Onsite Sign

This is the sign posted at the entrance to the proposed Enchanted Canyon site.

On 5/26/2012, the dates listed for the 2 hearings were overlaid with a TBD sticker. There are other parts of this sign that are incorrect, as the 3 given case numbers are no longer applicable or valid. Town code (Section 15.2.A.7) requires that these signs be removed within 10 days of the last hearing. We are attempting to contact the town to find out what is happening on this issue.


Update: as of 5/30/2012, this sign has been removed.


   

Letter From Berry&Damore attorney to Town of Cave Creek

Republic Article printed 4-20-2012

It may also be found online here.

My Turn Editorial: Eileen Wright: 4-20-2012

Status Report: 4/19/2012

The Town of Cave Creek has NOT re-posted for an emergency session of the Planning & Zoning meeting originally scheduled for 7pm on 4/19/2012. This means that there will be no meeting, and no need for anyone to show up at Town Hall.

The Applicant has the legal right to resubmit plans for a new project on their parcel. It may be identical, similar, or completely different.

We will be preparing a notice for this email list in the next few days and will let you know what the next steps are. However, you can be sure this deep-pocket investor will not go away. Something eventually will be built on this parcel; we hope to have some say, along with the Town, in shaping what will be acceptable to the citizens of Cave Creek.

Thank you for your support over the past couple of months.

Status Report: 4/17/2012

Hello all,

Thank you for your continued support. Today has been a busy day and I just
wanted to bring you up to date with what has occurred.

Yesterday, the Applicant requested a cancellation of the Special Use Permit
request, along with an indefinite postponement of the other 2 requests. In
response, the Town Manager cancelled the Planning & Zoning meeting scheduled for
7pm on 4/19/2012. You have already seen that Town notice in a previous email,
along with our responses.

The Town Manager did not have the legal authority to make that decision. As a
result, the P&Z meeting scheduled at Town Hall on 4/19/2012 may still occur. The
Town has until 7pm on 4/18/2012 to make that decision, which will be posted on
the town website at http://cavecreek.org. We will advise you whether the meeting
is being held or not shortly after 7pm, or earlier if the Town lets us know.

Please be prepared to show up on 4/19/2012 in case you are needed. If the
meeting is held, the public will be allowed to speak on this matter then.

Please stay tuned,
Charles Spitzer

Letter to Cave Creek Town Manager: 4/17/2012

From: mike chutz
To: Abujbarah Usama
Cc: Ford, John; Omundson, Peter; Baxley, Dan; Bryda, Ted; Fontaine, Ray ; Monachino, Reggie ; Iverson, Rae;
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 8:28 AM
Subject: CC Investors 220, LLC

Dear Usama

The purpose of this e-mail is not to urge you to do any one particular thing - unless it is the right thing.  

The purpose of this message instead goes to the very core of your role, the role of the various appointed and elected officials and the way that Cave Creek is run. It goes to the very core of the vision for Cave Creek and whether one man determines that vision or whether that vision is determined by the will of the people through their elected representatives by means of the democratic process.

The action taken by you yesterday was wrong.  Lawyers will spend today researching whether a city employee - an employee of the people - has the legal right to unilaterally cancel an important hearing regarding a controversial development proposal.  However, the question is not whether it is legal.  The question is whether it is right.  The hearing was ordered by the Planning Commission as a part of a process that started with an informational meeting two months ago, continued with a workshop one month ago and was to culminate in a final hearing and recommendation this month.  The land investment company was woefully unprepared (insultingly so) at the last meeting.  The Chairman instructed them to get prepared and attend a hearing on April 19 to make a final legal presentation in support of their application.  

Their application was breath-taking in its disregard for the General Plan.  It was poorly presented because it was rushed through in order to be filed just under the wire before the PAD regulation expired. It was crafted in order to barely arguably pass muster as a "minor" amendment.  It was presented by a sophisticated public relations firm. The town staff should have been in tune with the will of the people of Cave Creek  and stood their ground at the time of the initial filing by the real estate company. They should have been told that although they were welcome to file the application it  was probably legally defective and totally against the General Plan, and that it would not receive any support by any appointed or elected official of Cave Creek or any resident of Cave Creek.  You should have told the real estate company that they are welcome to develop their property but that they are not welcome to force the neighbors surrounding that area to bear the burden of their over-paying for property zoned desert rural. You and your staff have both a fiduciary and a moral duty to protect the interests of the citizens of Cave Creek as expressed in the General Plan.  

