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April 9, 2014 • Vol. 12, No.21
Postal Patron Cave Creek
ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
r pe pa ! s ew nty y N Cou l ek a ee p W rico t a es rg h M La ort e N Th in
E R F
• Anthem
• Black Canyon City
• Carefree
• Cave Creek
• Desert Hills
• New River
• North Phoenix
• Tramonto
Cave Creek fences Anthem savoring softball success out gated homes Tara Alatorre
Cave Creek Town Council stuck to their guns during Monday’s meeting, denying a third request from land owner Lou Spelts for a gated community on his property, wh i le a p p r ov i n g s e ve r a l housekeeping items and a repavement project on Stagecoach Pass Road. “I am worried about two precedents,” said Vice Mayor Adam Trenk when explaining his no vote. “One is a gated community, and the other is that this community can be worn down by developers.” In a 5-2 vote, the town council denied Lou Spelts his request for a final plat amendment that would have granted him permission to build a gated subdivision and private street into the property p r e ve nt i n g p u bl ic t r a f f ic from entering. Citing that he needed the gate to protect his proper t y f rom vandalism, Spelts made no changes to his application, wh ich was den ied i n October 2013. “There is not much more I can say,” said Spelts to the council. “You guys say all you want, but I was here before you guys.” Spelt went on to tell the council that he has owned the land since 1982, which pre-dates the town of Cave Creek. A f ter severa l concer ned citizens spoke against the gated
community and the precedence it would set in Cave Creek, the council denied his request with Councilman Ernie Bunch and Mayor Vincent Francia voting yes. “I think the man has property rights that go prior to the town,” said Councilman Ernie Bunch when explaining why he voted in favor of Spelts’ request. The council also unanimously authorized any excess money collected from the 0.5 percent Spur Cross sales tax for transfer into the general f und—50 percent of which can go towards allocating open space land. Originally, the sales tax collected for Spur Cross was to be exclusively used for maintaining and operating the park, but a significant amount of money is not being used. “After Spur Cross’ expenses have been paid, the money can be used for anything the town directs,” said town attorney Freda Bisman at the meeting. No citizens spoke against the idea of using the extra money collected for other uses to benefit the town. The mayor and
COUNCIL
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Eric Quade photo
No place like home — The Jaguars’ softball team made it look easy with their April 3 11-1 win over Valley Vista. Boulder Creek’s winning record may be state playoff material.
District to erect new elementary school Eric Quade Editor
Inside: Biz Awards..............4 Decathlon.............5 Bluhm........................8 Letter..................... 14 Editorial.............. 19 Services................. 20 Crossword......... 23 Classifieds.......... 24
Eric Quade photo
Grade school grounds — Looking north toward Dove Valley Road, plans are in motion to turn this north Phoenix lot into a new elementary school.
By the fall of 2015, Deer Valley Unified School District officials hope to have some of their students filing into a new elementary school near I-17 south of Dove Valley Road in north Phoenix. Growing numbers of students in the northwest part of the district was cited as a motivating factor for building more classrooms. Although growth was said to be slower in the Stetson Valley area, demand was said to be higher in the neighborhood to the east. Many specifics about the new school—such as name, exact address and the boundaries from which it will draw students from other DVUSD facilities—are still in flux because the project is in the design phase. Right now, it looks like the new facility will handle 1,000 students from Kin-
SCHOOL
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