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When Kim Brennan started attending Cave Creek Town Council meetings five years ago, she sat in back with a cup of coffee, never planning a political career.

But then she saw “people getting involved that seemed to want to turn Cave Creek into more Scottsdale–more tidy, less wild, with more regulation, more government.”

“It seemed like it was going toward one giant HOA,” she said.

Today, in her first term, Brennan champions what she calls the community’s “core values” – conservation, preservation, individual rights, personal freedom, and privacy.

On the issues:

Day labor: “It’s bigger than Cave Creek. I really think it needs to be addressed on the federal level and work its way down.”

Commercial Core: Brennan “absolutely loves” the area, and doesn’t think Town Council should adopt stricter ordinances to ensure Cave Creek doesn’t become another Sedona. “I am a strong proponent of the right of the individual. And although I don’t personally like every single project, I feel that our zoning, regulations, height restrictions, setbacks, lot coverage limits, et cetera, will help us keep the ‘feel’ and nature of the core in place. I like the eclectic mix of architectural styles we have here ... I would hate to see us over‑regulate, over‑dictate, and end up with a ‘pre‑planned community’ look.”

Annexation: Brennan calls it “one of the biggest opportunities our town will ever have” that will allow the Council to buffer Cave Creek from “scrape and blade” development. “This is not a case of Cave Creek wanting to become bigger and bigger,” she said of the plan to increase the town’s size by one‑third. “This is a once in a lifetime to firm up our town boundaries and protect some of our most beloved preserve land and wildlife from Phoenix‑style zoning and development.”

Buying the Cave Creek Water Co.: “As a town, we should own the water company. We would not want to be at the mercy of a corporate entity whose first priority is shareholder profit,” Brennan says, adding that a municipality “has more incentive to find ways to balance growth and conservation.” She does not advocate requiring well owners to hook up to the water system, saying, “If you have a well and want to stay on well water, that should be your right.”

Council pay: Brennan supports maintaining the $300 monthly stipend.

Growth: “Lucky for us, the low density zoning throughout 95 percent of Cave Creek is already in place. Through proper planning, fiscal responsibility and a commitment to conservation, we will be able to maintain our unique character, even as we grow.”

Lowe’s: Brennan is taking a “wait and see” approach on what happens to the area before deciding on the fate of the northwest corner of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway. Noting nearby commercial development and the volume of traffic on the highway, Brennan said, “Whatever goes on that corner should be able to coexist with its neighbors and, hopefully, be beautiful to boot.”

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Ernie Bunch is a relative newcomer to Town Council, but he’s fixed on the biggest issue facing Cave Creek: “Maintaining a rural feel in the midst of tremendous growth.”

How does he plan to accomplish that? Bunch says trails play an important role in keeping Cave Creek’s character, as well as maintaining a healthy commercial core. “The Streestscapes project will certainly add to the preservation of our character. We just have to do all we can with the limited funds available.”

On the issues:

Day labor: “I think any community that has an abundance of people with no real roots has potential problems.” Yet Bunch says it’s the federal government’s role to find a solution. He would, however, support a resolution like the one passed by Prescott telling the feds “that the town is tired of being saddled with extra expenditures due to illegal immigration–police time, courts costs, and medical care for non‑citizens.” In November, the Prescott City Council unanimously approved a resolution calling for stricter enforcement of immigration laws. The resolution urges the federal government to secure U.S. borders, deny amnesty to illegal immigrants, and to enact laws that allow further local and state involvement in enforcement of immigration matters.

Commercial core: Bunch says “it’s a fun and vibrant” area that generates plenty of sales tax. While he hopes future development will be sensitive to the town’s character and adhere to development guidelines, “this is a property rights issue and owners have a right to build what they want within the confines of the zoning ordinances.”

Annexation: Bunch “completely supports” the plan that would increase the town’s size by one‑third and allow higher density along Carefree Highway. “It’s our first real chance to plan anything here from the bottom up. Remember, previously we were an unincorporated part of Maricopa County a very long way from downtown (Phoenix). I don’t think they cared much what happened out here.”

Council  pay: Bunch supports continuing the $300 monthly stipend because “it helps defray the costs associated with serving.”

Buying the Cave Creek Water Co.: “It is something we must do to ensure our future. I want to see more fire hydrants evenly spaced and constant water pressure, when needed, for fire suppression.” Bunch does not believe well owners will be told to hook up, and “I also believe the Town of Cave Creek will not utilize groundwater to the extent a private company will.”

Lowe’s: “I don’t like it very much. Once again, we will have to cope with the impact of a project in a neighboring community with the benefit of increased revenue.” Bunch said the intersection of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway is so big that “to deny the threat of commercial development would be naive.”

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Grace Meeth is a little bit like Cave Creek – a combination of the new and old.

She has her own Web site, gracemeeth.org, but doesn’t use e‑mail. Instead, Meeth relies on direct communication with constituents on her telephone. (Family members built and maintain her Web site.)

“I find there isn’t an extra minute in the day” for e‑mail, Meeth said. “If somebody wants to get a hold of me, I’m always available.”

On the issues:

Buying the Cave Creek Water Co.:  Meeth is a strong proponent of buying the water company “just to make sure there’ll be water for the future.” With breakneck growth, the aquifer that feeds the town could dry up, so “we have to be proactive and secure water for the future.” In the meantime, she says, well owners shouldn’t be forced to hook up to the system.

Day labor: “I do perceive it as a problem. It you go to any part of town anywhere and you’ve got a bunch of people standing outside the stores soliciting jobs, most places wouldn’t put up with that. We have one road through the town core. To have people lining the streets looking for jobs doesn’t fare well for tourism. I don’t care what nationality they are. It doesn’t look good for the town.”

However, Meeth said Town Council’s hands are tied when it comes to addressing the problem. “It’s really a state and mostly a federal issue,” she said. “I really wish that the federal government would follow through on what they should be doing.”

Commercial Core:  “Community values should come over individual values when it comes to the town core,” Meeth says. “In order to do that, you have to put that in your ordinances so you can demand it.” That effort has been rejected in the past by voters, and Meeth wonders whether it should be revisited. “We don’t have those tools right now, and it does make me very nervous,” she said. “It’s a Western town. If we don’t keep it that way, we’re going to lose our tourists. And the people who live here won’t be very happy.”

She added: “When you come through Cave Creek right now, you know you’re in the town of Cave Creek. If it starts looking like every other corner in the US, it would be a shame.”

Growth: Meeth says the answer to keeping Cave Creek unique is to prohibit upzoning–except in the case of the town’s west side annexation, in which property near Carefree Highway would be given commercial zoning so that 5,000 acres of state trust land will be preserved. “We have a history of not upzoning. We’ve just never done it, and we won’t do it. The first thing we can do is to hold true to that value,” she said. “They’re going to have to go over my dead body before anybody upzones around here.”

Annexation: Meeth is a strong proponent, saying it will help the town maintain its rural feel. “It’s a proactive defensive move ¼ it’s a way of buffering our residents from what’s coming,” she said.

Council pay: Meeth wants to rescind the $300 monthly stipend. She said the stipend originally was intended to provide for protection from lawsuits, but the town’s risk carrier already

provides that coverage. “It should be a volunteer job,” she stated

Lowe’s: “It just makes me sick, but what can you do?” Meeth said Cave Creek faces tough choices when it comes to the northwestern corner of Cave Creek Road and Carefree

Highway. “It gets harder and harder to fight for that corner,” she said.