FAQ About Proposition 410 and 411

Where is the land located that Scottsdale hopes to add to the McDowell Preserve?

Located in north Scottsdale, the land is strategically located linking the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Tonto National Forest and McDowell Mountain Park. The dark green area in the map shown to the right is the land Scottsdale hopes to add to the preserve. The blue area is land already in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The green square east of the blue area is McDowell Mountain Park. The light green area in the northeast corner of the map is the Tonto National Forest. The land being considered for acquisition will also provide access to the expanded preserve from several scenic corridors including Pima Road, Scottsdale Road and Dynamite Road.

What happens if Prop 411 does not pass?

Passage of Prop 411 will result in Scottsdale applying for the Arizona Preserve Initiative (API) on approximately 13,710 acres of state trust land  which will protect it for at least 5 years while Scottsdale establishes the funding mechanism to buy all of the land. If  Prop 411 does not pass, Scottsdale will not apply for API protection and this land will be available for development.  The opportunity to protect this land is here now and may not be available ever again. Once classified as developable, it will be lost forever. 

Why is it important to buy private land?

Passage of Prop 411 will provide funds necessary to buy private land now that if developed would bring infrastructure and services to the heart of the state land Scottsdale hopes to preserve. If this private land is developed, it will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to apply the API to the state land around the development. In a similar situation, the state land around Legend Trails (appears on above map as white square in northeast corner of land Scottsdale hopes to add) will be developed if the API is not applied to the state land surrounding Legend Trails. Again, the opportunity is here now because the State Land Trust is amenable to applying the API to all the state land in the study boundary, which includes all the land surrounding Legend Trails. Note that Legend Trails occupies the white square in the northwest corner of the dark green area in the map above.

Why is passage of Prop 411 important to access to the Preserve?

Passage of Prop 411 will allow the acquisition of private land on the north side of the McDowells that is necessary for access into the McDowells from the north. Currently, all northern access is cutoff by private land.

What will it cost to buy the new land?

The estimated cost of all the new land, both private and state, is on the order of $ 550 million  to $700 million.  The excess money collected from the McDowell Mountain tax will not be enough money to purchase all the land in the new study boundary, but it will provide a good start (approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of what is needed) and will allow acquisition of the critical, threatened pieces now. In addition, passage of Prop   411 will result in the application of the API to all state lands which will give Scottsdale 5 years to investigate other funding mechanisms to raise any additional needed money.  In addition, other avenues are being explored to reduce the cost of the state land, which would reduce the amount of money required.  In any event, no tax increase can be levied without another citizen vote which should satisfy critics worried about the tax burden.

What are the priorities for determining which land is purchased first?

The passage of Prop 411 and the resultant application of the API to the state lands, will protect the roughly 14,000 acres of state land from any development or acquisition by any private party from 5 to 8 years. The priority therefore would be to acquire any private land that is necessary to complete the access into the McDowells and any required connections between the McDowell preserve and the state land, before it is lost to development. Also high in priority would be any private land that if developed would open up the state land for development in the future, should Scottsdale voters fail to provide sufficient funding in 8 years.  This strategy will help protect the state land from any development until the city can purchase it, regardless of what happens in the next 8 years.

Why should the General Plan be changed in regard to the 19,370 acres?

Some residents are recommending that the Scottsdale City Council change the General Plan to classify all 19,370 acres in the new study boundary as Limited Use Area (#42) or Conservation Open Space. This will show the City of Scottsdale's intent, and commitment, to preserve this land and will discourage development of any of it before it can be bought by the city. It will also reduce the assessment of the land, which will reduce the price the city must pay for it.