Most importantly, you must realize that your duty is not to impose YOUR IDEA of what is good for the citizens of the town of Cave Creek.  Your job is to execute the will of the people of the town.  You have a professional, an ethical and a moral duty to do so.  In my opinion, as a resident and taxpayer of Cave Creek, you have failed on all accounts.  

People have spent thousands of man hours in good faith preparing for this hearing.  Petitions were circulated.  Meetings were held.  Neighbors were visited.  Technical research was done.  Legal research was done.  Money was invested.  Political representatives were lobbied. All of this was done so that the issues that were raised at the last planning meeting could be countered in a reasoned manner.  Signs were placed all over town (you must have seen them). We planned on having up-wards of 300 people attend that meeting.  The city staff knew that because we asked them for special accommodations. This meeting was extremely important to the citizens of Cave Creek.

Then representatives of the real estate investor called you on the phone and asked you for an indefinite continuance and you unilaterally granted it.  They did not drop the core of their application.  As you well know, it can be resurrected at any time with only seven days notice.  I wonder, before you granted that continuance did you once think of the citizens of the town that you serve.  Did you once think of their rights?

From our meeting yesterday I believe I realize your motivations.  You saw that this was against the will of the people.  But rather than let that will be expressed in a public forum you decided to personally massage the situation.  You thought that you could convince every one - perhaps even the real estate investor - that the issue was dead. You tried to convince me (and almost did until my wife challenged me).  I spoke with members of the Planning Commission and they believe it is dead. Friends spoke with Council members and they think it is dead.  But you know that the issue is far from legally resolved.  

You may not have even intellectually gone through a check list to determine this course of action.  Perhaps your actions are instinctual. Perhaps you are instinctively capable of pleasing multiple constituencies while getting your own way.  It worked in this instance.

This is symptomatic of a much larger problem that I have witnessed in the six months that I have lived here.  There are wildly divergent visions of Cave Creek.  One vision is a Cave Creek that offers all of the services that a modern city would offer.  The other is of a unique rural western town.  It is my belief that you strongly believe in the former.  In fact, during our first meeting you told me as much (you said that people move here for the western charm and end up wanting the same services that they had in their previous towns.  I do not.)  It is also my belief that the vast majority of the people of Cave Creek, as expressed in the General Plan, strongly desire the latter.

The problem is that you are not an elected official.  You are an employee.  You have a view of your job that is, in my opinion, inaccurate.  You view yourself, as Town Manager, in control of the Town.  You are not.  You do not have the right to make policy.  You have the responsibility to execute policy.  In order for that system to work there must be a very clear understanding of the role of town manager by all town employees and appointed and elected officials.  Based on my observations of your repeated contraventions of the General Plan that understanding does not exist.

From my understanding we had a surplus of $5M in 2005.  We now have a debt load approaching $60M plus.  We own a water company that we paid four times of the original offering price.  We have a sewage system that is over built relative to its customer base and reach.  You have tried to centralize trash collection.  I am told that you have suggested that property taxes specifically designated for Spur Cross be extended and used for the general fund.  

You are now actively working have the town buy a fire department.  There is a campaign going on about that but to read the information one would think it is about property tax.  The town fathers should decide the policy of whether or not the people of the city want to have a public fire department.  You, as the chief administrative officer of the city, should develop the economic model and lay out the pros and cons.  Elected officials should talk with their constituents regarding the issue.  Debate should occur.  Then a decision should be made.  Instead there is no economic model.  The issue of whether or not a small western community should replace its current fire/ems management system is not directly made.  Instead it is masked as a property tax issue and debated on road side signs.  Worse yet, the real debate is about the size of the signs.  

I feel as if I have been dropped into an alternative world that is not a part of the United States.

