The city of Sedona is hoping to mix up the housing options as 60 long-term rental townhomes will be built in West Sedona.
Scottsdale-based companies MKC Holdings and Morgan Taylor Homes presented their townhome proposal to Planning & Zoning commissioners, who unanimously approved the development review at their last meeting.
The townhomes, named Navajo Lofts, will be located at 10 Navajo Drive, the empty parcel off of Southwest Drive and State Route 89A. This project proposes 53 two-bedroom units and seven three-bedroom units. All of the residences, ranging from 1,300 to 1,450 square feet, will have their own garage and private yard.
MKC Holdings CEO Keith Holben bought the property back in 2019. According to Holben, he always intended on turning the property into a residential space.
“This project is not designed to provide affordable housing,” Holben said. “Rather it is designed to provide housing diversity to the community with a rental product that would be more suited to slightly larger households with enclosed garages and private yards, which live more like single-family homes.”
The property sits on 4.50 acres. With the proposed project, there will be 13 units per acres, which is not in compliance with city’s land development code of 12 units per acre.
Based on reports, city staff recommends the project on the basis of satisfaction with the other Sedona’s LDC requirements and overlooking the unit-per-acre portion due to the lack of housing diversity and long-term rentals in the city.
“We have in the community plan [that] over 80% of the housing stock is single-family lots. So pretty much anything other than that is going to add to the diversity of the housing mix in Sedona,” City Planning Manager Cari Meyer said. “The housing situation is such that we don’t only need apartments or only need townhouses … we need everything but single-family residential [lots].”
Part of the recommendation regarding the LDC was also due to Navajo Lofts’ homeowners association prohibition of any short-term rental use, or lease under 90 days.
“The development will target residents seeking long-term rental housing,” Holben said in his response to neighbor concerns in November 2021. “Short-term vacation rentals will be prohibited, thereby reducing turnover and noise that can sometimes accompany short-term occupancy.”
While towns and cities cannot prohibit owners from using their properties as short-term rentals, HOAs and condominium associations can according to Arizona State Statues §11-269.17 and §9-500.39.
While the commissioners stated their approval of the location for residential access to transit and services, some neighbors in the adjacent neighborhoods expressed their concerns about increased traffic coming to the area.
The units will be accessed through both Navajo Drive to the east and Aria Street to the north of the property. There will also be a 10-foot bikeway connection through the property from Cantabile Street to Navajo Drive.
The property will also include a pool, gazebo and bike racks for the residents. The commission also asked Holben and his development team to consider more green options in their building, such as solar power and sustainable water sources. Currently, the units include electric-vehicle chargers in each garage.
“If you do look in our housing reports, Sedona is woefully below our housing diversity and rental housing [numbers] … So what a great project to see come before the city,” Commissioner Peter Furman said. “My personal interest is for Sedona to be doing things to address its declining population and if we can build housing types that might attract a family, or city staff, police officers, firefighters, a school teacher … then this is exactly the right project to see.”
