North Mesa development

[Citlalitl Nava]

Dear School Board Members,

I’ve signed the change.org petition which echoes all of my concerns about this project. I urge you to please reconsider involving the community and take a step back to fully analyze your needs and objectives for this land.

 I joined the last  zoom meeting where the MOA was drafted and I’m very concerned about how ready you are to take this important step. 

As a teacher myself (currently SAHM) I’m fully aware of the need of affordable housing for our teachers. However, after listening to your last meeting with the county and realizing how unprepared both sides (School Board and County) seemed to be, I’m very concerned about the urgency to sign an MOA without the confidence of knowing exactly what you want and why you want it. Is housing for your teachers and workforce still your priority and main motivation?

As a North Mesa resident, I’m very worried about the lack of studies ; daily traffic, emergency evacuation and how many houses you actually need for your workforce (informal conversations aren’t enough information for moving forward with ~300 houses). I’m honestly very disappointed about the urgency to sign an MOA lacking all of that crucial information. 

And finally as a mother of a future student  in your schools I’m a bit saddened that you aren’t choosing to develop this land with a project that would directly benefit our students. I’m sure you’ve read the other ideas for development that this land could be needed/used for. I’m not aware of how great you financial need is at the moment, perhaps some transparency in this regard would make us understand why you are choosing to deprive  LAPS students of those other options.

We can’t force you to do or don’t do anything with the land the schools own but we ask you to please take a step back and listen to your community. We have a sense of pride in our schools, our teachers, the facilities our students have access to. I don’t think I’m lying when I say  most of the families moving into town or deciding to stay here do so because of how great our schools are. Please consider the long term benefits not only for you as a financial institution but for your students and community. 

Many thanks,

Citla Nava