Black Mountain slated for preservation by local group
The fear is that if steps are not taken now to preserve Black Mountain, it could become covered with homes.
by Curtis Riggs
CAREFREE/CAVE CREEK – Now that the group dedicated to the preservation of Black Mountain is in its second year, the method of keeping the backdrop to both Desert Foothills communities from being covered with homes has become more focussed.
Reports from the Black Mountain Conservancy, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed last year, indicate that the number of homes that now dot the 3,398-foot peak could skyrocket in the next decade.
02-14-01 | The Sonoran News (website)
"The Black Mountain that you know and love will change in the near future," BMC president Val Root told the Carefree Town Council last week when giving a report on available open space in the community. Root said in the next 10 years 150 new homes could easily be built on the peak that serves as a backdrop to both Cave Creek and Carefree. He added that another 75 homes also could be built. Sheer slopes and strict municipal codes in both communities could make it harder to construct the last 75 homes.
The group has the mission of establishing a 750-acre Black Mountain Scenic Preserve above the 2,300-foot elevation contour on the mountain. The hope is to incorporate the present 250-acre Black Mountain Summit Preserve, that has already been saved through the efforts of Maricopa County, into the planned scenic preserve.
"The 20 homes now on the mountain soon could be 30," Root said, stressing that concerted efforts are made by the organization in monitoring the status of large tracts on the mountain that are held privately for profit.
Due to much of the land held being developable (outside of not meeting strict municipal codes on building) the efforts of the group are channeled toward working with individual property owners to secure donations of land or conservation easements.
A Nov. 15, 2000 letter to property owners on the mountain urges landowners to get involved in the preservation of their own back yard.
"Our group, the Black Mountain Conservancy, is not attempting to take away any individual property rights. Our mission is to simply encourage preservation of as much land as possible and to encourage only responsible development," Root writes. "As we all know, history has a way of repeating itself, and if we don’t take some action now, we are likely to see unsightly development that will diminish the beauty and value of property."
The group is now in a fund-raising mode and is striving to raise awareness about the plight of the peak that can be seen from surrounding cities. A photo contest concerning shots taken of Black Mountain will soon be held. A wine auction will be held as a fundraiser to benefit the group from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25 at Los Portales Mall in downtown Carefree. For information about the wine auction call BMC board member Ralph Pipp at 480-575-4320.
Root speaks of taking steps to see that new homes built on the mountain are not garish showplaces that will stick out and take away from the natural, scenic beauty of the mountain. The hope is that people building in the future will follow the example of some of the first homes built on the Carefree side of the mountain by builders like Gerry Jones. Many of the mansions on the Carefree side of the hill are concealed by large boulders. It takes a trained eye to spot some of the roads that lead to these palaces due to the boulders concealing them.
This is not the case on the Cave Creek side of the hill. Three homes now sit on an extension of School House Road. At night they resemble a string of Christmas lights. Several other new homes are now visible from Cave Creek. There are also several projects now underway on both sides of the hill.
A focus of BMC is to try and see that adjacent properties are not harmed while a home is being built on one lot.
"They make a road off the plat and dump stuff outside of it," is how Root describes how other areas can be harmed while construction is taking place on one property. For this reason the BMC is proposing that project managers be on site during the construction. The hope is to also require that chain-link fences be required around each project.
Another problem now being seen with the mountain and private holdings on it is that the popular trail up the peak crisscrosses private property in several places. This has hikers wandering off the poorly-marked trail and entering people’s back yards. This is a problem for both hikers and property owners due to the potential for trespassing, in some instances property owners being required to pick up after the hikers.
BMC goals include prohibiting new roads from going straight up the mountain and wanting future homes to be of the high Sonoran style.
"If people want a show home then they should go to Camelback Mountain," Root said.
BMC board member Shea Stanfield addresses the need to keep homes off the higher slopes of the mountain saying it can be seen from as far away as New River and Phoenix.
"Because Black Mountain is the central landmark for communities all around, we need to keep the mountain tops clear so that when you look across mountains you don’t see piles of homes," she said.
Carefree Mayor Ed Morgan said he applauds the efforts of BMC after hearing the report about group activities.
"We have been remiss in not having a vision for what we want to see on Black Mountain," he said.
Anyone wanting to take part in the preservation of Black Mountain can call 480-575-5835..
06-21-00 | The Sonoran News (website)
Black Mountain Conservancy Obtains 501(c)(3) Status
CAREFREE/CAVE CREEK – Val Root, Black Mountain Conservancy (BMC) president, has announced that the group recently received its official standing as an IRS qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. |
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The Conservancy will now be able to accept tax-deductible gifts from interested friends of Black Mountain Scenic Preserve. Root explained, "This is a significant milestone in the establishment of the Conservancy as an active force for the preservation of Black Mountain as a scenic preserve. We are delighted that this official notification occurred earlier than anticipated – we look forward now to accelerating our fund-raising efforts."