There have been mutterings of corruption on your part.  I have seen zero evidence and doubt that that is the case because my sense is that money does not motivate you. There have been allegations that you intimidate staff.  I doubt that.  I simply think you are a strong manager.  I have seen a million business executives like you.  They are driven, smart and have a very clear vision of their mission. I do believe that you have a vision for Cave Creek that is inconsistent with the General Plan. (It is certainly inconsistent with why my family and I moved here.)  I further believe that you have an inappropriate vision of the scope of your authority in exercising that vision.  You have recommended that the water board be disbanded.  You have tried to limit the time in which the Planning Commission has to review a development.  You have personally recommended - engineered I am told - the extension of basic services throughout this quiet western town.  

But in unilaterally canceling this hearing you have over stepped your bounds.  My hope is that this is the tipping point.  I hope that all of the officials - elected and appointed - will reevaluate the scope of your authority.  I hope that a clearer job description will be written and a tighter employment contract be developed for you and for the succeeding town manager.  I hope that a tighter General Plan is developed before it is too late.  I hope that these issues are debated openly in the next election. I hope that our elected officials prepare for each meeting and are totally in tune with the will of their constituents.  

The issues in Cave Creek are going to explode in the next five years.  The issue is development.  There is a huge over hang of raw land that investors are going to want to monitize.  They are extremely sophisticated and financially capable of hiring the best legal, engineering, planning and public relations talent.  No matter what our little town does we will always be over matched.  The odds of our preserving our vision as expressed in the General Plan are extremely low.  Development is like the ocean - moving from Phoenix to Scottsdale to Sedona and Prescott.  Cave Creek is an island.  It is a gem.  We have a very small window to protect it.  Our current system of government is broken, greatly reducing those odds.  We may already have lost.  Due to our current debt taken on in order to provide water, sewer and other basic services we may need as much development as we can get.  Those facts should be developed and debated.

My view as a new resident has provided me with an unusual perspective.  It is my hope that the issues set forth in the message regarding your vision of your job will ignite a firestorm of debate.  It is further my hope that my observations about our short, mid and long term challenges will incite my fellow citizens and our elected officials to examine with urgency where we are and where we are going.  It is my hope that our news paper will take up this cause in a fair manner and that our citizens will support that paper through subscriptions and advertising. There is a tremendous amount of information that must be disseminated, analyzed and debated if we are to rationally address the issues that confront us.

I intend to pursue the matter of CC Investors 220, LLC. Those investors are extremely sophisticated.  They bought real estate at the top of the market and are now exercising the sound business strategy of trying to minimize their losses by changing the use of the land. They have no right to do so and I intend to see closure of the legal matters surrounding their current application.

More broadly, the so called "Enchanted Canyon Resort - Uniquely Cave Creek" is the perfect lense through which to see all that challenges our town.  We face substantive issues of development, resources - both economic and natural - and basic services.  We also face issues of governance and the roles and responsibilities of the various branches of our administration - especially the role of the Town Manager in a town manager form of government.  We face basic issues of representing the will of the people. We can either put these issues on the table and debate them or sweep them under the rug and let you make the decisions.  I am going to do every thing in my power to put the issues on the table. I invite you to join me.  

But first I ask you - I urge you - to do the right thing and bring legal closure to the issues surrounding Enchanted Canyon.  They have no right to have an unlimited time to keep open the potential use of a PAD regulation that has since been rescinded.  Send them a letter to that effect and tell them that by their actions they have waived the use of that PAD and that should they seek to change the use of their property they will have to start the entire process again.  That is the legal  fact. 


Yours,

Mike Chutz

PS  I am copying the Town Council, the Planning Commission, the Editor of the  Sonoran News and all of the members of our advocacy group on this e-mail.  My hope is that it is eventually read by every member of the community. 

