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Glauser: Put politics aside, it’s time to celebrate Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley

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My wife and I both grew up in Philadelphia and have been married for more than 50 years.

We have had the opportunity to live in many places from South Jersey; Sarasota, Florida; Florence, Italy; and Aspen, Colorado.

We both love golf and during a trip to explore Arizona we discovered there truly is no place on Earth like Paradise Valley. That’s why — now that we’re retired, and with our children grown — we were looking for an opportunity to make this community our home.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences at The Palmeraie were the right fit for us. This project allows us to create a new home in this place we love.

The state of Arizona, the Town of Paradise Valley and The Ritz-Carlton is the perfect combination for us to live the lifestyle we want. We’re excited to walk to our favorite shops and restaurants, take advantage of the amenities at The Ritz-Carlton and still enjoy the quiet beauty of the surroundings that lured us here.

At the 2018 groundbreaking ceremony, then-Mayor Michael Collins called The Palmeraie and its centerpiece Ritz-Carlton “the next crown jewel for us in the neighborhood.” Since that time, the developer has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to transform 122 acres of bare desert into what will be the most extravagant master-planned resort and residential community in the country.

Bottom line: The debate over whether to build this project is over. It has been 12 years since Paradise Valley voters rejected, by a 2-to-1 margin, an attempt by a vocal minority of residents to derail The Ritz-Carlton Resort and surrounding development.

Additionally, the project went through a painstaking approval process in 2015 and ultimately was approved by Town Council. Unfortunately, it seems like some opponents have never accepted this fact. As someone who has personally invested in a Villa as part of The Ritz-Carlton, imagine my dismay to hear Town Hall has been anything but accommodating in bringing this project to fruition.

When so much is at-stake for our community and individual families like my own, I don’t want to hear the town is fighting in court with the developer over anything.

I certainly don’t like reading veiled threats from town officials that the certificate of occupancy for Villa-buyers, like my family, may be held up as part of some bureaucratic power play.

At some point, Town Council needs to accept that we and our new neighbors, which will soon number over 300 people, are also Paradise Valley constituents and should be treated as such.

Fix this. Make it right. Resolve this dispute before a development that should be the pride of Paradise Valley — and, frankly, all of Arizona — gets mired in petty politics.

This is why we have come together with other Paradise Valley residents to form a community group: PV Voices. We want to be exactly that — a voice for local citizens who have not been heard. We believe The Ritz-Carlton Resort and surrounding The Palmeraie can be more than just a “crown jewel” — it can anchor our community’s economic future and provide tax revenues that help fund the critical government services and amenities that make Paradise Valley special.

If you believe as we do, join us! Learn more at ParadiseValleyVoices.com or email us at PVvoices@gmail.com. Let’s put politics aside and fulfill the promise of The Palmeraie and The Ritz-Carlton Resort.

Editor’s Note: Jerry Glauser is chairman of PV Voices and a soon-to-be resident of the Ritz-Carlton Residences at The Palmeraie.