Ancient ruins may give Dalke 'archaeological merit'

In mid-November, during the preliminary phase of developing the Dalke property in Prescott, Arizona into a another housing subdivision, bulldozers scraping away the scrub oak and manzanita uncovered a significant archaeological find - what one witness called "an entire village," replete with human remains. While hikers and explorers have been finding archaeological artifacts on the property for more than a century, this major discovery, combined with an anonymous offer of $2.5 million, sparked new hope that the Dalke might yet become a public park.

Heavy equipment pauses on a new road cut close to the Dalke petroglyph rocksThe discovery coincides with another unfolding drama that, for a few days, seemed to mean the salvation of the property as open space when an anonymous donor came forward with an offer of $2.5 million for the land. The bulldozers stopped. The developer, John Finn, seemed agreeable, even relieved. The Trust for Public Lands got involved.

The discovery coincides with another unfolding drama that, for a few days, seemed to mean the salvation of the property as open space when an anonymous donor came forward with an offer of $2.5 million for the land. The bulldozers stopped. The developer, John Finn, seemed agreeable, even relieved. The Trust for Public Lands got involved. Even the previously intractable Open Space Acquisition Committee perked up, and it seemed like everything would fall into place to officially designate the property as a park.

There were a few annoying details of course, like the fact that whoever purchased the property would have to foot 20 percent of the bill for the East West Connector road, and the fact that the developer wanted to include in the price of the property the 'improvements' wrought by the bulldozers. Still, it seemed possible.

But, according to two knowledgeable independent sources, the Dalke, once priced on par with that patch of impassable scrub at the base of Thumb Butte that the city bought a few years ago, would now sell for no less than $10 million - about one quarter of Prescott's total 15-year open space budget.

And so it was "no deal." But when the bulldozers roared back to life, they uncovered ancient ruins and added fire to the widespread struggle to save the Dalke.

"It's no longer petroglyphs and potsherds," the anonymous donor said. "It's circular stone rooms and human remains."

Archaeologist Tom Motsinger, who's responsible for the development's archaeological compliance, said that it's pretty hard to develop property in Prescott without encountering burial sites, and that the City is actually doing an uncommonly good job managing the Dalke's "cultural resources" (archaeological sites). But while the Dalke may have a wealth of cultural resources in common with Prescott Lakes and Daybreak at Bensch Ranch, even Motsinger agrees it's a very special piece of property.

"I would have loved to see the land picked up and purchased as open space like a lot of people would have," he said.

What's happening instead, Motsinger said, is a second-best scenario that protects the archeology and designates the area around the petroglyphs as public land. "They're probably the most outstanding petroglyphs within the city limits, so it'll be very nice to get them passed out of private hands and into public ownership," he said. And that's what the developer had apparently always intended. "This is truly an opportunity to incorporate the past [with] the present and make the best of both," said Finn's surveyor, civil engineer Mike Haywood, in an April, 2005 site analysis.

Meredith Marder's attorney, Gil Shaw, wasn't so encouraged, and he echoed the calls of a few residents this week for the City's use of eminent domain to protect the Dalke's archaeological resources. The archeology was, after all, Marder's rallying cry last year when she submitted a petition with 500 signatures along with a letter that read, in part:

"Many feel that the Dalke Property should be preserved as Open Space based on its archaeological merit."

Eminent domain is a touchy subject in Arizona, and in Prescott particularly.

"I can't see eminent domaining for open space," Prescott City Councilman Bob Luzius said, "not with the things that have gone on before" - a reference to the Council's controversial use of eminent domain for the Walmart on Gale Gardner Drive.

But the councilman who, in part, won his 2005 campaign on a platform to protect open space, ended his comments on what save-the-Dalke proponents could take as a more hopeful note. "If it's for the good of the people, I could see eminent domain," he said. "I hope we can find a way to save that site."

But the bulldozers continue to crush and scrape around archaeologists excavating the site while hopefuls continue to talk and plan; Shaw says that the hotly contested development should cool its heels while Motsinger and his staff excavate the Dalke. "I think they have the responsibility to stop the development on this property until people can take a collective deep breath and decide what to do," he said.