Opinion: Five reasons to vote no on Tempe Recreation District proposal

Tempe voters should vote no Propositions 301, 302 and 303 Protect their communities from further escalating crises in affordability, sustainability, and tax relief for the rich.

These proposals pertain to the land use and contracts that the City of Tempe has entered into with developers for the proposed Tempe Recreation District. The district will span more than 46 acres and include a 16,000-seat Coyotes Arena, businesses, hotels and nearly 2,000 condominiums.

Ballots for the special election were mailed to residents on April 19 and are expected to be returned by May 9. Any mail-in ballots that are lost, damaged, destroyed or not received can be cast in person between May 8-16.

read more: Arizona Coyotes Arena and Recreation District Tempe Special Election Explained

The Tempe Recreation District, if approved, would have a devastating impact on the surrounding Tempe community.

Voters voted against these proposals for a variety of reasons.

Reason one: Gentrification and house prices

Tammy Nguyen, outreach director for Asian-American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander rights in Arizona, said she thinks entertainment districts lead to higher housing prices and that stadiums, like those proposed for the Coyotes, have the potential to gentrify neighborhoods. History.

“We think this development is going to make things worse. We’re going to spend a lot more money to alleviate these problems,” Nguyen said. Blood, because in summer, people die every day.”

The developer will also make a pitiful contribution to the city’s affordable housing fund.

“This Coyote development, even though it’s a $2.1 billion development … they contributed a measly $2 million to the affordable housing fund,” said Arizona State University faculty member and organization of Tempe 1st, a PAC and grassroots organization Journalist Dawn Penich-Thacker said the organization opposed the proposals.

Contributions are too little, but the problem is not with enough contributions to the fund, but with development in the first place.

Reason two: sustainability

At a time when the city of Tempe should be looking to conserve water rather than waste it on a billionaire’s pet project (more on that later), the Recreation District will draw resources from a resource the community desperately needs.

Lauren Kuby, a Tempe First Party leader, former Tempe City Council member and Arizona State University Senior Scientist for Global Futures, said she has “deep concerns” about the proposed recreation area.

“The city government did not conduct an environmental assessment (of the development project),” Kuby said. “They’ll say, ‘Well, we don’t usually do environmental assessments on development projects.'”

There are other environmental impacts, including proposals to relocate the dam and increase traffic.According to the NHL, it need “It takes 12,000-15,000 gallons of water to form an ice sheet,” which will increase Environmental Impact of Hockey FieldsMeanwhile, states in the Southwest, including Arizona, are in the midst of a 100-year drought as the Colorado River faces shortages.

Ice rinks also use refrigerants that can damage the environment through greenhouse gases.

Reason three: tax policy

By imposing a government property rental tax, the financial burden of the deal is shifted from its billionaire backer, Alex Meruelo, to the people of Tempe, who are already hurt by the proposal.

Its rationale is that facilities such as arenas, music venues and Coyotes will be exempt from paying property taxes for 30 years, and other facilities such as residences, offices and hotels will be exempt from paying property taxes to the city for 8 years.

While properties are not subject to tax, developers pay GST on products or services sold at the development site. Yes – this means that people who visit these sites will pay extra taxes on purchases made there. At the same time, owners will receive huge tax breaks.

Dave Wells, teaching professor at Arizona State University and director of research for the institute Grand Canyon Institutesaying the development would be a “net drain, not a net gain” from Tempe.

Best of all, the development is located within a certified Opportunity Zone, which encourages private capital investment by deferring capital gains taxes.

It was a major tax break and giveaway to Alex Meruelo, the wealthy owner of the development company.

Reason four: Alex Meruelo

Meruelo owns Arizona Coyotes and Bluebird Development LLC. Yes, Bluebird Development LLC will be the organization buying the land, which is not coincidentally owned by Meruelo, who also owns Coyotes.

Meruelo has a history of harming local communities.

While in Glendale, the Coyotes (still owned by Meruelo) had to pay $1.3 million in back taxes After Glendale, the city forced teams to either pay the fee or be locked out of the Gila River Arena (now known as the Desert Diamond Arena).

This is not the history that voters should bring to Tempe.

Reason five: lack of public opinion

According to some organizers, Tempe is emerging as a worrying trend, with the city reaching development deals but doing little to raise awareness or seek community input.

“The negotiated deal was first presented to residents the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and then voted on a week later. I’ve never seen that happen in all of my time in Congress,” Cuby said.

The city of Tempe approved the South Pier development in another way of ignoring public opinion, but opposing It was put on the ballot.

read more: Controversial Tempe Town Lakes housing development inaugurated on spring ballot

If voters support the entertainment district, one wonders what effect more publicity would have on people’s willingness to vote.

“I think on paper it sounds really exciting, right? If I heard that there was an entertainment district coming up that would bring professional sports teams and businesses, I’d be excited,” Isabelle said. Heather Rotter, a second-year political science and political science major, said. Chairman of the Youth Democratic Party at Arizona State University.

“I just encourage any student voter to look into it a little more, because I think it looks great on the surface, but there’s a lot going on behind the scenes,” Hiserodt said.

So it’s important to ask: Why did the city sign a contract with a much-maligned billionaire with little consultation from the community?

Why isn’t the city conducting an environmental assessment of a huge development project at a time when the global climate crisis is having a profound impact on the Southwest?

There are many possible answers, but one is obvious. The city doesn’t prioritize the majority of its residents, who are renters, students and working-class people.

It would rather prioritize glitzy, glamorous entertainment developments that are environmentally damaging and fiscally irresponsible, because it’s easier to do what the rich want than the other way around.

However, Tempe voters have the final say. They should vote against Propositions 301, 302 and 303 and ask the city to work to make life easier for residents.

Edited by Kate Duffy, Jasmine Kabiri and Grace Copperthite.

contact columnist astigile@asu.edu and follow @StigileAaron on twitter.

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this column are those of the authors and do not imply any endorsement by The National Press or its editors.

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aaron steagallopinion columnist

Aaron Stigile is an opinion columnist for National Press. He previously wrote for The Defiant Movement and is currently studying a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is also working on a minor in Spanish and a certificate in Interdepartmental Leadership.