SHRP Press Release, Oct. 9, 2026

Tucson Taxpayers Deserve Transparency Before Proposition 422

TUCSON, Ariz. — Tucson taxpayers demand transparency and accountability from the Reid Park Zoological Society after its expensive attempts at expansion under Proposition 203. Asked now to renew their financial support by approving Proposition 422, Tucsonans should first ask what the City of Tucson and the Zoo learned from the experience.  The Zoo is once again showing the same troubling lack of communication, transparency and community engagement.

Has the City fortified its Management/Operating Agreement (MOA) with the Zoo to include performance metrics for effective communication, transparency, and community engagement, specifically regarding the Zoo's future plans? Does that MOA include provisions for assessing penalties for inadequate performance? How does the Zoo's current performance in these areas measure up? Does it show improvement, or is it basically business as usual?

In 2017, Tucson voters approved Propositions 202 and 203, authorizing a temporary 10-year sales tax dedicated to capital improvements, operations and maintenance at the Gene C. Reid Park Zoo. Voters and city estimated the new tax to generate $8 million to $10 million per year.

Instead of concentrating those resources on improving the Zoo’s existing footprint and prioritizing the habitats of animals already in its care, the Zoo pursued a major expansion prioritizing new animal exhibits and a substantial wedding and corporate event venue at the expense of Reid Park’s Barnum Hill and South Duck Pond. The original plan would have destroyed wildlife habitat, removed some of the largest and oldest trees in the park, and walled off the waterfall, a longstanding cultural and recreational landmark for Tucson residents.

The Reid Park Zoo and the 24 acres it sits on are owned by the City. However, the Reid Park Zoological Society is the nonprofit charged with running Zoo operations. They have their own agendas and governance. The nonprofit refused to accept the City's offer to create a proposition for the Zoo and Parks combined. They wanted their own proposition written by their own attorneys. When digging, Save the Heart discovered the Society's inadequate attempts to educate the public about their intentions to take public land for an expansion they had in mind before Proposition 203 was written.

The attempted expansion ultimately became the center of a major public controversy over the future of Reid Park. More than 14,000 people responded to a citywide survey, described at the time as the largest citywide survey ever conducted.

Tucson taxpayers paid for the original plan and for changing course. By the time the Mayor and City Council paused the original Zoo expansion in March 2021, about $2 million had already been spent on the project. The plans had been developed, a contractor was reportedly prepared to begin construction, and the City had to address the consequences of changing course.

In a July 2021 statement, Council Member Steve Kozachik publicly acknowledged that preserving Barnum Hill required a costly reworking of the project, putting the price tag at around $8 million, and noted that several existing contracts had to be disrupted. This is what poor transparency can cost taxpayers.

Proposition 422 asks Tucson voters to approve another tax commitment for the Reid Park Zoo, this time for 20 years, twice the duration of the temporary 10-year tax approved in 2017, and this time generating between $160 million to $200 million.

The public information presented in connection with Proposition 422 is, at best, superficial. The Reid Park Zoo website does not prominently identify or explain Proposition 422. Instead, the Zoo’s Africa Phase II Master Plan is buried within the website. Although that Master Plan was published more than a year ago, the Zoo has not held public information sessions to explain the plan or its proposed changes. So business as usual.

Citizens have no real say over Zoo master plans. There is zero guarantee another expansion outside of the footprint of the Zoo won't be forced on citizens again without notice, as happened with Proposition 203.

This is about accountability, not opposition to the Zoo. Tucson can value the Reid Park Zoo while still demanding accountability for the use of public funds. The question is not whether the Zoo deserves investment. The question is whether the Zoo is capable of putting its responsibility to taxpayers ahead of its own interests.

Before asking Tucson taxpayers for another 20-year commitment, the Zoo should demonstrate that they have learned from the past. The Barnum Hill fiasco devastated taxpayer trust in the Zoo. The Zoo’s vague and secretive handling of Proposition 422 makes one thing clear: it still has a lot to learn about transparency and accountability.

Save the Heart of Reid Park encourages Tucsonans to vote NO on Proposition 422.