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Residents, experts urge council to protect Desert Awareness Park after parking plan withdrawn
Summary
Public comment at Cave Creek council meeting pressed officials to preserve Desert Awareness Park and honor deed restrictions after a proposed parking expansion was withdrawn; a geologist warned the parcel lies in a high flood-hazard zone and could worsen erosion if paved.
A crowd of residents told the Cave Creek Town Council on June 18 that a proposed parking expansion at Desert Awareness Park would violate donor deed restrictions, harm wildlife habitat and increase flood and erosion risks. The council earlier removed the Stagecoach Village parking agreement from the agenda after the applicant withdrew, and several speakers used the public-comment period to press the town to keep the park undeveloped.
The strongest technical warning came from Chad Kwikowski, who identified himself as a research scientist with the GeoHazards Group at the Arizona Geological Survey. "The proposed parking areas [are] entirely within the highest hazard flood zone as mapped in the 1978 USGS delineation," he told the council, and he cited the August 19, 2014 flood that widened Galloway/Stewart Wash by as much as 50 feet. Kwikowski said compacted surfaces or pavement would alter wash hydrology, increase lateral erosion and remove native vegetation that stabilizes bank material.
Why it matters: multiple speakers said the Desert Awareness Park was donated with limits on disturbance. Bryce Rudioff read a special warranty deed recorded on Oct. 21, 1993, that restricts disturbance to no more than 5% of the site and argued the proposed 1.5-acre lot would push total disturbance well beyond that cap. Reid Riddioff cited the town's voter-ratified general plan, which he said emphasizes open space throughout the document, and said paving would run counter to the plan's stated goals.
Council and staff response focused on process. The town manager clarified that the HOA's withdrawal of the agreement meant staff no longer intends to move forward with the parking project: "No agreement, no parking," he said. Multiple residents urged the council to consider alternatives such as privatization, conservation easements or redesigned, non-paved surfacing that preserves native trees and wash stability.
Voices at the meeting included long-time volunteers and committee members who emphasized tree preservation and the Desert Awareness Committee's role in stewardship. Several speakers asked that any future proposals include engineering review that accounts for wash dynamics and long-term erosion, not just near-term grading plans.
What's next: the council did not vote on any change to the park tonight; staff said the HOA withdrew the agreement and that no parking project is being advanced at this time. Residents requested the council explore conservation easements and ensure any future proposals respect deed restrictions and flood-hazard mapping.
