Surprise eyeing 2,000 acres along McMicken Dam for open space, parks

By 2030, Surprise wants roughly 850 acres of open space available for residents and visitors to enjoy recreationally.

To reach that goal, it’s been eyeing 2,000 acres along the McMicken Dam, where it looks to establish a preserve that includes areas for parks, wildlife corridors and hiking and biking trails.

First, the city must partner with the Maricopa County Flood Control District, the owner of the roughly 14-mile-long structure that divides Surprise between its largely developed half in the southeast and its vacant land in the northwest.

Under a joint-use agreement the city wants to secure with county leaders in the coming years, Surprise could manage and maintain the swath of desert west of Loop 303, between Peoria and Grand avenues.

It would run through the heart of the city.

“This would be very much at the center of the city with this large open space greenway and potential corridor project,” Strategic Initiatives Director Eric Fitzer told city leaders last month, noting the city’s anticipated growth to the north and west of the dam.

What is the city planning to do with the land?

If Surprise partners with the Flood Control District, the city intends to conserve most of the land, keeping it as open space.

The southernmost portion of the land, stretching out of the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, would be maintained as a wildlife corridor, where animals like javelina and mule deer can continue to roam.

Other parts of the land will provide opportunities to develop recreational areas.

“Every city needs a vast amount of open space and parks associated with it, as well as to preserve those areas for the usage and enjoyment of our citizens,” Fitzer told The Arizona Republic last week.

A 13-mile stretch of the Maricopa Trail — the 315-mile-long path looping around the Valley — runs along McMicken Dam in Surprise.

The city wants to expand on those trails, creating more opportunities for hikers and bicyclists, Fitzer said.

There are also areas where the city could develop parks.

One would potentially fit around the Maricopa Trail’s Sun Valley Trailhead, where Bell Road turns into Sun Valley Parkway.

A portion of the land south of Grand Avenue could also be used for a regional park. The city, Fitzer said, is looking at public-private partnerships to develop the concept. Such a park could include amenities like sports fields.

What responsibilities would Surprise have?

As part of the potential joint-use agreement, the city is committed to maintaining the land around McMicken Dam, while Flood Control maintains oversight of the structure.

The city’s responsibilities include cleaning up the desert, making sure people don’t illegally dump trash, and mending broken fences, among other things.

Based on estimates the county provided Surprise, the city anticipates spending about $200,000 to $300,000 annually on maintenance, Fitzer said.

“We don’t foresee a lot (of maintenance) but just in case, there is going to be some allocation for that,” he said.

Asked whether such maintenance would require additional staff, Fitzer noted that the city doesn’t anticipate needing more employees.

“But that’s always a possibility,” he acknowledged.

Whether the land would require a lot of water, Fitzer said that’s unlikely.

“It would be a preserve, so we don’t use a lot of water in this area,” he said. “However, if some of the regional parks potentially are foreseen then at that point there would need to be water allocated out there.”

Solving the Surprise’s open space problem

While Surprise has more than 300 acres of developed parks, it doesn’t own any land designated as open space.

The potential joint-use agreement looks to resolve that.

It would also help the city reach a goal outlined in its 2015 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, a living document meant to guide officials’ and leaders’ decisions about new and existing parks.

In it, the city set out to have 847 acres of open space in its inventory of recreational areas by 2030, when Surprise’s population is estimated to reach 234,579.

The open space concept, Councilmember Chris Judd said during the May 21 meeting, would be something for residents to “truly enjoy.”

“This really positions us well going into the future to sort of handle our open space problems,” he said.

What’s next?

Surprise officials will continue discussions with Flood Control to establish a partnership, Fitzer said.

According to him, getting the joint-use agreement going is about a one- to two-year process. The agreement itself would require approval from both the Surprise City Council and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Surprise wants 2,000 acres around McMicken Dam for open space preserve