Council approves Bowers subdivision plat – Sedona Red Rock News

The Sedona City Council unanimously approved the preliminary plat application for the Bowers subdivision adjoining the Forest Road extension at its April 24 meeting, during which multiple members of the council suggested to the property owner that he should consider a use for it other than single-family homes.

The current 2.65-acre parcel at 741 Forest Road has already been physically divided into two portions by the construction of the Forest Road extension, and the subdivision process will split both those portions as well to create a total of four new lots, which will retain the original parcel’s RS-18 single-family residential zoning. To minimize access points, each pair of adjoining parcels will share a driveway.

City staff received no public comments in support of or in opposition to the project, and the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the subdivision on March 19.

“I think this is the fastest we’ve got through P&Z,” said Luke Sefton of Sefton Engineering Consultants, the agent for the project. “I like it when we don’t have a lot of neighbors giving comments. That’s a pleasant change. The only real issue is what to name the mountain of dirt that’s there now, so we’ll come up with a name for that.”

“Lots 1 and 2 are remaining natural, and they’re not bad to build on,” Sefton continued. “[Lots] 3 and 4 right now has that pile of dirt, and they’re building a wall around there … when we get done it’s probably going to be like a 3% slope for most of the lot there.”

“I’ve owned the property for some 27 years,” David Bowers said. “Originally when the property was acquired, it was acquired for the purpose of maybe considering a family compound there, so that we could build several units. Shortly after I bought the property, I had an unfortunate circumstance where I had open heart surgery and I kind of lost interest in developing, so I just sat on the property after that. The property is intended to go to our kids … we have four remaining sons … So it’s really an inheritance.

“I bought it because of its location, and the reason we’re really here today is because the road creates a lot of issues that have to be dealt with at this time,” Bowers added. “For example, the biggest issue and the thing that was the driving force on the lot split was the fact that we have to get utilities to each parcel before the road is set in stone and asphalted, because there’s time limitations where you’re unable to develop the property or bring utilities in and disturb the road after it was built. That was the motivating factor at this time. We are considering all possible uses for the property, and I think at a later time we will probably discuss that with members of the city council.”

Alternate uses for the property were the primary topic of interest for the members of the council.

“Was there ever any interest in seeking a zone change to put more density in there?” Councilman Brian Fultz asked.

“No … we’re going to get it flipped. We need to get the four lots in there and then see what the market does,” Sefton said. “The applicant’s not planning to build on it right now. They’re not builders.”

“So the thought for the future for a potential rezoning would be to zone it commercial?” Vice Mayor Holli Ploog asked.

“That, or multi-family, which is commercial,” Sefton said.

Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella wanted to know if there had been any consideration of “putting a deed restriction in for short-term rental ban.”

“Because they’re developing under their current zoning and aren’t asking for a change, that’s not something we can ask for,” Planning Manager Cari Meyer said.

“Was there any discussion of it being offered?” Kinsella asked. “Was it on the table in any way, shape or form from the applicants?”

“They did not offer it,” Meyer said.

“I share some of the concern that maybe this isn’t the highest and best use of the property, but the owners have some rights, and we have to respect them,” Councilman Pete Furman said before asking whether it would require different work to install utilities for single-family versus multifamily development.

“There’s additional conduit being placed as well that will be able to provide capacity,” Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey said, and confirmed that staff did not expect any delays in the completion of Forest Road due to the subdivision utility work.

City Attorney Kurt Christianson noted that the developers will have to have their plans submitted and approved by the city by Sunday, June 30, according to the current schedule.

“I just want to make a plea to people who are developing property in Sedona that short-term rentals are a real problem for this community and that I would really urge developers … to consider deed restricting the property to prevent the further proliferation of the destructive short-term rentals that have taken over our community,” Councilwoman Jessica Williamson said.

“This is an absolutely plum opportunity for multi-family housing in the future,” Furman added, before agreeing to let the present plan move forward.

City to fund 80% of visitor center for one more year – Sedona Red Rock News

The Sedona Chamber of Commerce’s Uptown Visitor Center will remain open following the Sedona City Council’s decision on April 9 to fund 80% of the center’s operations for the coming fiscal year given the possibility that the city could take over the property in the future.

Prior to its public meeting, the council held an executive session “for legal advice and consideration of the purchase of properties in the vicinity of [State Route] 89A and Forest Road for future Visitor Center use.”

“Our Visitor Center helps to inform decisions that are in Sedona’s best interests,” Chamber President and CEO Michelle Kostecki said. “By being welcoming, we have that much more ability to influence visitor behavior. Therefore, the Visitor Center really is a critical part of destination stewardship.”

The center averaged 600 visitors per day in March, and so far in April it had averaged 750 per day.

