By Jeff Wendt | Cave Creek/Carefree Independent (abridged)
Residents of Cave Creek want the beautiful images of open space surrounding the town to be preserved.
The Cave Creek Town Council agreed with the residents of the town on Tuesday, Jan. 27, when it unanimously approved the report present by the 15-member Ad Hoc Committee on Open Space, and moved forward with plans to purchase 4,005 acres of open space currently owned by the Arizona State Land Trust.
The town will have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for a land appraisal to be done, so the council can decide what financing options to use to purchase the land.
The 4,005 acres was zoned as open space conservation and open space recreation in 2009 by the Arizona State Land Department, when the parcel was annexed and the rezoning of the land occurred.
The town has until Oct. 28, 2030, to purchase at least 160 acres of open space. In the 2025 fiscal year budget, the town set aside $2.5 million to purchase state lands.
“The members of the ad hoc committee are extremely passionate and eager to start promoting, marketing, and fundraising,” said Ad Hoc Committee Chairman Steve LaMar.
The committee broke down into three groups: communications and outreach, financing, and evaluation and prioritization.
As for financing of the project, the committee believed the goal was to get between $10.6 million and $13.6 million to purchase the remaining land.
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