"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #1064, October 21, 2023
Issue #1064, October 21, 2023
I have some questions about this Carefree Park that the Mattes’s are supporting because the state land is in their backyard:
Who is accountable for donations while the funds are being collected? Where does the money go if they never reach 7 million dollars? Has a final plan been worked out for who will own and maintain the park? Will it be trails, a dog park, pickle ball courts? Part of Carefree Park sounds like a scam since there is very little thought out or a least divulged.
This all came up because of the gathering coming up at the Pavilion and the sign they want to put up on the town right of way, and doing it through a Council resolution rather than through P&Z.
Something to think about. Any thoughts on this subject since you served for so long on P&Z?
Hopefully the Council will think this through and vote the sign down. They are being asked to override a town Ordinance, I believe.
I think you may find this interesting. Big turn around in a year. Here is the article from Sonoran News where it appears John, as mayor elect, was in support of working with the Foothills Land Trust on an appropriate piece of land for open space and working with the developers of the state land for open space of some kind on that parcel.
https://sonorannews.com/2022/09/20/facts-regarding-state-land-in-carefree/
Recently, the future of a vacant 40-acre parcel owned by the Arizona State Land Department has been a topic of discussion. This parcel of land is located adjacent to Cave Creek Road and immediately south of SkyRanch airport as shown in the below map. To clarify misunderstandings surrounding this property, please consider the following factual information.
- State Trust land is not considered public lands similar to a park or national forest. State Trust lands were conveyed to the State by the federal government upon statehood and must be held in a trust and sold for no less than appraised fair market value to generate revenue for its beneficiaries such as the State’s education system. The State Land Department recently intended to conduct an auction of this parcel, but this auction has now been cancelled.
- Over 22 years ago, the Town sought the possibility to purchase this land to create a Town park. The current Town’s General Plan recognizes this past effort and states the following within the Town’s Open Space Element of the General Plan:
- At a recent Town Council meeting, the Desert Foothills Land Trust gave a comprehensive presentation regarding their mission to preserve environmentally sensitive lands and their strategic approach to accomplish this mission. From a scale of 0 to 5 with zero being the least and 5 being the highest land preservation values, the local Desert Foothills Land Trust rated the State Trust Land. In accordance with this rating scale the majority of this property received the lowest possible score with the exception of a wash located on the southeast corner of the parcel.
- The lands within Carefree with the highest land preservation values are located on the far north side of Town. It is these locations where both the Town and the Desert Foothills Land Trust have and continue to partner to build a meaningful open space preserve for the Carefree community which protects significant archeological resources, migration routes of local wildlife, stands of hundreds of saguaros and significant riparian areas. To date, 150 acres have been acquired. Through property acquisition, donations, and easements, the vision is to create a Spur Cross like preservation area in the northern reaches of Carefree.
- The price attributed to acquisition of the State Trust land (about $7 million) could purchase hundreds of the highly environmentally sensitive areas in the north side of Carefree and create a meaning desert preserve within the Carefree community rather than 40-acres south of an airport and adjacent to an arterial street which does not contain significant preservation value.
If you would like more information regarding desert land preservation efforts, please review the Desert Foothills Land Trust website: www.dflt.org. Or please contact me at vicemayor@carefree.org.
John Crane, Mayor Elect
Desert Foothills Land Trust Board member
Thank you,
A Concerned Carefree Citizen
(Lyn's note: These are all excellent questions, and ones Herbert and I have asked ourselves too. The answers have not been made even remotely transparent by those who support the effort to create a Carefree Park on this parcel. The Sonoran News article was published over a year ago, and the aims of those pushing for a park on the state land have become quite a bit more aggressive.
As far as I know, no information has been forthcoming about who collects the donations being requested, where the money is being kept, or if it will be returned to the donors if the land is not purchased by Mrs. Mattes's organization. I am also under the impression that the purveyors of this project are after the purchase of the entire 40 acres, and not just working with a developer to keep a small part of it as open space.
By state law, State Trust Land is sold via auction to the highest bidder, so there is little reason to think that it will not go for more than $7 million. We have heard that Scottsdale has also expressed in interest in it, and they have quite deep pockets. Interest has also been expressed by some developers, since the land is currently zoned R-70, low density residential. In the past, environmentally sensitive parts of developments, like the wash on the 40 acres of state land, have been deeded to the Town.
