1/7/2007 4:00:00 AM Enchanted land Work continues on Dalke development
By CINDY BARKS
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT By February or March, the controversial Enchanted Canyon Estates project should be back in the public limelight, with the Prescott City Council's expected review of the project's final plat.
Meanwhile, however, the Enchanted Canyon property formerly known as the Dalke land has been the site of plenty of activity, as well as the source of continued debate.
For months, archaeologists have worked at the site first evaluating the land, and later digging to recover archaeological artifacts. At the same time, heavy equipment also has been on the property, clearing it for the infrastructure that will be necessary for the future residential development.
And it probably came as little surprise to anyone with an interest in the Dalke parcel that the land had secrets to tell. Along with "thousands and thousands" of pot sherds dating as far back as a millennium, the land has also yielded prehistoric burial sites.
"It's a fascinating site," said Tom Motsinger, president of PaleoWest, the firm doing the archaeological work for the developer. He noted that the presence of petroglyphs so close to an apparent settlement area adds to the uniqueness of the site.
Indeed, the west-Prescott parcel's impressive rock formations, diverse plant life, and series of petroglyph drawings have intrigued the community for decades.
Those same qualities made the property one of the most argued-about parcels in the community in recent years, as developers eyed it for a residential project, even as community advocates of the parcel continued to rally support for its preservation.
The debate came to a head in November 2005, when the Prescott City Council approved the preliminary plat for a project involving 72 homes on the 67-acre parcel, which is east of the Forest Trails subdivision and southwest of Iron Springs Road.
Based on that approval and the later submittal of engineering drawings, the city issued Enchanted Canyon a grading permit in October 2006.
Engineering Services Director Mark Nietupski said that permit gave the developers the right to grade the land for roadway alignments and utility locations. In addition, he said, a grading permit allows for cut-and-fill work to define the profiles of the roads within the development.
Motsinger and Prescott Preser-vation Specialist Nancy Burgess both noted that the surface of the land hinted at what archaeologists might find underground.
Burgess initially assessed the land for the probability of archaeological resources. While acknowledging that the decision amounts to a "judgment call," Burgess said the notoriety of the Dalke site lent to the city's decision.
"This site's been known for over 100 years, and it's been really picked over," Burgess said.
Ultimately, the city required its most intensive archaeological survey. After a November report from PaleoWest, based on a grid search of the ground, the city also required "data recovery, which involves excavation of artifacts.
Early on, archaeologists found burial sites a discovery that comes with a special set of regulations. After finding evidence of a cremation burial, archaeologists notified the necessary Indian tribes.
"They've sent people out here several times," Motsinger said of tribal representatives. The remains and the funerary objects go back to the related tribes, Motsinger said, who will conduct reburials.
Pieces of pottery also were plentiful on the site. Motsinger said archaeologists found plenty of traces of the Prescott culture a situation he fully expected. The presence of buff-colored Hohokam pottery was more of a surprise.
"They're both here intermingled," he said of the two types of pottery. "Oddly enough, (the two cultures) seemed to be kind of living together."
As part of the city's approval of the project, the developer agreed to set aside and preserve a 2-acre parcel that includes the prominent petroglyphs. That, along with the recovery of artifacts from several more acres, results in a situation that Motsinger and Burgess say is advantageous to the community.
Despite the controversy that continues in the community over the development, Motsinger maintained that the project is achieving a balance between development and preservation. "It's a nice pick-up by the city," he said.
Burgess agreed. "I think (the city's ordinance) is working very well on this project," she said.
