Cave Creek uproots site for community garden
Marc Buckhout ~ Managing Editor ~ 3/10/2010

The Cave Creek Green Advisory Committee was left feeling blue Thursday after Town Manager Usama Abujbarah announced that a planned community garden cannot be built near the future wastewater treatment plant in Cave Creek.

The committee, which was formed by Cave Creek Mayor Vincent Francia in 2008, has been working on the development of the community garden on a 19-acre plot of land for more than a year.
Chairman Patrick Grady expressed the disappointment of many of his fellow board members at the announcement.
"I'm a little perplexed at the 11th hour that we've receiving this kind of information," he said, adding that the plans for the garden project were presented to the Cave Creek Town Council on at least two occasions without any objection.
Abujbarah admitted that it was an oversite by the town that they didn’t learn about the restriction previously after acquiring the land in a purchase through the Water Infrastructure and Finance Authority of Arizona.

He did however disagree with Grady’s 11th hour assertion saying that nothing had been done to this point.

“Circumstances have changed, the site is no longer available for the garden, but there are two different sites available that could accommodate the garden,” Abujbarah said. “The idea for the garden is the most important thing, not where it is located.”
The two alternative options of town-owned sites for the garden are Phoenix Mine Site, a 38-acre gateway to the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area at the end of Spur Cross Road and Gateway Desert Awareness Park in downtown Cave Creek.
While the concept of the community garden would include a vegetable garden, giving resident the opportunity to have their own plots for growing fruits and vegetables, it is only a small portion of a much bigger habitat restoration project that would include a park with a pond, trees to draw in a variety of indigenous birds, and hiking trails.
Abujbarah said all the amenities, other than the garden can still be in play at the waste water treatment site.
He noted that recent flooding through the wastewater treatment facility area following the heavy rains are not the reason for the land being unavailable for the garden.
Despite that fact Town Engineer Wayne Anderson was called on to discuss the flooding that took place through the area after 6.5 inches of rain recently fell.
“That was one of three floods we’ve had in the last 18 years in the area that would have been damaging to a garden,” he said. “It’s really not a great site for doing anything with a permanent nature. The rains caused huge boulders to be moved down stream by the water.”
The committee asked Abujbarah if Cave Creek could amend the agreement with the state land department in order to use the original site.
He said that could be possible, but that it likely would take several years and that choosing a new location would be a much easier solution.
Abujbarah explained that while Cave Creek will continue to encourage progress with the community garden financial support isn’t available in the foreseeable future.
He said he was hopeful that a group could follow the blue print provided by Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival, forming a 501 C3 in which resident take on the project independent of the town.
Board Vice-Chairman George Ross said the group needed to remain focused despite being thrown a curve ball.
“It looks like the garden part isn’t going to work there, but there has been a lot of planning that has gone into the restoration of the habitat on those 19 acres, so I think we have to keep that in mind so all the work that has been done doesn’t go down the toilet.”
Members of the committee planned to visit all three sites, the original plan, as well as Abujbarah’s two proposed alternatives before the group’s next meeting, set for April 8.