As a representative of the Allied Gardens/Grantville Community Council I attended a meeting of the San Carlos Area Council on July 17 and participated in the discussion of the creation of a Navajo Town Council. 

The Navajo Communities of San Carlos, Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, and Grantville have never been in conflict but we seldom work in concert on matters of common interest. The value of aligning our efforts is best exemplified by the results of our Community Planning Group, Navajo Community Planners, Inc. (NCPI), our representative in land development matters, when the members of the several communities spoke with a single voice in opposition to the All Peoples Church.

A Navajo Town Council will bring all of our communities together to speak to government in such matters as protection and rehabilitation of Navajo Canyon, the burdens of homeless/unhoused persons, encroachment on the characters of our neighborhoods, and law enforcement. Our unified voice on matters of common concern is necessary to get the city to listen and act.

By example, we have mutual concern with developments of the shopping centers in Allied Gardens, San Carlos, and Del Cerro. 

They have been retail centers from the time our communities were established. However, the underlying zoning for each shopping center would allow commercial/retail and residential units with density of one unit for each 1,500 square feet. 

For example, at the Allied Gardens center 160 dwelling units could be built on the east side of Waring Road. By application of various exceptions allowed under state and local law the number of units could be tripled. Because of those exceptions the city would not have to give our Community Planning Group opportunity to make recommendations on such developments. When this happens the full-throated voice of Navajo Town Council will be heard.

A lot needs to be worked out: trust in our neighbors, confidence that by giving up independence each community will enjoy effective expression of its needs and control of activities unique to its interests, creation of the organizational structure, and resolution of how each community will be represented. 

We will hold a meeting on Nov. 4 to bring a definitive plan to our communities. A lot needs be done between now and then. Join that effort by leaving a message on “Contact Us” at: aggcouncil.org.

Tiffany Swiderski, senior park ranger, is hosting habitat restoration events in Navajo Canyon every second and fourth Saturday between 9-11 a.m. from now until the end of October. 

The return of the canyon to its natural state will be a generational task. You can join this important work on Aug. 10, Aug. 24, and Sept. 14. 

For more information and event registration: https://tinyurl.com/5n7rb4tm.

Photo credit: Pixabay.com