“We did see increases of 8% to 10% in January and February compared to January and February of last year,” Kostecki said. “The Uptown Visitor Center remains the second busiest in the state next to the Grand Canyon,” out of a total of 67 such centers statewide. Current walk-ins for the fiscal year through February were at 84,755, compared to the chamber’s goal of 150,000 for the full year.

Kostecki also addressed previous speculation from the dais that a brick-and-mortar visitor center could be replaced by kiosks around town, reminding council that the chamber had formerly used such a kiosk outside the Visitor Center. “Some folks were engaging with it, but then they would come up to the counter to validate what they were getting from the kiosk, so it didn’t really save time,” Kostecki said.

The chamber’s estimate for the cost of Visitor Center operations in fiscal year 2025 was $370,900, of which the city’s share at 80% would be $296,720, plus a management fee of 15%, for a total city contribution of $341,228.

“We have significantly reduced expenses,” Kostecki said, describing next year’s ask as “a savings of roughly $83,000 from this year’s budget … We just really, really scaled back in many ways.”

“This is a place to manage the destination,” Best Western co-owner Randy McGrane said during public comment. “To me, the location is critical if we have a Forest Road garage there … I strongly support continuing to fund the Visitor Center.”

“When you leave there, you are no longer a guest, you are almost like family,” mayoral candidate and former Vice Mayor John Martinez said. “It is very, very important to maintain this … if you lose this, you lose a very big thing.” He then asked the council to increase the Visitor Center funding to $500,000.

Sedona Lodging Council President Cheryl Barron similarly requested that the city fund 100% of Visitor Center operations and said that of 14 visitor centers around the state serving similar communities, 12 receive 100% of the bed tax collected in their communities. Barron added that as the city is not yet ready to run a visitor center, it needs to be funded “until the time the city can take it over.”

“I very passionately feel you should continue the Visitor Center, at least until you can replace it with something better, and that may never happen,” said Pete Sanders, a local tour business owner, who commented that he gets 40% of his customers from Visitor Center rack cards but has not yet gotten a single referral from the city’s Scenic Sedona tourism website. “Let’s not throw out what’s been working.”

“Kick it down the road another year and do some serious homework to figure out how the Visitor Center fits into the city’s master plan,” Al Comello said.

“The one thing that just troubles the heck out of me is the business community is not telling us they want the Visitor Center. They’re just not,” Councilman Brian Fultz said. “We’ve gotten more email from volunteers of the Visitor Center than we have businesses in the community … Why does the business community not tell us that this matters?”

“I really do think we’re kicking the can down the road,” Councilwoman Melissa Dunn said. “I don’t want us to keep kicking this can down the road … we need to have an understanding of what the right Visitor Center is for Sedona … we need to be aware of what it is people are really doing.”

“It’s probably a somewhat appropriate kick this year,” Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella said. “We’re not yet far enough along to have really defined what we need … so kicking the can down the road is probably in order … I’m not comfortable with where things are but I don’t have a better option at the moment.”

“I don’t feel that the businesses have enough skin in the game,” Kinsella added.

“I think it’s what we need to do now,” Councilwoman Jessica Williamson said. “Kicking the can down the road would just not be doing anything.”

“I am absolutely convinced that the Visitor Center is well run,” Councilman Pete Furman said. “But here’s the thing that keeps tripping me up. We all recognize that 5% of our visitors are coming there. But you look at the visitor intercept data that we studied from our tourism bureau, 15% of the people that are here usually or always look for one. We’re getting a third of them into our Visitor Center. Something is not right. Something isn’t working … that speaks to me that our approach isn’t right … the future of the Visitor Center looks radically different.”

Furman added that of around a hundred people he talked to on the trails, five told him they had used the Visitor Center.

“You lost me when you came in with the building value allocation change,” Furman continued, referring to an adjustment the chamber had made to the value of the building in the proposed budget. “I just don’t like the concept of the fee.” The council eventually approved the contract for next year’s funding by a 6-1, with Furman opposed.

City council proposes local DMV to control OHVs – Sedona Red Rock News

City council proposes local DMV to control OHVs5 min read

A potential city of Sedona ban on off-highway vehicles is back on the table following the Sedona City Council’s April 9 consideration of the Greater Sedona Recreation Collaborative’s recommendations for increased restrictions on OHV use on US Forest Service lands surrounding Sedona — but with a twist.

Although the GSRC report recommended the introduction of a limited permit system to reduce the number of OHVs on public lands, council members took issue with the U.S. Forest Service’s rejection of that recommendation in the frequently asked questions document released with the report, in which USFS staff stated, “A limited-use permit system is a heavy-handed management approach burdensome to both the visitor and the implementing agency. While not off the table in the future, the Forest Service will first prioritize management approaches that are lighter-handed.”

