FLAGSTAFF — The first in a series of follow-up public meetings for the proposed student housing project at the Arrowhead Village trailer park in Flagstaff will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, April 21 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 1175 W. Route 66, Flagstaff. That meeting is scheduled to focus on the displacement of the residents of the trailer park.
A second meeting focusing on the development will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 at DoubleTree Hotel.
Landmark Properties of Athens, GA, is seeking to build multi-story student housing at the site of the current Arrowhead Village trailer park in west Flagstaff.
Residents of the trailer park and community leaders, who say many in the neighborhood are low-income residents, have expressed their concern that they will either have find a place to relocate their trailers or lose them and find a more expensive place to live if the development is approved.
The developers first met with residents in October 2013 about the proposed development, however opposition from many of the 75 residents caused the developer to cancel a planned follow-up meeting later that month. City officials also said at the time that the project still needed to pass a number of hurdles before gaining city approval, including adequate public hearings, addressing impacts on traffic, public safety and the displacement of the residents.
The developer has since met with some residents individually to discuss possible compensation options and held a follow-up informational meeting that drew upwards of 100 people to the DoubleTree Hotel on Feb. 19. While a representative from the company said he felt the meeting was an effective way to communicate the goals of the project to the residents and the public, community and area political leaders said the gathering was confusing, citing the lack of a formal sit-down question and answer session with simultaneous translations.
Developers instead chose to have an open-room format with separate information sections focusing on the development itself, the timeline of the project, and information on potential compensation of residents.
Many of the families crowded around the compensation information area.
An Arizona Daily Sun article on Feb. 21 captured the situation: Trailer park residents still in the dark.
Some community leaders have also questioned the use of a third-party organization to meet with the residents, rather than have the developers meet directly with community organizers to address issues such as the actual compensation amounts.
Residents from Arrowhead Village are urged to attend both meetings this week by such groups as the Northern Arizona Institutions for Community Leadership, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization launched in 2013 by the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council.
“We have been key supporters of the residents of Arrowhead Village trailer park in Flagstaff as they respond to plans to redevelop their trailer park into student apartments. Now is the time to act to ensure these 50 families are not displaced without just compensation,” reported Leah Mundell of NAIC. “We are sure that the developer has chosen to divide up these meetings in order to divide up the community. Please do your best to attend both.”
Displacement ordinance up for discussion at Flagstaff City Council on April 29
In an effort to resolve future potential housing issues like the Arrowhead Village, the Flagstaff City Council is schedule to hold its first public discussion of a displacement ordinance that would place a standardized set of procedures anytime someone is removed or displaced from their homes by a new development, Mundell reported.
The ordinance could include standardized notification, communications, options and potential compensation recommendations for displaced residents.
Community leaders said while the ordinance would most likely not affect the current Arrowhead project because it is already in the city planning pipeline, it would be beneficial for other future developments in the city.