“Affordable†Housing In Tusayan Sill in Limbo
November 7, 2016
There has been no progress yet on ten units of “affordable” housing planned for the 10X location. As of November 2nd, the deed to the land has not been transferred from developer Stilo to the Town of Tusayan. That was supposed to happen weeks ago and the deed transfer is needed in order to record the final plat.
Mayor Craig Sanderson said, “The plat approval is there. What we can’t do is move dirt.”
Stilo is handing over the acreage in exchange for Tusayan giving the green light to its controversial development project.
The idea is to provide “affordable” housing for Tusayan residents. The irony is that there was plenty of accessible land for housing at Camper Village. But that land was rezoned commercial as part of Stilo’s development plan.
Meanwhile, the Center for Biological Diversity has written the Forest Service challenging, among other things, the very premise that the foundation established to fund “affordable” housing isn’t legitimate because it’s really not designed to help those truly in need. Part of the letter reads.
“The Internal Revenue Code's definition of "charitable" for "relief of the poor...or underprivileged" is not consistent with Grand Canyon Housing Foundation's eligibility criteria for its recipient Stilo employees with "maximum $250,000 per year, gross income eligible for receipt of Grand Canyon Housing Foundation "charitable" gifts.”
Stay tuned for more on the Center’s letter.
As winter approaches, Tusayan will have to scramble if it wants to see any of the ten units constructed.
Tusayan residents are sounding off.
Here are a few comments on posted on Tusayan’s Future’s Facebook page. The page essentially serves as the voice of Stilo. Lately Tusayan’s future has been promoting the re-election efforts of the current council. Here are some responses.
“Propaganda at its best on Facebook. 6 years and Current town council has done squat! Sorry folks , don't wait for someone else to make your dreams come true, buy and build your own house, just minutes away from town! That's how the people that really like it here have made it their home.”
“This is nothing but an ad for STILO Development. They want to go in and buy all the land before anyone else, build apartments, and effectively put an end to low rent employee housing.”