Community News

Building Height Controversy May Go To A Public Vote

May 20, 2017

 The Tusayan Council’s decision to grant developer Stilo’s request and raise building height limits in Tusayan from 35 to 65 feet is raising some eyebrows and will likely go before voters.

27 petition signatures from Tusayan residents have been filed seeking to put the measure on the ballot. 

Before the Town Council voted to increase the height limit, The National Parks Service sent Tusayan a letter expressing concern about the impact this would have on dark skies, water usage, and visitor capacity at the Grand Canyon National Park. Local business leaders and the Sierra Club also opposed the measure. None of that swayed the Mayor and Town Council. They moved ahead and unanimously passed the height increase.

Stilo, the Italian developer behind a proposed project that would bring three million square feet of commercial space and thousands of new houses to Tusayan, asked that the Tusayan Town Council consider the new building height. It was a condition of an amendment to the development agreement. In exchange the Town gets to use 20 acres of land at Ten X as the site for 20 affordable housing units. 50 more units could be built if commercial development progresses at Camper Village. Home construction at Ten X will be a challenge because much of the land that Stilo gave Tusayan is in a flood plain.

The Mayor and all the members of the Tusayan Town Council are employees of Stilo business partner Elling Halvorson.