duane Horton, CEO of Scenic Lands Company and Canyon Ridge Developer, introduced himself and outlined his plans for the resort.
Horton gave his pledge that what was being presented was what could be expected and would be delivered.
“If you ever hear anything different than this, come to us. Verify it. Don’t believe what you are reading,” he said. “We will prove it.”
“Absolutely no existing tax revenues will be used by Scenic Land Company or even requested from Walker County to build this project. We are not going to ask for it. We haven’t asked for it. It’s been made very clear that even if we did ask for it, we are not going to get it.”
The developer said he had other opportunities for such a project, but, as a Walker County native, he is familiar with the natural beauty of the area and wants only to enhance, not harm it.
When questioned about the accessibility of a mountaintop resort, Horton spoke of how many major markets would be within a two-hour drive of Canyon Ridge. Within that range are about 14 million people, something he said is not seen in the rest of the southeastern states.
The developer pointed out that there are 28 Fortune 500 companies within this two-hour drive and tourism destinations already exist in this area which has low sales tax rates and a willing work force.
One perceived weakness, the lack of direct interstate highway access, is not really such a problem, as Horton insists guests do not want to “hop off of an interstate” and be at a resort. They want a little bit of a scenic drive.
“You don’t have an interstate connection, but you are close enough to them, that it’s perfect,” he said.
Whitfield
Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield discussed how this project affects taxpayers.
Property taxes now collected on the existing golf course and the 48-acre tract of land already owned by Scenic Land Partners totals less than $17,000 annually.
Those taxes will continue to be paid, the commissioner said.
“So, what they are getting an abatement on is the taxes on the new development they are doing,” Whitfield said.
That 30-year abatement is: no property taxes for five years, then 10 percent of the value for the next 25 years.
“So our total taxes that we would get over a 30-year project is going to be a little over $3.1 million. ... If we keep the status quo, nothing changes, the land stays as it is. This is going to bring in a half-million dollars over 30 years versus us doing the abatement, we’re going to get $2.6 million over that 30 years cycling that last 25-year period,” Whitfield said.
Development authority’s role
Development Authority Chairman Robert Wardlaw discussed the authority’s role, insisting that it works for the county as a whole and that no county funds are being invested in this project.
“Along the lines of what I would be wanting to know if I were you...Number one is ‘on a project of this scale, what does that guy stand to gain?’ The answer to that is nothing, except to help my community. I don’t get paid for anything at all. I do not own any property down in or around that resort, anywhere on the mountain or anywhere close — even in the valley, Wardlaw said.
Wardlaw said the development authority was created by the state in 1964 as a means to recruit and retain industry that increases tax revenue that benefits all citizens within a community.
“To address a few other things that I hear quite a bit (about the authority) like, ‘Well, the board does the bidding of the commissioner.’ That is absolutely not true,” he said. “I mean this with all due respect — what I am about to say and I don’t want you (Whitfield) to take this wrong — but, the past administration (Heiskell) would certainly vouch for what I am about to say and the current administration would vouch as well. Certainly — from my part — if it is a bad deal, the answer is ‘no.’ It was before (a bad deal) and quite honestly, if a bad deal gets presented today, the answer would be ‘no’ from your development authority.
“Especially right now when it comes to spending money that we do not have,” Wardlaw said.