Scenic Drive “Ripped Off” … Again!

Nonprofit to Replace Stolen Plaques

May 1, 2006 

Someone has stolen 32 plaques from the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive exhibit area. The photo-engraved metal plaques were literally ripped off the large monuments upon which they are displayed. The plaques, which depict Sonoran flora and fauna, were taken by an unknown person or person (s) some time during the last few weeks. The exhibit area, which is open to the public, is located on the east side of Scottsdale Road, just south of Jomax Road. 

The exhibit was established by Friends of the Scenic Drive in 1995 with the cooperation of the City of Scottsdale and local businesses. The artwork used to create the plaques was donated by local artists Marg Nelssen and Judy Conklin. The Desert Foothills Scenic Drive was originally established by the residents of Cave Creek and Carefree in 1964. Friends restored the plant exhibits and began publicizing the drive in 1994. 

Les Conklin, the president of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association and founder of Friends of the Scenic Drive, said that “the replacement of plaques is a priority because so many people stop to see the exhibit and enjoy learning about our area’s heritage and wildlife. I expect it will cost GPPA/Friends more than $3,000 to replace the plaques but we’ll gladly make the investment to preserve this important part of our community’s heritage.”  

This is not the first time that vandals have struck the Scenic Drive. A year ago several of the large exhibit plaques were stolen and cost more than $1,000 to replace. Scenic Drive plant identification signs are also taken from time-to-time by souvenir hunters.   

About Friends, GPPA 

Friends of the Scenic Drive is a volunteer-driven organization whose goals are: 

• Community education and leadership
• Creation and maintenance of plant exhibits on the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive: North Scottsdale Road between Happy Valley and Carefree Highway
• Preservation and enhancement of roadside vegetation and vistas to create a unique road
• Reduction of pollution
• Publicizing the heritage of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive
• Support of Preserve and Scenic Corridors.

Friends of the Scenic Drive is a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA). GPPA is a nonprofit educational organization that was founded in the Pinnacle Peak area of Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1977. GPPA’s mission is to foster desert preservation, support wildlife conservation, and protect the quality of life in our community. GPPA encourages constructive community activism and community service. GPPA publishes A Peek at the Peak (The Peak) magazine as a complimentary community service. GPPA receives no state or federal funding and donations are appreciated.  For additional information or to make a donation, write GPPA, 8711 E. Pinnacle Peak Road #123, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 or call Les Conklin at (480) 361-6498. 

2006-2007 Scenic Drive Cleanup Schedule Announced

Friends of the Scenic Drive, a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, has announced a tentative schedule for its 2006-2007 Scenic Drive cleanups. Picking up litter is more enjoyable than you would expect and you'll leave will a sense of pride having helped your community. And, there will be at least 13 miles of roadside (6 1/2 miles on each side) that will look terrific. New volunteers are welcome. Join 40-100 other volunteers and sign-in at the location that is most convenient for you. Our volunteers man two sign-locations: #1. northern Scenic Drive entry sign (located on west side of Scottsdale Road just south of Carefree Highway, in front of Terravita Marketplace), #2. Scenic Drive monument sign area (located on east side of Scottsdale Road 3/4 mile north of Happy Valley Road, across from MacDonald's Ranch). The tentative dates are Saturday, October 28, 7:45 a.m. Scottsdale Pride Day, Saturday, December 9, 8 a.m., Saturday, February 10, 8 a.m., Saturday, April 10, 2007, 7:45 a.m., Scottsdale Pride Day.  For details and an up-to-date schedule, visit www.scenicdrive.org (About Friends). 

About Friends, GPPA 

Friends of the Scenic Drive is a volunteer-driven organization whose goals are: 

• Community education and leadership
• Creation and maintenance of plant exhibits on the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive: North Scottsdale Road between Happy Valley and Carefree Highway
• Preservation and enhancement of roadside vegetation and vistas to create a unique road
• Reduction of pollution
• Publicizing the heritage of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive
• Support of Preserve and Scenic Corridors.

Friends of the Scenic Drive is a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA). GPPA is a nonprofit educational organization that was founded in the Pinnacle Peak area of Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1977. GPPA’s mission is to foster desert preservation, support wildlife conservation, and protect the quality of life in our community. GPPA encourages constructive community activism and community service. GPPA publishes A Peek at the Peak (The Peak) magazine as a complimentary community service. GPPA receives no state or federal funding and donations are appreciated.  For additional information or to make a donation, write GPPA, 8711 E. Pinnacle Peak Road #123, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 or call Les Conklin at (480) 361-6498. 

