As a representative of the Allied Gardens/Grantville Community Council, I attended a San Carlos Area Council meeting on July 17 and participated in the discussion regarding the formation of a Navajo Town Council.
The Navajo communities of San Carlos, Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, and Grantville have never been involved in conflict, but we rarely work together on matters of common interest. The value of coordinating our efforts is best illustrated by the results of our Community Planning Group, Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI), our representative in land development matters, when members of the various communities spoke with one voice against the All Peoples Church.
A Navajo City Council will bring all of our communities together to speak to government on issues such as protecting and restoring Navajo Canyon, the burdens of homelessness, interference with the character of our neighborhoods, and law enforcement. Our unified voice on matters of common concern is necessary for the City to listen and act.
For example, we are interested in the development of the shopping centers in Allied Gardens, San Carlos and Del Cerro.
They have been shopping centers since the inception of our communities. However, the zoning code applicable to each shopping center would allow commercial/retail and residential units at a density of one unit per 1,500 square feet.
For example, 160 housing units could be built at the Allied Gardens Center on the east side of Waring Road. By applying various exceptions permitted under state and local law, the number of units could be tripled. Because of these exceptions, the Town would not have to give our Community Planning Group an opportunity to make recommendations on such developments. When this happens, the Navajo Town Council’s voice will be heard in full.
Much needs to be clarified: trust in our neighbors, confidence that by giving up its independence each community can effectively express its needs and control the activities that correspond to its specific interests, the creation of an organizational structure and a solution for the representation of each community.
We will be holding a meeting on November 4th to present a final plan to our communities. There is still a lot of work to be done before then. Help us in this endeavor by leaving us a message in the “Contact Us” section: Learn more.
Tiffany Swiderski, senior park ranger, is hosting habitat restoration events in Navajo Canyon every second and fourth Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. from now through the end of October.
Restoring the canyon to its natural state will be a generational effort. You can join in this important work on August 10, 24 and September 14.
Further information and registration for the event: https://tinyurl.com/5n7rb4tm.
Image credit: Pixabay.com
