The Tucson City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to halt the Reid Park Zoo expansion project for 45 days.
The motion, proposed by Councilman Richard Fimbres, calls for the city manager to organize a “mediated, intentional dialogue,” between community members and stakeholders to come to a compromise.
The decision comes after a public outcry of the zoo’s 3½-acre expansion into Reid Park, which would take over the southern duck pond and the Barnum Hill area.
More than 30,000 individuals have signed a petition in protest of the expansion called “Save the Reid Park Duck Pond.”
The zoo was in the process of expanding for a new “Pathway to Asia” exhibit it says will help Malayan tiger conservation efforts while creating room for a reptile house and aviary.
In October 2018, the mayor and council approved a management agreement that finalized the zoo’s 2018 master plan and outlined the expansion project into Reid Park.
Tucson voters approved a sales tax hike to fund the project in 2017, but Mayor Regina Romero says the ballot language did not mention expansion. The ballot measure said the one-tenth of 1% sales tax increase would “fund capital improvements, operations and maintenance.”
However, the propositions to fund the zoo amended the city code to specify the tax revenues could be used to fund “capital improvements, operations and maintenance at the zoo,” according to a joint memo from City Attorney Mike Rankin and City Manager Michael Ortega.
Only Councilman Steve Kozachik opposed the motion to pause the project, contending ceasing the contract the city has with several contractors and the Reid Park Zoological Society would come with a hit to the city’s credibility. The zoo has already spent $2 million to fund the expansion after the mayor and council’s approval.
“Suspending this project is going to affect a lot of relationships that go beyond those that are concerned about Barnum hill,” he said. “Frankly, the city already has a reputation of being a tough client in the construction industry, and this isn’t going to help that at all.”
But other council members felt widespread input from citizens worried about the loss of part of a well-frequented public park was worth freezing the project while negotiations take place.
Councilman Paul Cunningham says at the time he voted to approve the zoo’s 2018 master plan, he was not aware of the important land the expansion would infringe upon.
“My record in supporting the zoo is infallible, is impeccable, for my whole life. It doesn’t mean I’m not fallible; it doesn’t mean I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
“Because at the time I voted for the zoo, I was not attuned to the importance, both cultural and sentimental, of a place I now know as Barnum Hill.”
Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said citizens may have spoken out sooner if they were more aware the zoo’s expansion would take place at the expense of part of Reid Park.
“Even with the zoo master plan, I think what’s missing is the Reid Park master plan,” she said. “Do you want to expand the zoo, or do you want to contract Reid Park? Those are two different questions and draw a very different set of attention.”
Ortega has 45 days to compromise with stakeholders to propose a compromise that takes into account both the voter-approved zoo expansion and many citizen’s wishes to preserve Reid Park.
