It’s rare when a Sedona City Council decision comes down to a swing vote. But considering the topic, didn’t come as a big surprise to those in attendance.
By a 4-3 vote, council approved the Sunset Community Focus Area on Tuesday, April 9, following three hours of discussion.
While other CFAs have received little-to-no pushback over the years by those on council, this one included a major change to what Sedona has become accustomed to in regard to building heights. This will allow construction of commercial and residential buildings to be four stories high, doubling the current code. However, council pointed out several times that this allowance will be limited to this specific area between Sunset and Shelby drives.
Vice Mayor John Marti-nez and Councilmen John Currivan and Bill Chisholm
voted against the measure.
Martinez said he was in favor of the CFA with the exception of it going as high as four stories. Chisholm wanted staff to provide additional information before he felt comfortable voting for it. Currivan said he’d like the item to go back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for it to vet the four-story concept or to have a citywide poll to get public input on having four-story-buildings in that specific area.
“I’m not sure that, as a city, the goal is to make sure nothing ever changes or develops in a neighborhood in terms of economic development and housing,” Councilwoman Jessica Williamson said during discussion prior to the vote.
Currivan described the plan both as a “moving target” and called it “a bait and switch” in terms of what Planning and Zoning recommended last year, which was three stories for this CFA. But, since then, staff recommended going higher when warranted.
“This is what I meant by ‘a moving target,’” he said. “We started by limiting this to affordable housing and now we’re talking about economic diversity and four-story office buildings. By the way, it’s not really limited to four floors. Building heights up to 45 feet can be approved at the staff level. It’s only if you want heights above 45 feet that you then have to come to Planning and Zoning and council.”
The concept is to have one area in which residents can live, work, play and meet. According to a city report, through this, employees can find housing they can afford. Businesses are able to expand and provide jobs, products and services to residents. Next door is Sunset Park and 20-plus miles of trails. Finally, it provide areas to meet up with ones friends and family without even getting in a car.
The strengths of this CFA are also what set it apart from other areas of the city. A report lists them as:
n Location: Unlike all other commercial areas in the city, this is not on a highway.
n Industrial zoning: This is one of only two areas in the city that allows for industrial and light manufacturing land uses.
n Multi-family residential zoning: There is very little land in the city with this type of zoning, which makes up 1.4% of all residentially-zoned land.
n Views: Roughly half of the area is elevated on the hillside of Airport Mesa, providing outstanding views. The other half sits at a lower elevation, thus is not very visible from the surrounding area.
n National Forest and city park access: Sunset Park is on the north side of the CFA and the remainder of the area is surrounded by the Coconino National Forest with direct access to an extensive trail system.
“Considering these strengths, this area has the potential to truly become a community focus area — a place where people want to work and to live,” the report states.
In addition, there are several obstacles to overcome to reach its potential. According to some business and property owners, the primary limitations are the poor condition of Shelby Drive, which is a private road, and the lack of wastewater service to some properties. Other challenges include the general appearance of the area, the noise and dust from construction yards and, for some, the location off the highway. The city has acknowledged that, in order for this proposal to work, it would have to upgrade the roadway and sewage system in that area.
The majority of this CFA is zoned light industrial, which makes up approximately half of the city’s light industrial zoned property. The remainder in the city is located in the area of Contractors Road and Yavapai Drive west of Coffee Pot Drive.
Economic diversification was added as an objective with the following description: The proposed business must align with a targeted industry cluster as identified in the Sedona Economic Diversification Plan to be adopted in 2020. The median wage for jobs created or retained must be at 200% above the current median wage for Sedona.
For example, if Sedona’s median wage is $13 an hour, then jobs created or retained by the business must have a median wage of $26 an hour.
Mayor Sandy Moriarty said she realizes there are risks for any type of project but in this case the positives outweigh the negatives.
“The slippery slope does apply to some things but often that’s just an excuse not to do something,” she said. “I feel safe with what we’re proposing.”
She went on to add, “I can’t believe that four stories is the end of the world as we know it. In the right place, you can often do things that don’t go by the normal rules. There are exceptions to every rule. This is the one place in town, I believe, that we really have a chance to do something different.”
Eleven members of the audience spoke, nine of whom were opposed to the CFA. They expressed concerns about the increased building height, increased traffic, impact on quality of life and small-town character, noise and property values.
“I feel allowing three to four stories is opening Pandora’s Box,” James Mattia said. “Once it’s open, you can’t close it.”
Marci Taylor, co-founder of the group Sedona XYZ, focused on residents in their 20s, 30s and 40s, said this CFA could open the door to for younger employees and families moving to the area.
“We think this is just a start in terms of economic diversity,” she said. “We think Sedona is ready for co-working and co-living. We would like to see more people from our generations moving to Sedona with their children and, in order to do that, we need to create opportunities for them to do so.”
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