UTube Video

Letter to Planning & Zoning Commission: 4/17/2012

From: mike chutz
Date: April 16, 2012 7:11:54 PM MST
To: Ford, John, Omundson, Peter, Baxley, Dan, Bryda, Ted, Fontaine, Ray, Monachino, Reggie, Iverson, Rae
Subject: Planning Meeting April 19

Dear Commissioners,

I am a part of a group of citizens of Cave Creek who are very concerned about the application of a real estate investment company called CC Investors 220, LLC.  This company owns 220 acres in the area of Fleming Springs.  It has applied to the Town of Cave Creek for a special use permit, an amendment to the General Plan and an amendment to the zoning regulations.  The request is to use a Planned Area Development in order to put mixed use commercial and residential into an area that is currently zoned Desert Rural 190.

A hearing was scheduled before your Board this coming Thursday night.  The lawyer for the real estate investment company called the town manager this morning and asked that the application for the special use permit be dropped and that an indefinite continuance be given as to the requests for the General Plan and Zoning amendments.  Based on that request, and without consulting any of the Planning Commissioners, the town manager unilaterally cancelled the hearing.

This is in direct contravention of the law.  This was a properly noticed hearing.  

You might argue that the applicant has the right to cancel the hearing.  That is not true.  In fact, the developer asked for, and was granted, an "indefinite continuance."  

Had the applicant entirely withdrawn the application then there would be nothing to meet about. The applicant withdrew only one of three requests.  The most important request was the request for a Planned Area Development - the regulation that would allow planning staff and the applicant great latitude in applying mixed use principles to the land.  That PAD law was rescinded recently.  The applicant filed its request just before that regulation expired. Now it is seeking an open ended continuance rather than simply withdrawing the application. The landowner is gaming the system in order to try to have the ability to use this Planned Area Development regulation at any time that it might like to do so. 

The town manager does not have the authority to grant a continuance of a matter actively under consideration by the Planning Commission, or to cancel a meeting of the Planning Commission.  The applicant was not asked what the circumstances were that required a continuance.  The applicant was not asked to explain what it would be doing during the time of the continuance so as to move the case forward. These kinds of questions are the questions that the Planning Commission would get answers to at a hearing.  At the conclusion of that hearing the Planning Commission could decide to continue the case and under what conditions, or close it and make its recommendation.  That is how the system is supposed to work.   That is due process.  

Many people relied on that publicly noticed meeting to our detriment.  Myself and hundreds of other citizens of Cave Creek had prepared diligently in order to present our arguments to the Planning Commission in a dignified and professional manner.  We have invested many man hours visiting with our fellow citizens, informing them about the details of the application. Many of our fellow citizens changed their schedules in order to attend that hearing.  

The cancellation of this meeting was in violation of the public hearing laws.  In canceling the hearing the Town Manager exceeded his legal authority.  Further, it was inappropriate that you were not consulted.  In talking with two of the Commissioners it was clear that both believed that the applicant had pulled its application.  That is not the case.  The applicant has simply been given an open ended extension.

We urge you to contact the Town Manager immediately and demand that the hearing be held as scheduled. I also urge you to contact the attorney for the city and demand that an emergency meeting of the Planning Commission be held to discuss this matter in a manner that is consistent with the open meeting laws.  

We intend to fully pursue this.  We urge you to stand up for your rights as appointed officials and also to fulfill your obligations to your town and to your fellow citizens.  

PS  It is truly astounding that just two months ago the Town Manager recommended to Town Council that the Planning Commission be required to consider and make recommendations to all cases within two months.  Now he is unilaterally giving this case an indefinite continuance.


Mike Chutz

Planning & Zoning Meeting 4/19 CANCELLED

From: Planning Agendas [mailto:listserv@civicplus.com]
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 1:35 PM
Subject: Town of Cave Creek Planning Commission Meeting for 4/19/12 - CANCELLED

 

This complimentary message is being sent to opt-in subscribers who might be interested in its content. If you do not wish to continue receiving these messages, please accept our apologies, and unsubscribe by following the instructions at the bottom of this message.
* * * * * * *
The Regular Session Planning Commission Public Hearing, scheduled for Thursday, April 19, 2012 has been CANCELLED.  The applicant has formally withdrawn the application for a Special Use Permit and requested an indefinite continuance to the General Plan Amendment Case AGP-11-02 and the Rezoning Request, Case Z-11-05

