As the city of Sedona continues its quest to battle the ever-increasing housing shortage issue, an area that has been given little consideration in the past may soon be a viable option.

The Dells, the city-owned land across from the city wastewater treatment plant off State Route 89A, will soon be the subject of a study for potential housing on nearly 200 acres. The city has budgeted $75,000, some of which may be done in-house.

Cynthia Lovely, the city’s principal planner, said the study will look at future land use and the feasibility of potential uses. There are many challenges to development, such as the lack of any infrastructure and utilities, phasing out the current spray irriga­tion on the property and the need to change zoning, among other issues.

The land, which sits within Yavapai County, is zoned rural residential. It’s currently being used for spray irrigation to dispose of effluent water from the waste­water treatment plant. However, that can be replaced in the future with additional injec­tion wells.

If the city were to proceed with any devel­opment on the land, it would have to go through the county’s development process.

Lovely said the Dells is listed as a Community Focus Area, one of around a dozen throughout Sedona.

“It is listed as a CFA in the Community Plan, however, it is so different, not to mention outside city limits, that we think it may be more appropriate to treat it like a master plan or land use study instead,” she said.

City Manager Karen Osburn said while they were not intending to start the planning process this soon, in light of the challenges with affordable and workforce housing, the council has expressed interest in advancing this effort as soon as possible.

“The planning effort, as all our CFA plans do, will give council guidance for future development, such as what are the possibilities in this area relative to the Community Plan priorities? How could this property address those through future development?” she said. “What are the land uses the community supports? And, what does the community ultimately want to see developed?”

Osburn added there have been a wide range of thoughts about that in the community, everything from leave it open space, to housing, to ball fields and entertainment venues, to hemp growing or vineyards.

“This process will hopefully narrow the focus to some things the council can then pursue,” she said.

The following is a look back at the Dells:

■ 1993: City acquires the property. County re-zoned it back to RCU-2A at city’s request. City began constructing the wastewater treatment plant.

■ 1998 to 2002: Significant focus on regional planning from all Verde Valley jurisdictions in response to concerns about Planned Development outside of Cottonwood and 10 square miles of State Trust Lands between Sedona and Cottonwood. Regional Resolutions were adopted by Verde Valley munici­palities and Yavapai County to maintain open space between communities. City acquires additional National Forest land for effluent disposal, bringing it to more than 400 acres.

■ 2006: Verde Valley Regional Plan adopted by Yavapai County. Retains recommendation for maintaining open space between communities.

■ 2008: Wastewater Effluent and Land Use Task Force formed to evaluate and make recommendations regarding effluent disposal and land use options.

■ 2010: Task Force Issues Report: Supports wetlands near the treatment plant. Need for determination of injection capacity. Deferred land use recommenda­tions until it was understood how much land would be needed for disposal.

■ 2011: Parks and Recreation Master Plan survey conducted. For the 400-acre treatment plant site, 50% of respondents did not want expanded recreation oppor­tunities and the majority of those that did want expanded recreation were in favor of wildlife viewing areas and trails.

■ 2013 to 2014: Sedona Community Plan Adoption/Ratification. Community Plan lists “Community Expectations” for treatment plant site as: Only land uses that are environmentally sensitive, retain open space character and contribute to Sedona’s environmental and economic sustainability. Future planning will consider public feedback from Parks and Recreation Master Plan and alterna­tive planning themes from the Sedona Community Plan process.

■ 2014: Effluent Management Plan — projects 200 acres along east side of highway not needed for effluent disposal.

■ 2014 to 2015: Dells Land Use Group: Citizens Working Group formed to provide input to staff on conceptual land use recommendations for the 200 acres.

Tim Ernster, who was city manager at the time of the citizen work group said, “I don’t recall any permanent housing being proposed. There was a proposal for an amphitheater for special events such as concerts and other public uses such as recreation, education and conservation.”