And yes you are correct, Dear Concerned Citizen, the zoning designation would require an amendment to the zoning by Carefree's P&Z, since the parcel is within the Carefree town limits. It cannot be done via a Council Resolution.
If standard park amenities are placed on this parcel, such as eating and grilling picnic areas, public toilets, trails, and a desired grass dog park area, these will be expensive to install and to maintain. Who will be responsible for these installations and maintenance costs? Will it be deeded to the Town, making Carefree the responsible party? If dogs go out of a grass dog park area, or if children wonder off of the designated trails or out of the picnic areas, they will often require emergency medical treatment to remove cholla spines. Who will be responsible for those costs? Will this park be noticed that those entering are entering at their own risk? If so, will that notice stand up in court if the Town is sued for expenses? There also exists a risk of brush fires from a grilling area, affecting not only the park but also nearby structures.
Many of us are also surprised that Mayor Crane recently seems to have come out openly in support of Mrs. Mattes's effort to buy and create a park on the 40 acres even though, according to the article by John Crane published in 2022, the Land Trust has rated this parcel as a 0 on a scale of 0-5 in their preservation mission, since it lacks anything of archeological significance, animal migration routes, or sensitivetopographic or riparian components other than the wash. It's simply a flat parcel, located near the airport and a major arterial road. As noted in the Sonoran News article written by then mayor elect Crane, the wash could be preserved through an agreement with a developer.
I agree with you that this is a classic case of NIMBYism at best, and at worst a very questionable enterprise.)
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Please support our Carefree merchants.
John Crane, Mayor Elect
Desert Foothills Land Trust Board member
Thank you,
A Concerned Carefree Citizen
(Lyn's note: These are all excellent questions, and ones Herbert and I have asked ourselves too. The answers have not been made even remotely transparent by those who support the effort to create a Carefree Park on this parcel. The Sonoran News article was published over a year ago, and the aims of those pushing for a park on the state land have become quite a bit more aggressive.
As far as I know, no information has been forthcoming about who collects the donations being requested, where the money is being kept, or if it will be returned to the donors if the land is not purchased by Mrs. Mattes's organization. I am also under the impression that the purveyors of this project are after the purchase of the entire 40 acres, and not just working with a developer to keep a small part of it as open space.
By state law, State Trust Land is sold via auction to the highest bidder, so there is little reason to think that it will not go for more than $7 million. We have heard that Scottsdale has also expressed in interest in it, and they have quite deep pockets. Interest has also been expressed by some developers, since the land is currently zoned R-70, low density residential. In the past, environmentally sensitive parts of developments, like the wash on the 40 acres of state land, have been deeded to the Town.
And yes you are correct, Dear Concerned Citizen, the zoning designation would require an amendment to the zoning by Carefree's P&Z, since the parcel is within the Carefree town limits. It cannot be done via a Council Resolution.
If standard park amenities are placed on this parcel, such as eating and grilling picnic areas, public toilets, trails, and a desired grass dog park area, these will be expensive to install and to maintain. Who will be responsible for these installations and maintenance costs? Will it be deeded to the Town, making Carefree the responsible party? If dogs go out of a grass dog park area, or if children wonder off of the designated trails or out of the picnic areas, they will often require emergency medical treatment to remove cholla spines. Who will be responsible for those costs? Will this park be noticed that those entering are entering at their own risk? If so, will that notice stand up in court if the Town is sued for expenses? There also exists a risk of brush fires from a grilling area, affecting not only the park but also nearby structures.
Many of us are also surprised that Mayor Crane recently seems to have come out openly in support of Mrs. Mattes's effort to buy and create a park on the 40 acres even though, according to the article by John Crane published in 2022, the Land Trust has rated this parcel as a 0 on a scale of 0-5 in their preservation mission, since it lacks anything of archeological significance, animal migration routes, or sensitivetopographic or riparian components other than the wash. It's simply a flat parcel, located near the airport and a major arterial road. As noted in the Sonoran News article written by then mayor elect Crane, the wash could be preserved through an agreement with a developer.
I agree with you that this is a classic case of NIMBYism at best, and at worst a very questionable enterprise.)
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Please support our Carefree merchants.