Sedona Mayor Sandy Moriarty updated her emergency declaration this afternoon to include closures on dining in at restaurant, bars and many other types of retail food and beverage establishments, starting 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 19. The amended declaration also includes other types of businesses likely to gather people together into confined spaces, such as movie theaters and museums.

The full text of the proclamation follows:

“Because the safety of residents is the most important consideration and to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, city of Sedona Mayor Sandy Moriarty updated yesterday’s Proclamation of Emergency to mandate the following regarding businesses, effective 11:59 p.m. on March 19, 2020, until 11:59 p.m. on March 31, 2020: 

1. All restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffeehouses, retail food facilities, and other similar businesses and establishments are prohibited from serving food and beverages on their premises.

Businesses are encouraged to offer food and beverages using delivery service, window service, drive-through service, or drive-up service, and to use precautions in doing so to mitigate the potential transmission of COVID-19, including social distancing.

2. The following businesses are closed to occupancy by the public:

a) Bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, special licensees, clubs, and other similar businesses and establishments offering alcoholic beverages of spiritous liquor for consumption on-premises.
b) Theaters, cinemas, and indoor and outdoor performance venues.
c) Museums.
d) Gymnasiums, fitness centers, recreation centers, indoor sports facilities, indoor exercise facilities, exercise studios, yoga and barre studios, and other similar facilities.  
e) Bingo halls and other recreational or entertainment facilities.
This does not prohibit an owner, employee, contractor, vendor or supplier of a local business from entering, using or occupying that place of business in their professional capacity.

The restrictions do not apply to any of the following:

1. Grocery stores, markets, convenience stores, and other similar businesses and establishments that offer food and beverage that is not for on-premises consumption.
2. Pharmacies and drug stores.
3. Food banks and food pantries.
4. Restaurants located within health care facilities, nursing homes, shelters, group homes, places of worship or similar facilities.
5. Restaurants located at institutions of higher learning.
6. Vendors and concessionaires located within the Sedona Airport.
7. Banks and financial institutions.

All businesses and houses of worship are encouraged to limit gatherings and practice social distancing. Anyone who violates this proclamation will be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.  

‘We recognize this will have a significant impact to businesses but the risk of not acting poses far greater threat. Nothing outweighs the importance of protecting the health and safety of residents in these unprecedented times,’ said Moriarty.

The city is in frequent contact with the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services, Coconino and Yavapai counties and their epidemiologists, emergency response teams and policy leaders, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to monitor the situation daily.”

Legal Authority Cited by the Mayor

In its Proclamation of Emergency, the city cited the Arizona Revised Statutes and Sedona City Code.

The state law cited is Arizona Revised Statute §26-311, Local emergency power; power of political subdivisions; state agency assistance:

“A. In addition to the powers granted by other provisions of the law or charter, whenever the mayor of an incorporated city or town or the chairman of the board of supervisors for the unincorporated portion of the county, shall deem that an emergency exists due to fire, conflagration, flood, earthquake, explosion, war, bombing, acts of the enemy or any other natural or man-made calamity or disaster or by reason of threats or occurrences of riots, routs, affrays or other acts of civil disobedience which endanger life or property within the city, or the unincorporated areas of the county, or portion thereof, the mayor or chairman of the board of supervisors, if authorized by ordinance or resolution, may by proclamation declare an emergency or a local emergency to exist.

B. If an emergency is declared pursuant to subsection A, the mayor or the chairman of the board of supervisors shall, during such emergency, govern by proclamation and shall have the authority to impose all necessary regulations to preserve the peace and order of the city, town, or unincorporated areas of the county, including but not limited to:

1. Imposition of curfews in all or portions of the political subdivision.

2. Ordering the closing of any business.

3. Closing to public access any public building, street, or other public place.

4. Calling upon regular or auxiliary law enforcement agencies and organizations within or without the political subdivision for assistance.

5. Notifying the constitutional officers that the county office for which they are responsible may remain open or may close for the emergency.

C. In periods of local emergency, including an emergency declared pursuant to subsection A of this section, political subdivisions have full power to provide mutual aid to any affected area in accordance with local ordinances, resolutions, emergency plans or agreements therefor.

D. State agencies may provide mutual aid, including personnel, equipment and other available resources to assist political subdivisions during a local emergency in accordance with emergency plans or at the direction of the governor.”

The Sedona city code cited is Section 2.10.040(F), Powers and duties of the mayor:

“The powers and duties of the mayor shall include the following:

F. He may, by proclamation, declare a local emergency to exist due to fire, conflagration, flood, earthquake, explosion, war, bombing or any other natural or manmade calamity or disaster or in the event of the threat or occurrence of riot, rout or affray or other acts of civil disobedience which endanger life or property within the city. After declaration of such emergency, the mayor shall govern by proclamation and impose all necessary regulations to preserve the peace and order of the city, including but not limited to:

1. Imposition of a curfew in all or any portion of the city;

2. Ordering the closing of any business;

3. Closing to public access any public building, street or other public place;

4. Calling upon regular or auxiliary law enforcement agencies and organizations within or without the political subdivision for assistance”