FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2019
CONTACT:
Alicyn Gitlin, (928) 774-6514, alicyn.gitlin@sierraclub.org
Sandy Bahr, (602) 999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org
Here We Go Again: Sierra Club Opposes Damage To The Grand Canyon By Italian Developer’s Latest Attempt To Move Ahead On Massive Project Adjacent To Natural Wonder
Project Has Been Opposed By More Than 220,000 People
(Tusayan, AZ) Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, among many others, is urging the U.S. Forest Service to reject a controversial and environmentally damaging project that would cram 1.8 million square feet of commercial space and hundreds, if not thousands, of homes into a town at the doorstep of Grand Canyon National Park. Italian developer Stilo has spent decades trying to build this massive project in the Town of Tusayan. An attempt in 2016 to move ahead with this project was so unpopular that more than 220,000 messages in opposition were sent to the Forest Service. Because of fatal flaws with that proposal and massive public outcry, the Forest Service returned Tusayan’s application, noting it was not in the public interest.
More than three years later, Stilo and the Town of Tusayan, with three of its five Town Council members employed by development interests, have again partnered to submit an application seeking Forest Service road and utility access. That access would allow Stilo to proceed with its development plans at two parcels of land — Ten X and Kotzin, within the Kaibab National Forest which is adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park. It is fundamentally the same harmful plan.
Stilo claims its new proposal is slightly smaller in scope compared to the 2016 plan. However it is still massive with commercial space coming in at 1.43 million square feet at Kotzin and about 360,000 square feet at Ten X. Hundreds of homes would still be built. Stilo is also claiming no groundwater would be used for commercial properties but there is no such promise for residential, and there appears to be no legal way to enforce any limitation on groundwater use once the development is built.
Both the Havasupai Tribe and Hopi Tribe have written letters to the Kaibab National Forest opposing this development. Both Tribes foresee damage to water supplies and cultural sites, including nearby Red Butte, that would impede their ability to practice traditional customs and lifeways. In 2016, Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga voiced concern over the impacts Stilo’s development would have on cultural resources, aging park infrastructure, emergency services, traffic, wildlife and vegetation, visitor experience, wilderness values, and noise.
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter director said, “The proposal is neither new nor improved. The developer wants to build 1.8 million square feet of commercial development. While pledging they won’t use groundwater for the commercial projects, they make no such claim for residential. And they are not are not disclosing how many residential units they will build, nor where they will get the water for those residential units. This would be a disaster for the area surrounding Grand Canyon and a tragedy for future generations everywhere.”
In 2016, Tusayan’s Mayor and the entire Town Council were employed by Stilo or its business partner Elling Halvorson. Today, Halvorson still employs a majority of that governing body. The Town has formally endorsed this new proposal, raising numerous ethical concerns. The Town of Tusayan has also been spending $15,000 a month on lobbyists and lawyers. That’s despite the fact that Tusayan has a population of less than 500 and must operate under state spending limits.
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters, including more than 60,000 in Arizona. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. Sierra Club has long advocated for protection of Grand Canyon and the Kaibab National Forest. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org/arizona.