Project Traffic analysis

The Applicant has provided a traffic analysis report to the Town of Cave Creek. It may be found at

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Byd7uxpd67yzUnpJbm9QcDE0NFk

Letter from Stephanie Bradley: 5/15/2012

From: Stephanie Bradley

Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:17:05 -0700

Subject: disenchanted canyon

Dear Mayor Francia,


I am writing to you in hopes you will share my thoughts with your fellow council members. As you know, I am heavily involved with the Cave Creek Museum and Desert Foothills Library, even though Steve and I presently live in Scottsdale . Our hearts have remained in the small town to the point that we are actively considering opportunities for moving back.

Scottsdale has experienced a remarkably similar event to the "Enchanted Canyon" proposal you will soon consider.

We live just down the road from a 220-acre parcel, PREVIOUSLY zoned for 90-110 homes. With the economic downturn, the landowners recognized that they could not make a lusty profit with low density housing so opted for “resort zoning”, which Scottsdale approved and will now allow 330 homes. The city had previously approved an “Eco” resort up the street (also on Rio Verde but in the north side) that went from zoning of ~51 homes to 324 homes. The city of Scottsdale awaits presentation by “ Sereno Canyon ”, yet another resort completing a triangle in our area of ersatz resorts, though the geometry may become a larger polygon before other developers leap on the “eco resort” bandwagon. How developers can suggest that it would be appealing to visit a resort in a high density housing development is a head scratcher. Indeed, when the resorts fail, well we can look forward to a residue of jam-packed houses in an area that was formerly horse country. (We live on 15 acres…..most of our neighbors---all 10 of them….live on 5-20 acres).  

So the "eco resort" seems to be all the rage for developers to bypass zoning and grossly alter neighborhoods. To my dismay, I see the "eco resort" ploy is now being tested in Cave Creek.

I know you and other council members are swamped with pressure from all sides. Your actions will be historic, just as Spur Cross was. I trust you and your colleagues will decide to retain Cave Creek’s uniqueness and uphold zoning to keep the lively town core in place while citizens enjoy the Cave Creek lifestyle in their widely dispersed homesites.

Having served on Carefree’s P&Z, I know the challenge and commitment involved with your duties. Thanks for taking on the job.

Best, Stephanie

Open House 5/5/2012 @ 10-11:30AM

The neighborhood group Creekers4CaveCreek will be holding an informational open house regarding the Enchanted Canyon Resort project. We feel the developers proposed changes to Cave Creek's 2005 General Plan will result in the destruction of Desert Rural Zoning as currently stated in the General Plan.

The Informational Open House will be held Saturday, May 5, from 10-11:30 AM at:

American Legion Post 34

Al Morgan Hall

6272 E. Cave Creek Road

Cave Creek, AZ 

You will have the opportunity to ask questions, find out why we are passionate about protecting our desert rural lifestyle, and why we want to protect the General Plan.

We hope you will take this opportunity to visit with us.

Letter from Christine Coleman: 4/12/2012

From: Christine Coleman
Date: Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 8:11 PM
Subject: NO ZONING CHANGE PLEASE

Dear Council members,

    I'm writing to express my strong wishes to PREVENT the proposed
Enchanted Canyon development.  A commercial enterprise, especially of such
density, in a neighborhood should not be allowed.  It's NOT what residents
of Cave Creek moved here for.

    Please DO NOT allow the integrity of the existing Zoning to be
destroyed.

                PLEASE VOTE "NO" TO THE ZONING CHANGE!


Thank you.

Sincerely,

Christine Coleman

Planning and Zoning packet is available

The agenda for the April 19th Planning and Zoning meeting is now available online. This is the same printout that is being made available for the P&Z Commissioners, and contains all documents submitted on the 3 topics under discussion. These include Town Staff recommendations, documents submitted by the Applicant, and copies of all letters received at Town Hall from the public.

You may find a web page containing links to each individual document here:

http://cavecreek.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=13788

If you'd like to download the entire voting packet, you can find it here:

http://cavecreek.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=13790

Warning: this link is to a .pdf file, which is 30MB in size and contains all 236 printed pages. It will take a while, even at high speed, to download this file.

