Update: On January 11, AZ Burners hosted a town hall to discuss our intent to purchase land. The recording is below. Read the meeting notes and review the meeting chat room archive.
AZ Burners is pleased to announce its intent to purchase land in Southeastern Arizona in the coming months. The land parcel has not been identified or purchased yet.
The purchase will fulfill a long-standing goal of Burning Man’s regional representatives in Arizona to find a permanent home for regional community events beginning with Saguaro Man 2020.
The land will be purchased and held by Arizona Artistic LLC whose board members are Burning Man’s official Regional Contact “qqtpie Pam” and community leader Tim (“Serpico”) Genenbacher.
With this change, AZ Burners will be able to:
- Guarantee ~40 acres of permanent land for future AZ Burners events, with the opportunity to increase land area by another 40 acres in 2-3 years.
- Reduce land costs from $8–$12K per year to approximately $4-$6K per year – an annual savings of 50-75%.
- Increase funding for community art grants, philanthropy through AZ Burners Without Borders, and event infrastructure.
- Create permanent improvements to events, instead of re-inventing the wheel each year.
Thank you to Holly and Harlan!
In 2019, community leaders Holly and Harlan kindly shared their homestead with all of us, introducing Saguaro Man participants to the event-friendly climate of Cochise County and its inhabitants. For this, we are forever grateful.
While the welcoming weather and accessible drive made for a beautiful location to burn in 2019, AZ Burners determined that it would be a better long-term financial decision to purchase our own land for 2020 and beyond.
We believe that this change will give Burners in Arizona and beyond the freedom to create, participate and expand for years to come.
AZ Burners is grateful to Holly and Harlan for providing a beautiful home for our events. Thank you!
The nitty gritty of buying land.
In January 2019, a team of 10 community leaders answered a public call-for-volunteers to research WHAT land type and location could best serve AZ Burners and HOW AZ Burners could best organize, purchase, and protect the land.
The team included Cookie, Sharkie, Ruvi, Scotto, qqtpie, Naked Mike, Little Red, Dad, Ranger Housecall, and Ranger Goodstart. Additionally, community input was solicited and gathered at multiple public and digital forums throughout 2019.
Purchasing and owning land is complicated for various reasons – both financial and legal. The following details are intended to clarify how this will all get done. If you still have questions, please email arizona@burningman.org.
- The total cost of the land purchase will be approximately $40,000.
- Land will be purchased and held by Arizona Artistic LLC. The LLC’s board members are the Burning Man Project’s official Regional Contact “qqtpie Pam” and community leader Tim (“Serpico) Genenbacher.
- Arizona Artistic LLC was legally formed as an LLC rather than a non-profit to streamline the land purchase process. This decision does not imply intent to profit. By the end of 2020, the LLC will be converted legally to non-profit status.
- Down payment on the land not to exceed $10,000 will be provided by Arizona Artistic Conflagurators LLC. The LLC is a not-for-profit entity that invests all revenue into art grants, event operations, etc., and carries no balance from one fiscal year to the next. Its board members are Ron (“Buddha”) Russell, “qqtpie Pam”, and Ruvi (“Ruvi”) Wijesuriya.
- Saguaro Man, AZ Decompression, and other events will pay a fee to use the land. Fees will cover the land cost and be invested in land preservation, infrastructure upkeep, etc.
Have your voice heard.
As always, we welcome any member of the AZ Burners community the chance to have their voices heard by providing opportunities for volunteering and leadership.
If you are interested in becoming more involved or if you want to help make decisions like this, we encourage you to find a volunteer opportunity.
If you have additional questions about this change, please email arizona@burningman.org.
We all sincerely thank you for your time, passion and drive to make AZ Burners a great community and hope to see you soon on our new playa.
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