Plans to build a Desert Discovery Center on the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is being met with opposition. The group "No DDC" is determined to keep the land preserved and is speaking out against the city council.
"I think they don't want the public to vote because they are overwhelmingly opposed to this," said Jason Alexander who is in the group and lives in the neighborhood.
The city plans to move forward with building the Desert Discovery Center.
Artists renderings show what looks like a museum-style building that could likely cost millions of dollars. But they have not confirmed where the money will come from.
Former board member and advocate for the center Melinda Gulick said it's early in the process and the city is still conducting research.
"They will be done with that report a year from right now, and that's when the community should have dialogue about the desert discovery center" Gulick said.
The opposition claims they raised their own taxes years ago to preserve the land and keep it the same but supporters say the discovery center was always part of the original vision.
"Give the people a vote on this for the November election or pull the plug until you guarantee us a vote on it," Alexander said.
"It's premature to decide whether the public has a vote on it," Gulick said. "They very well might."
The "No DDC" group plans to rally at the Scottsdale City Council's work study next Monday September 19 to make their voices heard and spread its message.