Meetings of the GSRC were closed to both the public and journalists who tried to attend. The Sedona Red Rock News asked to attend the GSRC meetings but was told by Keep Sedona Beautiful President and GSRC representative Craig Swanson that meetings were private.

Acting Red Rock District Ranger Alex Schlueter repeatedly said that this would continue to be the district’s policy during the council meeting when asked for clarification by Mayor Scott Jablow about a permit system.

“No, at this time,” Schlueter said.

Jablow and Councilwoman Jessica Williamson both described themselves as “frustrated” by Schlueter’s approach.

“Broken Arrow is the longest-running problem in the city,” Jablow said.

“A limited permit system on Morgan Road for Broken Arrow. That was our one request,” Vice Mayor Holli Ploog said.

“There was an expectations gap,” Councilman Brian Fultz said, adding that he did not accept that a limited entry permit system “principally for Morgan Road” would be heavy-handed. Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella said that “there was an expectation” that the city would be able to get the Forest Service to agree to implement a permit system “by going through this exercise.”

“I was hoping to hear a little more enthusiasm from the Forest Service,” Councilman Pete Furman said. “The heavy-handed approach is just necessary.”

“It’s just not right,” Williamson said. “Morgan Road objectively needs to be done.”

Councilwoman Melissa Dunn suggested using Morgan Road as a pilot program to phase in the implementation of permit-only OHV access to forest lands throughout the city.

“You want to talk about heavy-handed?” Dunn said to Schlueter. “The city could do some pretty heavy-handed things that will make the Forest Service feel very uncomfortable about the decisions that they’ve made, and we’re about to discuss that after this.”

Following public comments by Morgan Road residents Carl Jackson and Christine Adams, who argued that permits should be required for access to their public street, the council moved to reconsider an OHV ban, which had been tabled on Sept. 12, 2023.

“Not much has changed. They’re still considered unsafe,” City Attorney Kurt Christianson said. He added that the proposed text of the ordinance had been updated to clarify that it would only close city roads to OHV use, not state highways such as State Routes 89A and 179.

Christianson additionally reviewed the implementation of the voluntary agreement that the city had entered into with the four OHV rental companies in Sedona last September. Depending on establishment and type of vehicle, the rental companies had achieved 100% compliance on enhanced customer education, limiting rental usage on Morgan Road and installing recognition flags; between 71% and 100% compliance on installing turn signals; between 29% and 100% compliance on installing quieter mufflers; between 24% and 100% compliance on governing OHV speeds to a maximum of 35 mph; and had worked with GSRC to promote safe use of OHVs.

“Especially after tonight, I think we need to move forward with the ordinance to make the impact to the Forest Service,” Jablow said. However, he added, since he considered that the rental companies had acted responsibly, he proposed creating a city permit system “for just their vehicles” to allow their continued operation on city streets. “If there’s interest, we can move forward with a vote in a month or so.”

“Whatever we do, we have to protect these companies,” Ploog said. “We have to also do something for vehicles that are owned by individual residents who live here,” who would also have to be able to obtain permits if they were willing to meet the equipment requirements. “We would be encouraging good behavior … I kind of like this idea.”

“I think it bears looking into,” Williamson said. Fultz also stated he would be willing to support a city permit system.

“I’m willing to have an open mind and consider,” Furman said, while Kinsella said there was insufficient context to have a reasonable discussion of the idea.

New City Manager Anette Spickard, attending her first regular council meeting, pointed out that implementing such a system would require staff “to create basically a miniature DMV function at the city for this one class of vehicle,” which would take a few months.

“This is not solving the problem of limiting the number of vehicles that we want to have go down our streets,” Dunn said, pointing out that once all rental and resident-owned OHVs had obtained permits under a city permitting system, there would be no reduction in their numbers. “I think it’s going to add another layer of complexity to everyone who’s eventually going to get a Sedona permit if they’re going to come here … Eventually you end up with everyone potentially having the permit.”

“Only if they meet the requirements,” Jablow said. “That’s a good thing. Then we don’t mind because we know they’re a little bit safer.”

“The permit aspect is actually supportive of safety,” Fultz said.

Dan Candler of Outback ATV encouraged further discussion of a city permitting system, while Dave Swartout of Sedona Off Road Center commented that “it’s a whole ‘nother bureaucratic thing. Maybe it’s good for us. Maybe we can charge these people from out of town a hundred bucks to get a permit or something, do the inspection.”

“If this is a Forest Service problem, I’m not sure doing a permit in the city makes a lot of sense,” Swartout added.

By majority agreement, council directed Spickard to start looking into permits.

