In a May 2nd letter, former Cave Creek Town Council member Paul Diefenderfer states the pledged gift of a trail easement at Morning Star, on land being sold by real estate developer Mark Stapp, will have “no cost” to tax payers. This is inaccurate.
The easement, extracted by the town when Stapp approached them to complete a lot split, runs along and through a 3/4-mile, privately maintained, driveway easement granted in 1969, that allows property owners just west of the creek to access their homes. The proposed trail is adjacent to the existing driveway and the trail would cross over the driveway at least twice.
The trail easement property includes an approximately 50-foot, steep vertical drop next to the driveway on the east side of the creek and a drop off/slope on the west side. This is not a simple trail build involving tree trimming and making a path. The trail construction and maintenance will be significant and at taxpayer expense. When questioned about the estimated cost for building this trail, at an “open house” meeting, April 15, at Town Hall, the Mayor, town staff, even the trail building expert with 40 years experience, had no figures to offer. Why? It’s apparent to anyone who has seen the site that creating a safe descent for horses, out of a vertical drop next to an active, single lane driveway, would be an expensive undertaking, not to mention the issues of safety and liability.
This is not a good use of taxpayer money because if built, the trail would run for less than a mile before dead ending at other privately-owned properties that have pending deed restrictions that prohibit trail or road access. This would make the Morning Star Trail extension, a very expensive “Trail to Nowhere.”
Kathleen M Abaie
Cave Creek