Anonymous Donor, Company, Volunteer Step Up

June 25, 2006    

          Soon after the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA) and Friends of the Scenic Drive announced that 32 plaques had been stolen from the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive exhibit (see May 1 press release), GPPA was contacted by an individual who said he would donate the cost of replacing the plaques. In addition, Phoenix-based PMA Photometals, which had produced the plaques almost a decade ago, offered to produce and install a new set of plaques at cost, $1,000. PMA also offered to create and donate a backup set of plaques, which GPPA and Friends hope will never be needed.

        Horst Berkner, a Scottsdale resident and long-time Friends volunteer, repaired and painted the damaged monuments upon which the plaques were mounted, donating the paint and his time. A few days later, Mike Dywan, PMA's founder and owner, personally installed the new plaques, and a check arrived from the anonymous donor.  GPPA and Friends thanks the donor, PMA, and Horst Berkner for their generosity.

About Friends, GPPA 

Friends of the Scenic Drive is a volunteer-driven organization whose goals are: 

• Community education and leadership
• Creation and maintenance of plant exhibits on the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive: North Scottsdale Road between Happy Valley and Carefree Highway
• Preservation and enhancement of roadside vegetation and vistas to create a unique road
• Reduction of pollution
• Publicizing the heritage of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive
• Support of Preserve and Scenic Corridors.

Friends of the Scenic Drive is a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA). GPPA is a nonprofit educational organization that was founded in the Pinnacle Peak area of Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1977. GPPA’s mission is to foster desert preservation, support wildlife conservation, and protect the quality of life in our community. GPPA encourages constructive community activism and community service. GPPA publishes A Peek at the Peak (The Peak) magazine as a complimentary community service. GPPA receives no state or federal funding and donations are appreciated.  For additional information or to make a donation, write GPPA, 8711 E. Pinnacle Peak Road #123, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 or call Les Conklin at (480) 361-6498. 

Geography of Nowhere Coming Your Way?

 By Les Conklin

 Are the State of Arizona Land Department and the City of Phoenix really going to sell out 40 years of hard work and caring on the part of Carefree, Cave Creek, and North Scottsdale residents? Do they really want to make it more difficult for Scottsdale to purchase land for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve? Is it really in their long-term interests to have the Pinnacle Peak - Desert Foothills area become part of the valley’s expanding geography of nowhere (a place just like every other place)?

 If the zoning proposed by their Tatum East West Planning Study is adopted, that is exactly what will happen. The proposed zoning will generate more traffic, escalate infrastructure needs, devastate landscapes and plants, destroy habitats and wildlife, and facilitate additional urbanization. 

It’s ironic that the east-west boundaries of the study area, Cave Creek Road and Scottsdale Road, are part of the original Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, which was created to showcase the desert and prevent motels and gas stations from popping up next to the road. It was delineated by the people of Cave Creek and Carefree in 1963, protected by Maricopa County, and described in national travel magazines.  

The plan, now under consideration, includes zoning changes to approximately 10 square miles, just west of the Phoenix border with Scottsdale, along the west side of Scottsdale Road from Pinnacle Peak Road to Jomax Road. It calls for new commercial development on five large parcels along Scottsdale Road from Pinnacle Peak Road to Jomax. It seeks to materially change a special place that acts as a powerful magnet, attracting residents and tourists alike.  

Residents have battled to preserve the beauty of the area for decades. Residents living near the Scenic Drive voted to tax themselves to help pay to bury power lines along Scottsdale Road and Jomax Roads. It was the first and only improvement district adopted in Scottsdale’s history. Friends of the Scenic Drive and the City of Scottsdale have sought to maintain the Scenic Drive and its desert roadsides and views as a regional asset. Since Scottsdale annexed the area in the early 80s, residents have successfully prevented urbanization along the scenic drive (Happy Valley Road to Carefree Highway). 

The City of Scottsdale is seeking to include land along the east side of Scottsdale Road from Happy Valley Road to Jomax Road in its preserve. The land has been included in Scottsdale’s preservation plans for more than a decade. Commercial zoning on the opposite side of Scottsdale Road will drive up land values, making it more difficult for Scottsdale to purchase the land.  

It’s not too late to change the plan. Here are suggestions that will help save the desert beauty and life-style that are hallmarks of the northeast valley.  

