State Trust Land

Scottsdale, Phoenix acquire trust land for preserves

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[Source: azcentral.com]

Scottsdale and Phoenix were unopposed Friday in separate bids to acquire state trust land for their respective preserves, generating more than $69 million for the Arizona State Land Department.

The department scheduled the back-to-back auctions at its headquarters in downtown Phoenix.

 

Scottsdale succeeded in its bid for 2,000 acres in the Granite Mountain area of northern Scottsdale. The cost was $44.1 million, of which half will be covered by a grant from Arizona’s Growing Smarter conservation fund.

“These dollars are really only available for this use,” said Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane, who represented the city in its winning bid. “It is perfect timing.”

Scottsdale has acquired and protected almost 18,000 acres for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve, with a goal of preserving 36,000 acres.

Phoenix was the lone bidder on 1,139 acres a mile south of the Carefree Highway and 4 miles east of Interstate 17.A Growing Smarter grant will cover half the purchase price of $25.8 million. The remainder will be paid by sales-tax proceeds from the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative, city spokesman David Urbinato said.

Voters approved the measure in 1999 that raises funds to preserve thousands of acres of state trust land and build and improve parks. Sixty percent of the money goes toward purchasing state trust land for the Phoenix Sonoran Preserve. The city has 6,688 acres in total.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to come and add to our preserve,” said Councilwoman Thelda Williams, who made the bid for Phoenix.

Money generated by the auctions goes toward funding for public schools and other entities.

 

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Arizona moving to use conservation money before vote

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[Source: Arizona Capitol Times, Paul Davenport] – Arizona parks officials and local governments in the Phoenix and Flagstaff areas are moving to spend up to $52 million of land conservation money that legislators envisioned being used instead to help keep the budget in the black.

The state Parks Board on Wednesday voted to award grants to Coconino County and the cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale for separate purchases of large parcels of state trust land for preservation as open space. The $52 million would come from a decade-old land conservation fund authorized by a voter-approved 1998 ballot measure that is now the subject of a new ballot measure that appears as Proposition 301 on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.

Under the Growing Smarter conservation program, public and private entities can get state funding for purchases of trust land for conservation purposes. The purchaser must provide a match to the state funding [to read the full article click here].

Scottsdale likely to bid on state trust land for preserve

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[Source: Peter Corbett, azcentral.com]

Scottsdale is expected to be among the bidders next month for 2,000 acres of state trust land that has been appraised at $44.1 million.

The Arizona State Land Department has scheduled an auction Oct. 15 for the acreage in the Granite Mountain area of northern Scottsdale.

It is a desert area northeast of Troon North between the alignments of Lone Mountain Road and Dixileta Drive and roughly between 96th to 130th streets.

The property is zoned for single-family homes on lots of about 5 acres with other environmental restrictions.

Kroy Ekblaw, Scottsdale preserve director, said the city and the State Land Department have not had any contact with builders interested in bidding on the trust land.

The undulating terrain includes thick stands of desert vegetation, washes and exposed boulder outcropping, he said.

“There are challenges with development in bringing water and sewer services to the area,” Ekblaw said.

Scottsdale has long targeted the area for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

The city applied this summer for a grant from Arizona’s Growing Smarter conservation fund to split the cost of the state land, which is priced at $22,043 per acre.

Awaiting grant approval

Last month, the Conservation Acquisition Board, an advisory panel of the Arizona State Parks Board, recommended approval of a matching grant for Scottsdale of up to $25 million.

The Parks Board is scheduled to decide on the grant at its Sept. 15 meeting.

It also will decide on matching grants for Phoenix and Coconino County for land conservation through the Growing Smarter fund.

In a separate auction Oct. 15, Phoenix will be bidding for 1,139 acres of state trust land in northeastern Phoenix.

The parcel, appraised at $25.8 million, is between Lone Mountain and Dove Valley roads from Seventh to 24th streets.

Phoenix wants the land for its Sonoran Preserve. It is seeking to split the cost by acquiring a grant from the Growing Smarter conservation fund.

Coconino County wants funding to acquire the 2,249-acre Rogers Lake Preserve southwest of Flagstaff for $11.75 million.

That state trust land is up for auction Nov. 1.

Land fund may disappear

Scottsdale, Phoenix and Coconino County are tapping into the $123 million conservation fund before it potentially disappears.

If voters approve Proposition 301 on Nov. 2, the state will transfer what’s left of the conservation money to the general fund to balance its budget.

Conservation groups are opposing the raid on conservation funds. Voters approved the Growing Smarter initiative in 1998 to help communities buy land for conservation and to slow urban sprawl.

Scottsdale’s last acquisition for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve was in December when it paid $6.5 million at auction for 400 acres of state trust land north of DC Ranch.

The city has about 15,000 acres in the preserve with a goal to conserve 36,000 acres of desert and mountain terrain.

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