cas100c

Draft 1

Page history last edited by Joe DeArmitt 1 yr ago

Here's my part of the draft:

Problems/Learned:

The final decision for the allocation of the land was not settled without controversy and ultimately, displeasure for some. The piece of land in need of division was undoubtedly large; however the opinions that surfaced during debate of the topic were larger. When so many people are involved in one project, it is hard to please all of them, especially when their views are antagonistic to one another. Problems were bound to happen from the beginning, but most were either solved or compromised for by the end resulting in limited detest.

Above all everyone learned that everyone’s opinion can potentially be considered, but not necessarily accepted. This was by far the most difficult problem to overcome. For example, when the builders wanted to build 400 homes, the environment would suffer, making the environmentalists unhappy. Likewise, the U.S. Forest Service wanted to reduce grazing, for long term eco-system protection, but that would interfere with the expansion plans of the farmers. Of course no party would willingly want to give up or compromise their position for something they don’t believe in. To overcome this problem, all groups were ideals were evaluated. The land allocation had to be viewed as a whole, instead of a million independent opinions. By looking at the big picture, both long and short term effects of land use, over time could be considered. One party’s needs might not have been sufficed at the present time, but they would instead be met in the future and vise versa.

My Reflection:

Initially, we the people of SAGE wanted Sidney Stone to give up ranching and development of the land altogether. This land belonged to the Gray Hawk, and should be preserved for them! Of course Stone refused to take both of our suggestions, but did agree to build fewer homes. Although this wasn’t ideal, we accepted the compromise of responsible development because we just didn’t have the funds to support our plan. Some of our members took great distaste to this compromise and left our organization.

I, the U.S. Forest Service District Ranger, am relatively pleased with the compromise of land allotment. The ecosystem is of upmost importance to us and the reduction of grazing, although not considerably large, was essential to maintaining this ecosystem. Allowing the animals to only graze certain areas of the land for 5 years, then rotating them to another part of land promotes regeneration of the grasslands. As far as the Gray Hawk preservation goes, the SAGE organization is content so far with the decision, but I believe that easements will have to be purchased in the future.

Here's the draft of my parts:

The Decision:

As a group we decided the best decision was to split up the land to all interested parties. No one could get exactly what they wanted so each person had to compromise and settle for a solution that was not necessarily ideal but met their needs to some extent. Sydney Stone was given the 200 acres he had desired but only granted permission to build 300 homes rather than the 400 he had originally planned to place on the land. He also had to agree to avoid building too close to the water in order to avoid contamination and to leave open a small area of public entrance to mountain trails. The ranchers combined were then given 100 acres. They also agreed to split the 15,000 acres of grazing allotment in to thirds. They will now graze their cattle on only two of the three sections at a time. The sections being grazed upon will rotate every five years giving each section time to rejuvenate. The remaining 340 acres was then sold to Blake Worstcase to build ranchettes.

My Reflection:

The ranchers were given a combined 100 acres. This was a plan they had come up with together so they were both relatively satisfied. Toby Nunn had been considering an offer to sell his own rancher but did want to try and keep ranching alive in the area. Buying the extra 100 acres with Gil should help make that happen. Gil Sinespina did not want Sydney Stone to get the land for his development idea but was ready to support it if he were to build fewer units, which he has agreed to. Buying the 100 acres was his idea so he is very satisfied that Toby and he went through with it. Both the ranchers; however, are not happy about the grazing allotment rotation. They would certainly prefer to keep grazing on all 15,000 acres but the chosen plan is better than an overall reduction. There will be much less overall ranch land now so there will be fewer cows needing to graze the land anyways so 10,000 acres at a time will be sufficient. Originally the land was only going to be split in two and rotated that way. The ranchers felt that 7,500 acres at a time was not sufficient so the plan was revised to better suit their needs.

County Planner Reflection:

The County Planner, Brady Euclid’s biggest concern was the number of units Sydney Stone planned to build. Stone was willing to agree on fewer units so the County Planner, whom we all represented, was pleased overall with the outcome. He was concerned about building being done on the east side of Tortuga because it might block access to the old mining trails for the Recreational Off-Riders. Since Sydney Stone has agreed to leave open an area and trail for public entrance Brady had no problem with building being done on the east side.

Intro

Reflection

The ultimate goal for my investors and I is to purchase 400 units and the minimum will hopefully be 225. I decided to settle for 300 and after much debate agreed to move away from the river to reduce pollution. Even though it will decrease the view and the value of the land, it will still be profitable. The profit from 300 units will support my investments and will keep my investors happy.

Revised Intro

The community of Tortuga was established in 1871 by silver miners. Later the mines were no longer used and the town was basically abandoned. Over the years the town of Tortuga has been rebuilt and is the home of 1500 residents in search of a small community lifestyle. Now there is opportunity for more housing and development in Tortuga. There are many possibilities and options for the development or ways to preserve the land. The once flourishing X-Bar Ranch is up for sale now that Ed Middleton and his wife passed away. The three Middleton children all agreed to sell the land after they didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of their parents. The total amount of land that is available is 15000 acres; and there are six total possibilities for it. Elena Sinespina and Toby Nunn own the ranches on both side of the X-Bar Ranch and now that it is up for sale Elena’s son Gil has decided he would like to purchase and manage the ranch himself. Sydney Stone, a developer from Sierra Grande would like to purchase the land and further develop the area of Tortuga into 400 homes. At the same time the situation is complicated further. The San Cristobal District Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, Pat Wright has decided to further reduce grazing allotments. Even though the ranch owners feel this is unnecessary the grazing allotments have already been reduced by one-third. The County Planner Brady Euclid has been very worried for the outcome of Sydney Stone’s plan. It clearly violates the area’s comprehensive plan and last month Brady Euclid approached the Country Planning Board to carefully review Stone’s plans. But if Stone decides not to build the land is going to be purchased by Blake Worstcase and subdivided into 160 ranchettes. And lastly the State Game and Fish Commission representative Joe Waterstone has the best interests for the impact on the wildlife and would like to preserve it as best as possible. Out of all the options there is no one clear cut solution that will please everyone. All of the people involved will have to come to an agreement and sacrifice for the greater good.