Organized earlier this year, Black Mountain Conservancy is dedicated to preserving the undeveloped land on and around Black Mountain in Cave Creek and Carefree. Two hundred fifty acres at the top of the mountain is held by the county. About two thirds of the mountain, 500 of the mostly undeveloped acres above the 2,300 foot elevation, is in private hands, zoned residential, but with only 22 single-family residences at present. With no conservation efforts, 100 or more additional houses could be built under present zoning regulations, and to access them, additional roads would be cut into the side of Black Mountain.
The goal is to set aside a total of 750 acres as Black Mountain Scenic Preserve. In order to preclude further encroachment, the Conservancy is encouraging landowners to consider outright donations of land to BMC and/or the granting of conservation easements to BMC as the means to prevent further development. With the 501(c)(3) in place, landowners, and others, will benefit from favorable tax treatment of their donations to Black Mountain Conservancy. Root stated, "We’re encouraging interested citizens of the communities to contact us for further information. In addition to cash donations for fund-raising purposes, we’re seeking support from volunteers to help in any way they can in this grass-roots endeavor. We need people to make and receive telephone calls, to do research and writing, and to help organize the administrative functions of our new organization."
For further information, please leave a message at 480-575-5835, or write Black Mountain Conservancy, PO Box 7192, Cave Creek, AZ 85327.
05-19-00 | The Sonoran News (website)
Group formed to protect Black Mountain
by Curtis Riggs
CAREFREE – A local group has been formed to preserve and repair the landmark that is the first thing that many people see when waking in the morning and the last thing they see at night. |
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The Black Mountain Conservancy (BMC), which was formed by Carefree resident Val Root, has the aim of protecting the scenic beauty of Black Mountain, according to a BMC press release. The group was established earlier this year as a volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The group is dedicated to preserving the undeveloped land around Black Mountain, which at 3,398 feet in elevation is a visual focal point for Carefree, Cave Creek and many other areas in the Desert Foothills region. "Nearly everyone in Carefree and Cave Creek sees Black Mountain every day," said Root, who is chairman of the conservancy. "Our group has been organized to protect this scenic mountain from further development, and ultimately to rid the mountain of the old, ugly road scars."
The targeted area, identified as the "Black Mountain Scenic Preserve," is generally above the 2,500-foot elevation contour and will encompass 500 acres, 250 of which is already set aside by Maricopa County, according to the press release.
The conservancy will be a repository of land donations from landowners and will acquire land through purchase from cash donations, according to the press release. The conservancy will assume the long-term management of preserve lands in keeping with the overall purpose of the conservancy. It will also help to establish conservation easements on privately held land.
Root calls, "going to work on the preservation and restoration of all of Black Mountain," the mandate of the conservancy. "We’re alarmed by the recent threats of further encroachment on the mountain," he said. "We’re encouraging interested citizens of the communities to contact us for further information on how they can help this worthy cause."
Other charter members of the conservancy are: Dave and Gretchen Mills, Scott Sperl and Barb Bankord, Ralph Pipp, Stan and Gladys Whitcomb and Jeff and Tay Napier. For information about the conservancy call 480-595-9591 or write to the Black Mountain Conservancy, PO Box 7192, Cave Creek, AZ., 85331. A website is currently under construction at www.blkmtnconservancy.org.
Conservancy member Pipp calls conserving more land and watching potential developments slated for Black Mountain the twofold purpose of the conservancy. "We want to make sure that development is done in a manner that is compatible with the surrounding land and that all the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed," he said about the second prong of the group’s mission.
Pipp is quick to point out the conservancy intends to work in concert with other preservation-minded groups such as the local Desert Foothills Land Trust. He alludes to the DFLT mission of preserving riparian areas as another reason the conservancy is needed. "We will work with other land trusts and focus on preserving as much of the mountain as we can," he said.
Both Pipp and Root mention the Summit, a planned development that builders are seeking to build on an area of Black Mountain under the jurisdiction of Carefree, when discussing what types of developments do not work well on Black Mountain. "There were so many variances involved on lot size and roadways," Root said of the planned Summit development that was going to be built on the southwest side of Black Mountain near the Mormon Girl Mine and the Mormon Girl #2 mine sites. He added that this planned project drew the attention of several local homeowner’s associations.
A preliminary plan for the Summit was approved by Carefree town officials in September 1998, Carefree Planning Assistant Nancy Zeno said. Several stipulations that were placed on the project concerned roads. The approval for the preliminary plat expires in September of this year. Changes called for by Carefree officials have not been met, Zeno said.
Pipp brings up Hawksnest, a development that now rests at the summit of Black Mountain, when stressing the way that things should be developed on Black Mountain. "Whether it is by conservation easement or the donation of land we want to encourage conservancy and proper development," he said. "When you look at the way that things go in in Cave Creek where they chop in a road and it goes right up the mountain as opposed to the east side where you can barely see the houses and where the road goes."
To help protect wildlife who call Black Mountain home as well as the flora and fauna of the area, Root said it is important to protect a giant, contiguous piece of Black Mountain. As far as repairing the mountain, Root said that a focus will be made on fixing the scarring of the mountain that was done when roads to mining claims were put in in the 1970s. "Thirty years later and very little has been done with it," he said of the damage caused by the unplanned roads that are now also unused.
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