• Eliminate commercial and high density housing from Happy Valley Road north to protect Scottsdale’s preserve efforts and the Scenic Drive
• Create large buffers on either side to the power line corridor to preserve the desert and enrich recreational opportunities
• Establish scenic setbacks on Scottsdale Road that mirror Scottsdale’s
• Minimize densities to reduce population impacts (traffic, infrastructure requirements, damage to the desert environment)
• Mirror Scottsdale’s zoning along Jomax and Scottsdale Roads
• Make commercial development on the west side of Scottsdale Road consistent with that on the east

Will this geography of somewhere become part of the geography of nowhere? The answer is YES, unless Arizona State Land Department and the City of Phoenix join long-standing effort to preserve the area’s heritage, landscapes, wildlife, and recreation opportunities.  

Scenic Drive Enhancements Discussed

August 4, 2006

City of Scottsdale managers  and staff from the planning and transportation departments met with Friends of the Scenic Drive, a division of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association (GPPA), on August 4, 2006. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss future enhancements to the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive (Scottsdale Road from Happy Valley to Carefree Highway). The meeting was arranged by Tim Conner, who coordinates  projects related to Scottsdale's scenic corridors.
            A variety of improvements were discussed to reduce visual pollution and protect the desert roadsides. GPPA offered to help fund and implement improvements where possible. City officials agreed to develop a list of possible enhancements along with a schedule of implementation. Friends of the Scenic Drive and the city have worked together in the past on several enhancement projects, including re-vegetation and the painting of utility boxes, posts, the backs of traffic signs dark brown to reduce visual pollution. To learn more about these projects, review the Past Accomplishments of Friends of the Scenic Drive.

Feedback on Enhancements Sought

August 18, 2006

Friends of the Scenic Drive is seeking feedback from residents about the various enhancements listed in the "Improvement Ideas Working List," which resulted from a meeting between Friends and City of Scottsdale officials (See Scenic Drive Enhancements Discussed press release). The intention of the document is to provide a working dialogue list of enhancements  that could be implemented to enhance the character of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive portions of Scottsdale Road. The list will be compiled using suggestions from both City Staff and citizen input from representatives of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association / Friends of the Scenic Drive.  

Les Conklin, president of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association,  has offered to act as the representative for the above noted citizen group. Ideas provided by citizens may be gathered through various outreach methods and then added to the list by staff or Mr. Conklin or his representatives. This team approach is planned to establish a prioritized approach to achieving implementation of improvements that may be relatively easily achieved either by staff actions, volunteer work, and or a combined effort from both. 

Residents who have an interest in the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive are invited to review the Improvement Ideas Working List and e-mail their comments/suggestions to Les Conklin. All comments and suggestions will be considered for inclusion in an updated list, which will be sent to the City of Scottsdale on September 29, 2006. To simplify discussion, the various ideas in the working list have been numbered to simplify reference.

REVIEW IMPROVEMENT IDEAS WORKING LIST

E-MAIL YOUR SUGGESTIONS

Replica of Original Entry Sign Presented to Cave Creek Museum

October 11, 2006

The past lives on at the Cave Creek Museum and thanks to Horst Berkner of Friends of the Scenic Drive, museum visitors can once again see the sign that Cave Creek/Carefree residents created in 1964 to mark the beginning of the drive. Berkner, who created the exact replica from a photograph of the original sign, presented the sign to Evelyn Johnson, Cave Creek Museum executive director, at the Cave Creek/Carefree Chamber of Commerce Mixer that was held at the museum. More than 70 chamber members and guests were on-hand for the mixer that was held near the outside exhibits where the sign will become a part of the museum's permanent collection. Berkner received a rousing round of applause after making the presentation.

Originally there were two wooden entry signs. One on Cave Creek Road, south of Pinnacle Peak Road and the other on the east side of Scottsdale Road, north of Happy Valley Road. When Friends of the Scenic Drive restored the drive in 1995 and installed an updated entry sign, the original Scottsdale Road sign was donated to the museum, where it was destroyed by a microburst in 1995. It is not known what happened to the other entry sign that was on Cave Creek Road but it had disappeared by the 1990s.

Also on-hand for the presentation were Les Conklin, Barbara Copeland, and Paulene Hagler of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association/Friends of the Scenic Drive. Friends thank Sue Kern-Fleisher for her organizing the presentation and the museum for accepting the sign as part of its very interesting collection. 

 Media Release Announcing Presentation