A publicly available printed hardcopy will also be at the front desk of Town Hall, which is open Monday through Thursday, 8am-4:30pm.

Spreading the word

Fellow Creekers,

Our drive towards protecting our desert rural lifestyle and the denial of the Enchanted Canyon proposal presses on.

We are currently designing 11"x14" road-side signs to help broadcast our cause. Please consider supporting this effort by purchasing a sign to display on the roadside in front of your home. The cost for producing these signs is $11 each. You may even want to consider purchasing additional signs for display on prominent intersections in your neighborhood.  The goal is to continue getting the message out to fellow Creekers that we value the lifestyle we've chosen and are passionate about keeping it. 

Please reply to us if you would like to purchase and post sign(s) in front of your home or in your neighborhood.

Letter from Lisa Riley/Kim Mehring: 4/7/2012

Mayor Vincent Francia

Chairman Dan Baxley

c/o Ms. C. Dyrek, Town Clerk

37622 N Cave Creek Road

Cave Creek, AZ  85331

Regarding: Enchanted Canyon General Plan Amendment and Rezoning Cases AGP-11-02 and Z-11-05

Imagine for a moment, waking up to streaming sunlight through unadorned windows; hearing birds chirping and roosters cock-a-doodle-doing.  After opening the windows following a night of rain, smell the fresh scent of the desert, see the fuzzy tops of the saguaros and feel that you can almost touch the magical mountains in the background.

In the evenings, listen to the chorus of coyotes, the snorting of horses, the rustling vegetation and the sounds of silence.

If your home is located in the rural desert, these may well be common occurrences if “The Code of the West” (http://www.cavecreek.org/index.aspx?NID=57) remains alive and well.

The proposed Enchanted Canyon Resort to rezone residential desert (DR-190) to higher density (DR-89, DR-70, DR-43) and General Commercial (GC) zoning approximately 3 miles (by car) north  of the town core does not adhere to the Code of the West.

The purpose of zoning is to preserve and protect the neighbor’s property values.  While the constitution protects the rights of a land owner to fair compensation for a government taking, there is no constitutional guarantee for return on investment (R.O.I.).  Otherwise, we would all be suing the Stock Exchange every time the market tanks.  There is, however, an 80 year history of the U.S. Supreme Court protecting the rights of homeowners over the R.O.I. of real estate investors.  This is what we’re facing in Cave Creek today.

We are opposed to the rezoning of residential property to higher density residential and commercial property located in the midst of a rural neighborhood zoned DR-190, miles away from any commercially or higher density residentially zoned property.   We are especially opposed to Planned Area Developments as the zoning rules and regulations (including setbacks and hillside disturbance) do not apply for these areas. 

Please remember why one chooses to live in a rural desert town where the jet black skies are lit solely by stars, the night silence carries whispers of wild animals, and neighbors look out for each other. 

Sincerely,

Lisa Riley & Kim Mehring, Cave Creek

CC:  Vice Mayor Ernie Bunch, Shelley Anderson, James Bruce, Dick Esser, Steven LaMar, Thomas McGuire, Vice Chairman Reg Monachino, Peter Omundson, Rae Iverson, Ted Bryda, Ray Fontaine, John Ford

Letter from Nedra Stuckey: 4/3/2012

April 3, 2012

How would you like to wake up to a hotel and amphitheater in your country desert backyard? 

The Town of Cave Creek is considering re-zoning 220 acres of desert rural residential property that is currently zoned to accommodate less than 50 homes to mixed use commercial property to construct a 220 bed resort with an approx 80 single family home residential component.  This project is called Enchanted Canyon Resort, and its site is in the heart of our Desert Rural neighborhood, where Continental Mountain Road and 72nd Street connect, about 1.5 miles north of Harold’s (in the town core of Cave Creek) as the crow flies.

Cave Creek is the type of town that is proud to have no stoplights and where residents can ride their horse to a bar and sit for a spell enjoying a neighborly conversation.  For residents, this rural desert lifestyle is why we love Cave Creek and is what the town trades on to draw tourists to its unique charms.

