Town trying to preserve more than 4,300 acres of state trust land

 

Cave Creek will do more than preserve 4,300 acres of pristine desert if it annexes 8.8 square miles of mostly Arizona trust land.

The annexation would protect some of the northeast Valley's most prized possessions, from the historic trails of Go John Canyon to the saguaro-studded summit of Apache Peak.

It also could point lawmakers toward a new state trust-land reform plan, Mayor Vincent Francia said.

Without the annexation, thousands of houses would flank Cave Creek's western borders and the nearby Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, Francia said.

It was this notion that drove the town to contact State Land Commissioner Mark Winkleman six years ago with the idea.

"He kind of smiled and said, 'Wow, we've never had that proposal before,' " Francia said. "I said, 'Well good. It will be challenge for both of us to make it happen.' "

In the plans, more than 4,000 acres will be rezoned to open space conservation, safeguarding the land from the threat of bulldozers.

The remaining residential land will be auctioned off by the Land Department.

In exchange for the open space, Cave Creek will allow more intense development on 240 acres north of Carefree Highway near 32nd Street for the Land Department to maximize the return on its sales or lease.

Planned development

That is where Francia wants to build a "green mall" on 120 acres with only environmentally friendly shops and restaurants.

The concept is more in tune with Cave Creek's values than a traditional mall would be, he said.

"I'm at the beginning of this process, talking to a variety of parties that have interest and experience with this type of idea," Francia said.

Also in the agreement, another 100 acres just north of Cave Creek Regional Park will be rezoned to commercial and leased by the state to accommodate a resort, Planning Director Ian Cordwell said.

Expanded borders

The annexation, which includes four parcels, will extend the town's borders west to 24th street:


• The largest site, called Rogers Wash, encompasses nearly 4,000 acres north of Rockaway Hills drive.


• The 768-acre Willow Springs area runs west of the Spur Cross Road and south of the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.


• The third site, Apache Wash, is 720 acres west of 32nd Street.


• The final "core site" includes 1,878 acres of in-town property.

Unique to Cave Creek

"You cannot take what we did in Cave Creek and boilerplate it on another community," Francia said.

Projects such as Cave Creek's take time, dedication and expertise - a trio of attributes that is hard to come by, Arizona Deputy State Land Commissioner Jamie Hogue said.

"In this circumstance, you had a jurisdiction and the department willing to take six years. They continued to work when things got complicated and difficult," Hogue said. "We are happy that we've gotten this far."

Hogue said the Land Department would "love to duplicate this type of effort throughout the state."

She hopes a trust-land reform measure comes forward by next year.

"There is growing interest from all of us to conserve those lands that need to be retained," Hogue said. "It's just very difficult."

Francia said the solution for trust-land reform must be holistic.

"You have to have everybody to do this," he said.

Conservation difficult

For years, the Legislature has failed to give conservation-minded towns and cities first dibs on Arizona's trust lands before they succumb to developers at auction.

The Land Department is required to sell or lease land to the highest bidder to fund schools and public agencies.

A bill effectively dead in the Legislature would have allowed cities and towns to buy lands at appraised value, and conserve them, without having to compete at auction with developers.

To bypass the legislative gridlock, conservationists are mulling a citizens' initiative for the Nov. 4 ballot that would allow voters to decide.

Until then, most cities and towns will have no way of following in Cave Creek's footsteps, Francia said.