• 3 hours ago
Credit Jimmy Wayne | Creative Commons
The Coconino County Board of Supervisors has rejected a bid to construct a large-scale resort east of Flagstaff and south of the Navajo Nation near Two Guns.
Developer John Gunderman had proposed a luxury camping site with more than 770 lodging units. The Two Guns Resort was also slated to include water parks, a pet resort, and drive-in theater, among other amenities. The project, Gunderman estimated, would have required at least 150 full-time employees, along with seasonal and construction workers.
But county officials and members of the public had concerns regarding topics ranging from cultural awareness to public safety.
Bid to build luxury camping site east of Flagstaff rejected
May 13, 2021
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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) The Coconino County Board of Supervisors has rejected a bid to construct a a luxury camping site with more than 770 lodging units east of Flagstaff.
The proposed Two Guns Resort was also slated to include water parks, a pet resort and drive-in theater among other amenities.
KNAU reports that at a public hearing Wednesday, supervisors questioned developer John Gunderman about a lack of evacuation plans as well as fire department services.
The Two Guns area doesn’t have a fire district and the city of Winslow declined to provide fire emergency services for Gunderman’s development.
• 18 hours ago
Credit Jimmy Wayne | Creative Commons
The Coconino County Board of Supervisors has rejected a bid to construct a large-scale resort east of Flagstaff and south of the Navajo Nation near Two Guns.
Developer John Gunderman had proposed a luxury camping site with more than 770 lodging units. The Two Guns Resort was also slated to include water parks, a pet resort, and drive-in theater, among other amenities. The project, Gunderman estimated, would have required at least 150 full-time employees, along with seasonal and construction workers.
But county officials and members of the public had concerns regarding topics ranging from cultural awareness to public safety.
A campground resort project proposed for a site near the Navajo Nation is stalled due to objections based on cultural insensitivity. The Coconino County Board of Supervisors chose to delay the vote of approval on Two Guns Resort last week.
Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler, who is Navajo, called the inclusion of wagons and teepees in the resort’s design a “stereotype” and felt that the project didn’t honor Native people.
Fowler said there should be consultations with Northern Arizona University, tribal historic and tourism offices and museums to ensure local Indigenous peoples are honored through the development.
Developers behind the resort are arguing that it is more than a cultural project.
Resort project near Navajo Nation stirs culture controversy
December 19, 2020 GMT
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) A large campground resort project proposed for a northern Arizona high desert site near the Navajo Nation is stalled amid objections centering on cultural sensitivity in general and teepees in particular.
The planned inclusion of wagons and teepees the conical tents that were widely used by tribes on the Great Plains but typically not by Indigenous people of the Southwest drew scorn from one county official considering a rezoning request and development plan for the project.
“If you’re truly going to respect and honor the Native people, then do so,” said Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler. “Don’t be building something that just really is a stereotype again.”