The Enchanted Canyon project is ill-conceived, and here’s why:

• The proposed site is in the heart of a desert rural neighborhood, over 1.5 miles from the commercial town core and where the DR-190 zoning permits one house per five acres.
• These rural hilltops are not hydrologically, archeologically, environmentally, or economically suited for this type of development.  This land can handle one house per five acres, not a hotel and amphitheater.
• This project will generate in excess of 1000 vehicle trips per day every day, of non-resident traffic, through the intersections at Cave Creek Rd and School House Road, School House Rd and Fleming Springs, and through to the site at 72nd Street and Continental Mountain Rd.
• This resort plans to draw on Cave Creek town water which is an antiquated and poorly functioning system currently, and is grievously underequipped to handle this amount of additional use.
• Town infrastructure such as roads, sewage, and water will have to be modified greatly and maintained long term at the town’s expense.  Even if the developer pays for initial upgrades, the total cost of ownership of these improvements will rest on the town, already deeply in debt.
• Local merchants will not be receiving a flood of cash-wielding guests from this resort, as they have been dreaming of.  The resort is billing itself as a “staycation” environment that includes food service and even an amphitheater for entertainment – these guests will not be making a run into town for a cappuccino or a burger.  They will be ensconced in their resort.
• That is, IF the resort actually draws any traffic.  Cave Creek currently has several resort properties within just a few miles:  Rancho Mañana, Carefree Conference Inn, the Boulders…. None of which are bringing hordes of money-spending tourists to town in the last few years.  The developer’s proposal projects a 50% occupancy rate.  The amount of hotel and sales tax revenue coming from this amount of occupancy (or even at full occupancy) is not going to erase the town’s financial woes, not by a long shot.

Be wise, citizens of Cave Creek (and rural desert land everywhere):  This proposed development will surely increase town spending on improved infrastructure, pushing the town further into debt… debt which will be the used as a rationale to push additional “economic development” in the form of more zoning changes and higher density residential and commercial development in your rural neighborhoods throughout town.  

First comes the resort, then comes the stop lights, strip malls, and Applebee’s…. then you can say goodbye to wildlife, horseback rides, night skies, the local coffee shop, and a cohesive and coherent town core.

Signed,

Nedra Stuckey, MBA, Creeker

7301 E. Highland Rd.,

Cave Creek, AZ 85331

Letter to Email List: 4/2/2012

Dear Fellow Creekers,


Speak up for your town to preserve our rural desert lifestyle!

We're hearing that Town Councilmen and Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commissioners are being inundated with letters against the Enchanted Canyon project.  Fantastic! This is what we want...and need!  If you are one of those whose letters has already hit their mailboxes - thank you!  If you're still at the letter drafting stage, wonderful...but it's important to remember to get them in on time.  After the deadline, your letter will NOT get into the councilmen's/commissioners' hands. Below are the deadlines when they need to be in the town clerk's hands to be certain they will be in the packets for them to read.


Sample letters (and more!) can be found at http://www.creekers4cavecreek.org

***** NOTE: If you only have time to write one set of letters, it is most important for members of the Town Council to receive letters. Writing to the P&Z commissioners is surely helpful, but not as crucial.  All letters go to the following address (or can be hand carried):

c/o Town of Cave Creek
37622 N. Cave Creek Rd
Cave Creek,  AZ 85331

Town Councilmen - 4/27 (For the All-Important 5/7 meeting)
- Address a letter to each of the 7 councilmen and give one to Carrie, the Town
Clerk, to put into the public record.

TOWN COUNCIL
Vincent Francia (Mayor)
Ernie Bunch III (Vice Mayor)
Shelley V. Anderson
James Bruce
Dick Esser
Steven LaMar
Thomas McGuire
Planning and Zoning Commissioners - 4/11 (for the 4/19 voting meeting)

- Address a letter to each of the 7 commissioners and give one to Carrie, the
Town Clerk, to put into the public record.
PLANNING COMMISSION
Ted Bryda
Ray Fontaine
John G. Ford
Dan Baxley
Peter Omundson
Reg Monachino
Rae Iverson


AND.... Once these letters are written and sent out....if you are reallllly in a letter writing mood, sending a letter to the Editor of either the Sonoran News and/or the Arizona Republic would also be great!

