The Town Council has approved an amendment to the McDowell Mountain Preserve master plan to include the Sonoran Trail East Loop.

The council gave unanimous approval to the proposed trail plan requested by the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills.

The council heard about staff’s efforts to communicate with neighbors in the Eagles Nest Subdivision and address some of their concerns about the trail that would run near property lines.

The trail plan includes stipulations, which were included in the motion to adopt the proposal, to address issues raised by neighbors.

In that letter sent to the Eagles Nest HOA and residents the town has committed to the following stipulations regarding construction to mitigate residents’ concerns.

*Move the trail back from the property lines to 300 feet rather than the originally proposed 200 feet.

*Provide barriers at the current Jeep road points being used by vehicles for access, including off-road vehicles (ORVs).

*Install signs at these areas to notify people that they are trespassing beyond that point.

*Place additional signs at key points along the trail near Eagles Nest that trespassing is illegal and punishable by law enforcement.

*Build the proposed trail at a width of just two feet to discourage the use of ORVs.

The planned trail would extend about two miles from the Sonoran Trail at the town’s northwest boundary and reconnect with the trail just north of the intersection with the Promenade Trail.

The trail would run along the face of the McDowells between the Sonoran Trail above and the boundary with private property in the Eagles Nest subdivision.

There would also be a couple of spur trails that would connect the existing Sonoran Trail with the proposed new East Sonoran Trail Loop. This creates a “stack” of loops that hikers can use to change up their routing for different outings.

The proposed plan would create loops of three, four and six miles using the Preserve Trailhead projected to be built over the next two years.

Sonoran Conservancy officials believe this addition to the trail system will enhance the experience for hikers who want to loop back rather than simply backtrack on the same trail.

McDowell Mountain Park Supervisor Rand Hubbell told the council that when he first saw the plan for the trail he endorsed it immediately.

“The stacked loops are great for hikers,” Hubbell said. “This is a great addition to overall trail system.”

Bill Craig, who leads the Sonoran Conservancy Trailblazers, made the presentation to the council and said the Scottsdale Sonoran Preserve uses the stacked loop concept with great success.

As with all trails in the Preserve, the new East Loop would be constructed at little or no cost to the town by trained volunteers with the Conservancy Trailblazers group.

Craig said the trail construction would likely begin as soon as next month and the system would be complete at about the same time the trailhead is completed sometime in 2017.