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Presidio in the Pines is another Chainsaw Massacre
about to happen
Received May 12, 2004 If you think the clear cutting of 300 trees was bad, just wait. Do you know that the city council approved and rubber stamped the execution of 91 acres of ponderosa forest? And for what? For the planned experiment of high-density housing. Presidio in the Pines developers asked for and will recieve the permission to wipe out 85 percent of what is left of the trees after they have cut down trees for streets, infrasturcture and housing footprints. This project has been endorsed and pushed through by our own city council and city manager. Are you concerned yet? Do you see the hypocrisy? This project is also endorsed by Friends of Flagstaff's Future. I think the city council should be nominated for the Golden Chainsaw Award, for their crime against nature. The public should be invited to witness the city council approved execution of thousands of our beautiful Ponderosa Pines. What happened on the Nackard property is a slap on the wrist compared what is about to happen. I hope this stirs some interest. James Baker Comments from Candidate Rick Lopez Received May 8, 2004 (Lopez is responding here to letters by Dan Frazier and Lisa Rayner.) I just took a look at your web site. Interesting to say the least. I would like, however, to mention just a few things.
Regarding Lisa's letter to the editor...although
she makes a few good points why is it that she omits the FACT that the city
included THE COMPLETION OF THE FUTS SYSTEM in the 2000 transportation bond.
If you read the Flagstaff City Scape of January 2000 it promotes the 2000
transportation bond with 16 million dollars for "safe to schools',
pedesrian underpasses & overpasses, and completion of the FUTS trail
system. You will notice that it specifically states COMPLETION OF not
addition to or extension of or something else. I remember this very
important detail because I challenged staff on this language because they had
promised the same thing in the 1996 recreation bond. They assured me that
the money being requested in the 2000 transportation bond would be sufficient
to complete the system. Why is it that everyone seems to be ignoring
that? Are we supposed to continue to pour money into this black hole
just because? If you are as interested in digging into the truth as you
claim...why are you ignoring this fact?
Regarding your letter regarding your support of
Joe Donaldson because he represents the better of 2 evils (kind of what you
are saying), let me just say that the fact that I am a realtor does not mean
that I have given up my citizenship...nor should I. I have absolutely no
interest in promoting urban sprawl...in fact if I could wave a magic wand and
accomplish anything I wanted I would go back to the Flagstaff I knew as a
young boy. This means I would be playing in my tree house which was
removed to build the townhouse you now own. Believe me when I say that.
We failed to close the gates back then, why should we do so now? I only
care about the people that are here now. I don't really care about those
people who are yet to come...and come they will. I care about our
current families, and their ability to prosper, to own their own homes, and to
see their children grow up and choose to stay here because there is an
abundance of good paying jobs and homeownership opportunities.
Incidentally, you say nothing of Joe Donaldson taking $350 dollars from Shawn
Campbell (a local Real Estate Broker), which may be because he supported her
project "the Presidio in the Pines".
I have lived where I live now for the better part
of 50 years. It took me less than 5 minutes to get into the woods when I
was a child, and it now takes me less than 10 minutes (most of which I
attribute to the fact that I am now 54 instead of 6). I see your
commitment to open space as a method to keep people from moving here. If
we buy up all the land, so no one can develop it, then no one else can move
here. That I believe is your agenda.
None of this is intended to change your mind, I
just found your web site (someone told me about it) and felt like saying what
is on my mind. When I think of Joe Donaldson being mayor I just get
chills running through me. Here is a guy who believed that Canyon Forest
Village was a private property rights issue (this is exactly what he told me
when answering the question "why did you support canyon forest
village?"), here is a guy who when asked the question on the Ruskin land
exchange "how is the City of Flagstaff going to pay for all that land
near the airport?"...his response was "I don't know", here is a
guy who never met a conference he didn't like (he spent over 10,000 dollars
going to conferences last year alone), here is a guy who stated, on camera,
that the youth recreation centers would just have to continue to deteriorate
until a future council could fix them, here is a mayor who believes that
putting $10 million dollars into the infrastructure at the mall is economic
development, here is a guy that believes the city should get into the real
estate and development business (by purchasing property in downtown flagstaff
and 4 st. we don't need...by the way the property on 4st. is now back on the
market for 50% more than what the city paid for it just a couple of years
ago), here is a guy who personally bothched the entire YMCA deal, here is a
mayor who has categorically stated that he would not use eminant domain to
acquire the McMillan Mesa land even if approved by the voters (which raises
the question, since we know that Stan Ritland isn't selling, why didn't they
just strike a deal with those property owners who were interested in selling,
tell us how much they needed for acquistion and put that on the ballot instead
of creating all of this unneccessary turmoil...but then that would have taken
leadership)...and I could go on and on and on. None of this, of course,
will make a difference to you because I am part of that evil empire. Oh
Well! Rick Lopez
Send your comments to dan (at) CarryaBigSticker (dot) com. |
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