There is a vast amount of flat buildable private ground north of the smaller mountains in the Cave Creek Regional Park and south of the larger ones in the Tonto National Forest. It is made up of a smaller plateau just west of Cave Creek that is north of Brown Jug Canyon, the small canyon that feeds into Cave Creek just north of the hilltops called the “Seven Sisters” from their distinctive profile in the sunsets when looking from the heart of Cave Creek. To the west of that smaller plateau, there is a short rise to a much larger plateau that extends all the way west to where Circle Mountain Road terminates after running east from 7th Street/New River Road.
Legal and functional access into this area was problematic. If it came from the west, Cave Creek was not likely to have much control over it. If it came up 24th/26th Street, it would be opposed to the people along that road, in the valley west of the regional park, and would have tricky access around the east side of Apache Hill. If it came from the east it had to
This plateau area is now, I believe platted or at least planned for a large residential development; though I am not personally familiar with it, or how it will obtain functional access. I believe it uses the word “Cahava”(Indian name for sanctuary/quiet place) in its name; though that was historically what Cattle Kate and her friend Ted Jones used for their ground further south between the Seven Sisters and Cave Creek.
At some point after I had sent my sarcastic letter to Sorchych about his treatment of Buffenstein, I recognized that the most topographically desirable location for the shortest bridge over Cave Creek to reach this large plateau area would be on the very north side of where Brown Jug Canyon entered into it. With suitable improvements to Cahava Ranch Road, this could provide that private ground with optimal access, and allow the Town of Cave Creek to leverage suitable development controls in return for allowing this bridge and annexation of the plateaus.
Let me for the sake of this email call that conceptual idea the “Large 2 Way Bridge”. I suggested the idea of that bridge at one Town Meeting, but was largely misunderstood. Worse yet, a local town official then said I was trying to create a “northwest passage” to connect to the backside of New River, and scared many of the people along Cahava Ranch Road into opposing any notion of the idea. In fact, that was not what I was suggesting, and could have been avoided through appropriate development controls.
[Note: Some years later, during the period of public opposition to the intense development of Spur Cross Ranch that had previously been approved by the county, I suggested to Vince Francia that the town look into transferring most of that allowable density out onto state land that also falls on the large plateau area. I do not think the idea was ever pursued, but would have been a far less costly solution than what finally happened.]
Also a few years later after my sarcastic letter to Sorchych, I was working with a man named Bill Bridge, who then owned the old Cahava Ranch property of Cattle Kate, consisting of about 120 or 130 acres on the west side of Cave Creek south of the Rockaway Hills alignment. He was contemplating a single lane bridge to work in companion with an improved wet crossing to provide access to a large quality residential development of his property. When floods like those in the 1993 El Nino year came, that “Small Single Lane Bridge” would provide emergency access for Rural Metro to reach people on the west side of the creek, including many to the south of Mr. Bridge, who were otherwise unreachable.
Sorchych called Bill Bridge one day asking about me, and suggesting that we were attempting to connect to the large flat plateau area I have described above. That was ludicrous and topographically impossible for the Small Single Lane Bridge, but Bill was shaken and called me.
I immediately got the number for the Sonoran News, and called and asked for Sorchych. When he answered, I said: “This is Noel Hebets. Are you looking for me?” He was rattled and stammered on about his stupid idea, and I blasted him for it, knowing he would one day find a reason to come after me to get even.
Noel J. Hebets, NOEL J. HEBETS, PLC
127 East 14th Street, Tempe, Arizona 85281-6704
Office: (480) 488-4889 Fax: (480) 488-5875 Cell: (602) 361-2482
Email: Noel@NoelHebets.com Website: www.NoelHebets.com/