Are you familiar with commercial or residential development? Have an interest in zoning laws? Or what about a desire to help plan Sedona’s future? If you answered yes to any of these, the city of Sedona may have a seat waiting for you on its Planning and Zoning dais.

Staff announced during the April 6 commission meeting that Commissioner Eric Brandt had stepped down for personal reasons. Brandt had served on P&Z for nearly 11 years.

Commission Chairwoman Kathy Levin could not be reached for comment via email but during that meeting expressed her appreciation of Brandt’s service to the city.

“We’re going to miss the expertise that he brought and the way he was able to see projects with his architec­tural design background,” she said.

Turnover on the commission has been fairly common in recent years. This will be the fifth new commis­sioner since the beginning of 2020. Those serving are appointed by the Sedona City Council and do so on a voluntary basis. The individual chosen to fill Brandt’s seat will serve the remainder of his term, which expires Oct. 31, 2022.

The commission consists of seven citizens who play a critical role in the city’s planning process.

According to a city press release, the commission serves as council advisor on land use, growth and development issues. Commission duties include making recommendations to the City Council on Community Plan updates, Land Development Code amend­ments, property zone changes and subdivision applications. In addition, the commission makes the final deci­sion on conditional use permits and development review applications.

Commission meetings are sched­uled for the first and third Tuesdays of the month, but when there are no plan­ning or zoning issues to be discussed, the meetings are often canceled.

Applicants must reside in the Sedona city limits and should have interest, experience or knowledge in land use or related fields including, but not limited to, architecture, construc­tion, landscaping and planning.

Applications may be picked up at the City Clerk’s office at 102 Roadrunner Dr. Return completed applications to the City Clerk’s Office or via email at cityclerksdept@sedonaaz.gov no later than 5 p.m. on April 29, 2021.

Learn more about the Planning and Zoning Commission’s responsibilities by contacting Cari Meyer, planning manager at 203-5049 or cmeyer@sedonaaz.gov.