New Hotel for Grand Canyon Halted by Court

Environmentalists have won a preliminary round in their fight to block construction of a second hotel on the little-developed North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

U.S. District Judge Paul Rosenblatt granted a preliminary injunction at the request of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, which contends that the National Park Service failed to conduct a proper environmental impact study for the 200-room project.

Sierra Club attorneys also argued that the $5-million hotel would detract from the experience of visiting the Grand Canyon.

Near Other Hotel

Park Service officials have said an environmental assessment they performed was sufficient because the hotel site is at an already developed area, near the existing 200-room hotel, the only lodging on the North Rim.

The Park Service contended that it complied with legal requirements and that the new hotel is needed because current lodging does not meet demand.

The preliminary injunction granted Friday will allow construction of employee housing by TW Recreational Services, the company contracted to build the hotel.

“We’re extremely pleased,” said Fern Shepard, a lawyer for the Sierra Club.

” . . . We hope the Park Service will now go back and prepare an environmental impact study and look to see if this project was really even necessary in the first place.”

‘Very Disappointed’

“I’m very disappointed,” said Gene Cohen, the attorney representing TW, adding that the judge “doesn’t address the arguments that we made.”

Jack Davis, superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park, said Park Service officials would meet this week to decide whether to appeal or go to trial on the Sierra Club suit.

Cohen said the delay has already cost TW valuable time because the North Rim, more than 7,000 feet above sea level, allows only a brief summer building season and the hotel will take two seasons to construct.