Dear Shalimar Supporters –
First, I want to thank those that attended our community meeting on November 13th. It was great seeing everyone. There were some excellent questions and discussion. It is obvious that our campaign is doing very well and we remain united toward our goal to Save Shalimar.

Also, I want to thank our outgoing board members who helped guide us to where we are today, and welcome new board members for 2024-2025. Our campaign has accomplished much since August, including:

• Engagement – Mayor, Individual Council Members, City Manager, City Economic Developer, City Planning Organization, Development Review Commission Members, Broker, Developer, Attorney for Developer, Tempe Neighborhoods Commission, Tempe Neighborhood Leaders
• Petition Launched – Protest Petition submitted and 2000+ signatures on the General Petition
• Social Media and Communications – Thank you for spreading the word!
• City Council Meeting Attendance and Letters – Appreciate you making yourself heard
• Ecological/Environmental – Species Awareness and Character/Cultural Assessments
• Legal Response – Attorney hired and meetings initiated
• Plan B Alternatives – Outreach to market experts, definitions of stakeholder success, and initial scenario-building

Our petition is very successful, with a 90% engagement of the neighborhood, thousands of signatures, and significant and growing engagement across the city of Tempe. Thank you!

For anyone not in attendance at the 11/13 meeting, here is a recap and a status update:

• Property Owner has Purchase Sale Agreement with Developer.
• Preliminary Site Plan approved by City Planning to proceed to Public Involvement Plan, Neighborhood Meeting and Formal Application.
• Shalimar Association is organized and has mobilized a coordinated effort to successfully Stop the Rezoning.
• Protest petition (specific to homes on the golf course) has been submitted to the city. The general petition is active and we continue to gather signatures from all of Tempe.
• Developer outreach to garner support for their proposal is beginning.

Developer Sponsored Community Outreach

I want to spend a little time on what ‘developer outreach’ actually means and to prepare you for when you are approached or contacted.

A hired public relations team have begun knocking on doors in the neighborhood. This is not city-sponsored or Shalimar Association-sponsored. This outreach is solely to benefit the developer/owner. They are attempting to shift your position on why their proposal should be accepted by the city. The PR firm has been hired by the developer to ‘work the community’ in support of their high-density housing proposal, which features the destruction of a 44-acre beloved green space.

Their intention is to gather feedback from the neighborhood and utilize your feedback to build the developer’s description of what the community supports. Do not be confused. The rezoning has not been approved. Do not be confused. The development proposal is not a done deal. Do not be confused. If the golf course shuts down, that does NOT mean rezoning or a development is approved. Actually, far from it.

Narrative: Developer vs. Our Shared Reality

Developer:

• This is what the Shalimar neighborhood needs and wants.
• No one is interested in purchasing a golf course.
• Golf course operations are shutting down in April = Deal is done.

Reality:

• We love our neighborhood and community.
• Parties have been and are actively interested in the golf course.
• We can save what is one of the last large green spaces in Tempe.
• Golf course operations shutting down is a sad and unnecessary tactic that does NOT equal rezoning approval!

Interacting with Developer Outreach

We are a community. Let’s strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect. That includes the developer team that wants to make huge changes, even though they do not represent the needs and wants of our community. Let them know, but do so politely and by emphasizing the obvious opportunity for an alternative.

Don’t fall prey to a divide and conquer campaign by the developer. You have a say in what ultimately happens to Shalimar. Let’s continue to stand united as a community. The Shalimar Association is working to represent the best interests of our community and to seek a mutually beneficial outcome.

Scare Tactics and Sad Feelings

I also want to address a growing concern among all residents and supporters of Shalimar regarding if/when golf course operations end. It is the owners stated intention to shutdown operations by the beginning of April. This has always been their right. It is important to remember however, that golf course operations ending does not equal rezoning approval.

There is no question that golf course operations ending will result in a profound sense of loss throughout the community. It is important to enjoy the time we have left with the course as we know it today and have known it for 60 years.

Change is hard, no matter the outcome. Express and share your feelings. We are collectively experiencing a process of acceptance and grief. As a community we must actively imagine and embrace new opportunities for an improved Shalimar. Not a developer’s vision. Our vision. As for near term next steps, we are focused on the following:

• General Petition Drive – Reach out to all of Tempe
• City Council Meeting Attendance – Continue to make our case
• Fundraising – Prepare for legal fees and subject matter expert costs
• Plan-B – Continue toward detailed planning on alternatives

For long term residents of Shalimar and Tempe, what is occurring now may be reminiscent of efforts in the past to sell the golf course. Because this never came to pass, there may be a sense that this current situation is like the previous, and it will just resolve itself ‘like it has before’.

It is critically important that all of us understand that this is not the same as the past. The restrictive covenant that required the property to remain a golf course expires January 1, 2025. The owners fully intend to exercise their right to sell. The current developer is serious about pushing their proposal through the city council for approval.

As I have stated previously, it is the right of the owners to sell and we respect that. It is not, however, a right of the owners to rezone. There is a solution that will benefit all stakeholders and maintain this precious green space for all. It will take effort on all stakeholders’ part to find a path to that solution. Unfortunately, before we can get there, the current proposal and rezoning request must be defeated.

If you care about saving this place for Tempe today and Tempe tomorrow, I ask that you actively participate in our campaign. Please come off the sidelines and onto the field. We need you in the game.

I want to personally thank everyone who has helped us reach this point. We are entering into a new and challenging phase of the campaign. Thank you in advance for your continued support.

Please join us at Bogey’s on December 1 and at the Shalimar Neighbors Yard Sale the following weekend. Details on the Save Shalimar events page.

Have a safe and joyful holiday.

Carl Streiff
President, Shalimar Association