Councilmembers Interview – Podcast April 14, 2024 – Democratic Perspective (verdevalleyindependentdemocrats.org)

The Complexities And Challenges Of Managing A Small City. Steve Williamson welcomes three members of the Sedona City Council: Pete Furman, Melissa Dunn, and Brian Fultz to discuss some of the more controversial issues facing the city.

None of the three had ever been elected to office before. Furman was an engineer, Dunn is a sociologist, and Fultz is a small business entrepreneur. All chose to run for City Council for different reasons.

Homeless safe parking may go to voters; project put on hold | The Verde Independent | Cottonwood, AZ (verdenews.com)

SEDONA — Residents, who are frustrated with the Sedona City Council over the Safe Place to Park program for homeless city workers filed a referendum application with the city clerk on Thursday, March 14.

The referendum takes the issue to city voters, after the council voted 6-1 to pass an ordinance to begin the homeless vehicle camping program at its meeting on Tuesday, March 12.

Mayor Scott Jablow said the referendum application will put the project on hold because they don’t want to spend any of the grant money if the referendum is successful in stopping the project.

The petition or referendum seeks to refer the ordinance, as approved by the Sedona City Council on March 12, to the City’s voters for their rejection or approval, according to the petition filed by William Noonan.

It will require 597 City of Sedona voters to sign the referendum petition by April 11 and the signatures will have to be verified by the county. The mayor thought the soonest the vote could be in November if the referendum petition is successful.

The ordinance would let local homeless workers and families with children enrolled in local schools sleep in their vehicles at the former Cultural Park area site.

Before the council voted on Tuesday after a marathon public discussion session, Jablow explained that no one is proud of the Safe Place to Park program. However, this is a “last ditch effort” to house city workers until permanent housing can be built.

He said he was proud of the hard work that the city staff has accomplished on the project, but “this is just a stopgap,” he said.

“I find it upsetting that we have people here who took an interesting project like the Cultural Park, and they were going to champion that, and toss employee housing or the un-homed under the bus when the two have nothing to do with it at all.”

No one was offering any better alternatives for the homeless, the mayor said. “No one has an answer.”

Jablow said the community’s idea of the music venue at the Cultural Park sounds interesting, but there’s a public process that will be followed in the next couple years.

Jablow wanted to know why he’s never been presented with the Change.org petition that’s been circulating about the music venue. He said anyone in the nation can sign.

“So be it,” Jablow said if there is a referendum.” “That’s the democratic process, and I would honor that.”

Jablow said as soon as the council is done with the community plan, maybe later this month, the council will begin taking up the future of the Cultural Park and involve the community.

Vice Mayor Hollie Ploog, the only member of the board who voted against the ordinance, said, “If the program is voted on tonight and there is a referendum tomorrow, I would hope that this council would put a hold on this project until the voters speak.”

That comment was met with a round of applause from the audience.

Helping people who are experiencing vehicular homelessness is a worthy goal, said Councilor Pete Furman.

He wants to help the worker who’s been kicked out of his rental because of short-term rentals or that school kid who is sleeping in their car.

Long–term vehicular living is not a desire here, said Furman. It’s not a substitute for temporary housing and it’s not a substitute for affordable long-term housing.

“We’re working on more affording housing in this town and we’re going to need everyone’s help getting those projects passed.”

“There is no available housing in the Verde Valley,” explained Councilor Jessica Williamson. “It’s totally limited. Cottonwood, Rimrock, Camp Verde.” It’s not a question of commuting or businesses paying more, she said.

No one thinks its great people live in their cars, Williamson said. They already live in their cars and it’s stressful for people.

She said Sedona is having housing problems because nobody in Sedona wants density, multi-family houses built near single-family homes, and no one in Sedona accepts what needs to be done to provide housing for people who don’t have $1.5 million for a house.

The council then approved the zoning change to amend the existing Planned Development to the northwest corner of the former Cultural Park and the action will be in effect until June 30, 2026.

The council also approved contracts with the Arizona Department of Housing and the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition for the proposed Safe Place to Park program by a vote of 6-1. The Verde Valley Homeless Coalition in Cottonwood is partnering with the City of Sedona in supporting Safe Place to Park program.

The Safe Place to Park program is a temporary solution to a complex problem, Sedona/Cottonwood Housing Manager Shannon Boone explained to the council on Jan. 9.

People will be asked to go through a registration process. The designated parking area is for up to 40 vehicles, Boone said, for people who work locally and live in their vehicles.

There will be shower trailers, portable restrooms, waste containers; and no tents and fires will be allowed.

There will be no RV hookups, and RVs must contain all wastewater. There is a maximum of two adults per vehicle and families with children are welcome.

An experienced site manager of the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition will be on the site and individual service plans will be tailored to participant needs to try to locate permanent housing, jobs and other third-party services.

Vyto Starinskas at vstarinskas@verdenews.com