It’s been more than a decade in the making but the developers of a 58-unit townhouse project now have the green light to move forward.

The project, located on State Route 89A in West Sedona between Upper Red Rock Loop Road and Foothills South Drive, was seeking a development review before the Sedona Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, May 21. The request passed unanimously.

The applicant will be required to have a plat amend­ment approved by the Sedona City Council to align the plat with the approved unit layout. Since they are reducing the number of units in the subdivision, it is considered a minor amendment and only requires review and approval by council, not the commission, Senior Planner Cari Meyer said.

The current owners — Flagstaff-based Miramonte Arizona, LLC — purchased the land two years ago. The previous owner had received approval to build 88 units on the land but finished just 12 before the economy took a turn a decade ago. After the first dozen units were completed and grading for future phases and the roadways was complete, construction came to a halt.

According to a city report, the 58 units will be divided among 24 buildings, ranging from one to five units per

 building. The units are designed to complement the existing condo­minium buildings. And each unit has a minimum of three bedrooms and two bathrooms along with a two-car garage. The units will range from 1,700 to 2,600 square feet.

Characteristics of the proposed project include:

• The entire project totals approxi­mately 9.73 acres.
• In addition to the construction of 12 condominium units, portions of the site were previously graded for the road and additional condominium units that were never constructed.
• The property has one primary point of access off W. State Route 89A across from Bristlecone Pines Road. This access is via a gated private street.
• The property has emergency access through the Marriott property to the southwest.
• Some native vegetation remains, consisting of a mixture of mature trees and shrubs.
• The property is not impacted by any floodplains.

Attorney Whitney Cunningham and spokesperson Jack Kemmerly spoke on behalf of the project and requested a four-year phasing plan. This means they have four years to complete the project, but they said it is more than likely all 58 units will be completed in a more timely manner.

At this time, they said they could not predict how much the townhouses will sell for. But when they came before the commission last summer, it was said they would be comparable to the costs of the existing 12 units, which have recently sold between $500,000 and $600,000. However, some of those units are larger than the ones being proposed. Because of the lower density — compared to the previously-approved 88 units — they said it’s not feasible to build anything that would be considered afford­able housing but they feel it still meets a demand.

“This is the continuation of a project that will be a positive addi­tion in Sedona,” Cunningham said. “It contributes to the diversity of housing options. Right now Sedona has fewer than 1,000 townhouse-style homes and this helps to address that market.”

One of the concerns the commis­sion had was whether or not these units could be sold and then turned into a short-term vacation rental. Cunningham said they will have the same requirements as the current 12-unit complex. Their homeown­ers’s association requires a 12-month lease, thus eliminating the possibility of the new units being short-term rentals. Kemmerly also assured the commission that once the 58 town­homes are built, they will not be seeking to build any additional ones on the property.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com