Town unveils conceptual master plan for Glassford Dells Regional Park; public meeting scheduled April 30

Prescott Valley — The town and The Planning Center on April 3 unveiled conceptual renderings for the Glassford Dells Regional Park, a community‑driven master plan for roughly 3,600 acres shared among Prescott Valley, the City of Prescott and Yavapai County.

Planner Lexi Welland of The Planning Center described the project as the result of a steering committee, an open house and an online survey that drew just under 3,200 responses. The presentation breaks the site into active nodes and large passive open‑space areas and envisions connectivity with surrounding trail systems including Iron King, Summit trails and Prescott’s existing Dells trails.

Highlights of the concept: - Scale and phasing: The full planning area covers about 3,600 acres; active facilities are concentrated in smaller nodes so development is staged over several years. Planners said a phased approach is intended to limit disturbance while delivering near‑term amenities. - Trails: Planners mapped roughly 42 miles of existing trails and an additional 11–12 miles already planned by the cities, plus another 20–25 miles of new trails and pathways to add variety and link neighborhoods and trailheads. - Gateway amenities: An “East Gate” node (about 72 acres in the concept) near Jasper Parkway would include trailheads, a ropes course, a pump track and a family‑oriented playground and pavilion. Designers emphasized permeable/low‑impact parking and rainwater harvesting features. - Summit and wildlife protection: A summit viewpoint would be formalized for small‑group interpretation and access; planners also proposed a wildlife watering hole separated from trails by several hundred feet to protect habitat. - Recreation nodes: A proposed 18‑hole disc golf course (nine holes oriented to beginners/intermediates plus nine for more advanced players) and off‑leash dog park were included in conceptual layouts.

Planning center principals and the town said the design attempts to balance active recreation and preservation. Planning Center principal Brian Underwood said the concept is “about adding some variety of trails and opening the hill up to additional folks” while keeping rugged trail character in the Dells where appropriate.

Council and public comments at the study session sought clarification and raised concerns: - Some residents and one organized group pushed back on the quantity of constructed features shown in renderings and urged a more preservation‑oriented approach; councilors said these concerns would be considered in the next public feedback round. - Council members asked specifically about amenities that had appeared in earlier concepts (chairlift, hotel, campground); staff and planners confirmed none of those uses are included in the current concept and stressed the park would remain primarily open space with targeted activity nodes. - Safety, erosion and operations: Council asked whether additional trails — and mountain‑bike use — could accelerate erosion; planners said trail engineering and erosion control will be part of subsequent design and construction phases. Questions about insurance, staffing, liability waivers (for high‑ropes elements) and long‑term maintenance funding were raised; staff said financing options (grants, impact fees, general fund) are being explored.

Next steps: The town will hold a public presentation and feedback session on April 30 in the recreation office, revise concepts based on input and issue a final public survey. Planners and staff said they will return to council with revised renderings and recommendations for next phases.

Ending: Council members generally praised the community engagement and emphasized the plan will go through additional public review and engineering design work before any construction or operational commitments are made.