Cave Creek council accepts Morningstar nonmotorized trail easement amid task force caveats

Cave Creek — The Town Council on Monday voted to accept a dedication of a nonmotorized trail easement on property owned by Morningstar Road Properties Inc., approving staff and an ad hoc task force recommendation despite public concern about building a trail on the donated easement.

The council approved the dedication 5–1. Council member Ernie Bunch voted no; five other council members voted to accept the easement. The action accepts the easement document as presented and does not obligate the town to build a trail on the easement.

The ad hoc Morningstar Trail Task Force, appointed by the council, spent the summer examining the proposed easement and alternative trail routes. Luke (Development Services Director) told the council the task force “unanimously recommended that town council accept the trail easement,” and council later noted the committee had both recommended acceptance and identified alternative trail alignments for future consideration.

Task force members and residents who spoke urged the town to accept the easement as a form of protected open space but to avoid building a constructed trail on that specific alignment. Stacy Daniel, who served on the Morningstar task force, said she changed her mind after serving on the committee: “I now see the trail easement as a benefit and not a detriment.” Daniel summarized research showing the deed and a 1981 utility easement limit the potential for a full public roadway along the corridor and said the gift is expressly dedicated “solely for nonmotorized trail users.”

Lisa Greenman, also a task force member, told the council the committee’s recommendation was specific: the group voted unanimously both to accept the gift and to recommend that “no trail be built on that easement gift.” She said the committee developed alternative northern alignments that would better connect the town’s east-side users to nearly 4,000 acres of open space.

Council discussion emphasized the task force’s patience and consensus-building. One council member noted that much of the easement lies in a wash area that is effectively undevelopable and described acceptance as a way to secure a second layer of protection for an east–west wildlife corridor. Another council member questioned the need to accept the easement if the town intended to pursue the task force alternatives regardless, calling the easement “superfluous” to the alternate plans but not harmful.

Public commenters who supported accepting the deed noted concerns about trespass and access if a constructed trail were sited improperly, and recommended the town instead pursue the alternative alignments the task force identified. Bill Bassor, a task force participant, said the town’s trail system and open space “is our culture” and urged continued support for trails that connect to existing public lands.

The motion to accept the dedication did not include language requiring the town to build a trail on the easement. After the roll call vote (Council member Ogerton absent; Council member Bunch, Driscoll, McGuire, Vice Mayor Roy and Mayor Morris voting yes; Council member Rhodes voting no), the mayor announced the motion passed 5–1.