Arizona Republic: Editor (robert.leger@arizonarepublic.com)

Scottsdale edition (ne.letters@scottsdalerepublic.com)
Sonoran News: Letters to the editor (editor@sonorannews.com

Remember: The squeaky wheels gets the grease, and we want to do a lot of squeaking when it comes to protecting our beloved Cave Creek lifestyle.

Happy letter writing!

Your IT team
Creekers4CaveCreek

Letter from Patrick Grady: 3/31/2012

From: Patrick Grady
To: creekers4cc@yahoo.com
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2012 11:11 AM
Subject: Mailing List

Please add my name to your e-mail list for future communication.  Thank you for what you are doing to preserve this unique desert environment.  This is NOT a “needed” project for the future financial stability of Cave Creek.  Frankly, that is what Walmart revenue and development along Carefree Highway will do for us.  We already have a proposed resort development site just north of Cave Creek Road on Schoolhouse Road awaiting an improvement in our economy. 

 

The Town adopted the following Vision Statement for the 2005 General Plan: 

        “Our western equestrian lifestyle, rural development patterns, dramatic views, trails, open spaces and wildlife habitats are the hallmarks of our high quality of life.  Over the next decade and beyond, everything we do:         

                -  Shall contribute to our unique character and diverse lifestyles

             -  Shall be within the carrying capacity of our land and resources

             -  Shall conserve our rich, varied, self-sustaining natural environment

             -  Encourage tourism and development in the Historic Town Core compatible with the Town’s unique heritage"

 

The proposed Enchanted Canyon Resort is not consistent with our Town’s vision for the future!

               

For so many reasons, this project should be opposed by the Planning Commission and the Town Council. 

 

Thanks.       

Patrick

Fiesta Days Parade: 3/31/2012

We had a good turnout of marchers yesterday at the Cave Creek Fiesta Day's parade. Many people on the sidelines were in agreement with our marchers, and we gathered many signatures beforehand, during, and after the parade was over.
	Even the horses got into the spirit of the day!

Letter from MIke Durkin: 3/31/2012

All,

So far, our contact with the town council members (Shelley Anderson and Tom
McGuire) suggests there is little support for Enchanted Canyon on the
council. Instead of finding comfort in this we need to ask ourselves why
the developer would spend the money and time he has in this endeavor in the
face of such apparent lack of support. I met with planning staff and Usama
on Thursday and was told, the town had told the developer their plan had
very-little chance of approval.

The owner of the 220 acres making up Enchanted Canyon has spent a serious
amount of money developing the plan and examining the legal aspects of the
proposed development. If the developer, his planner and his legal staff are
as sophisticated as we believe, they would not be pressing ahead unless
they were highly confident of success.

Unfortunately we can only guess at what they have in mind for the "end
game". Our most effective counter is massive opposition. Therefore, we must
continue to grow our attendance at the April 19th P&Z meeting and, most
importantly, the May 7th Council meetings.

During my meeting with staff and Usama, a thought occurred to me that I
would like to share. Over the ~ 25 years since Cave Creek incorporated, our
demographics have changed dramatically. If Enchanted Canyon was proposed 20
years ago, few of the towns residents would have spent much time worrying
over it because they would have known, with certainty, it would fail at
council.

The makeup of the council changes every election cycle. Fiscal pressures
come, go and change as the council and town staff change and/or respond to
pressure from inside and outside the town. If we want to keep Cave Creek
Cave Creek, the only constants upon which we can rely are ourselves and our
commitment to fight the forces of change. It is unfortunate, but I'm
afraid, certain that rural zoning will continue to be threatened after we
win Enchanted Canyon. This threat will be most intense while the real
estate slump continues. Out best, short-term defense is to kill Enchanted
Canyon in a very convincing manner. This will require a serious turn out
at the previously-mentioned meetings. Please reach out to friends,
neighbors and strangers to help us grow our ranks.

Thanks,
Mike