The project applicant, the Baney Corporation of Bend, Ore., will be using the time to address compliance issues such as building height and building community partnerships before going back before the commission.
The Baney Corporation is seeking a zoning change for the 6.3-acre project, which would occupy 11 separate parcels at the south side of the intersection of Soldier Pass Road and State Route 89A that are currently zoned commercial, medium-high density multi-family and lodging. Their development proposal currently calls for 110 lodging units, a restaurant, a meeting space, 40 multi-family units including 28 deed-restricted units, an underground 174- space parking structure with 31 surface parking spaces and a connecting road to Soldier Pass Road from Saddlerock Circle. The latest update to the proposal was released in May and reduced the hotel size by 12 rooms in response to resident and staff concerns.
The property has been vacant since 2017 and was formerly owned by the Biddle family, who ran a nursery and outdoor supply store. The Baney family began acquiring the parcels in 2006 and completed their land acquisitions in 2015. The commercial buildings were demolished and removed. Five out of six public comments during the meeting were in favor of the project. Area business representatives in particular expressed interest in the potential for increased foot traffic in the area.
The proposal’s inclusion of 40 units of multi-family housing, 28 of which would be dedicated to housing the property’s workforce, and sustainability features drew praise from the commission.
“There are aspects of this project that are very appealing to me and that’s mostly, if not all, the housing component, because you’ve more than exceeded what the city expects,” Levin said. “It’s laudable, very much appreciated in this community. I also think that the sustainability elements … it was nice to see them already worked in. These are things that we often bring them up. We say to [an] applicant, ‘Would you consider putting solar on your carport?’ … and you have provided both in the arid landscaping and in the solar renewable energy and in other ways demonstrated that, as well as your hospitality practices around water have demonstrated a real commitment that this community appreciates.”
“Nevertheless, when I got the staff report, I was stunned that it recommended denial,” Levin continued. “I can’t remember another time that has come before this commission, and I’ve been on it for 10 years. So there had to be good reason for that. What I found was that there was a significant lack of compliance with the two areas that we look for, in the [Community Focus Area] compliance, and in the Land Development Code.”
The Baney Corporation’s position is that the proposal has been in compliance with the Soldier Pass CFA “as it existed at the time not only we submitted the application, but that was in place during the vast majority of the review period,” the corporation’s attorney Benjamin Tate stated.
“There are multiple buildings that do not comply with height requirements, or the information provided is not sufficient to make that determination,” city staff wrote in the report.
Tate explained that the height issue is being addressed by his clients and stems from a difference of five feet in the maximum allowable height, which is capped at either 22 feet or 27 feet, depending on the standard applied.
“For example, there was an area where, in order to relieve the building plane, our architect was using a change in materials rather than a physical articulation of the building,” Tate said. “That’s just not something that the code accommodates. So we just have to change that from a change of materials to an actual articulation of the building.”
The Baney Corporation has had intermittent conversations with the Sedona Historical Society about improvements to the nearby historic Cook’s Cedar Glade Cemetery off Airport Road and plans to devise specific proposals for such improvements prior to the February meeting. SHS executive director Nate Meyers confirmed that talks are ongoing but could not elaborate further on the relationship.
“We want to have a meaningful discussion to see what [the Sedona Historical Society’s] priorities are and see how we can help them. That will inform our commitment,” Tate said.
Traffic circulation is another of the areas of noncompliance with the Soldier Pass CFA plan, with the staff report citing a lack of vehicular access to Elk Road to the east. The Baneys have proposed a 10-foot wide sidewalk connection from Saddlerock Circle to SR 89A along with other traffic improvements.
If the Planing and Zoning Commission approves the zoning change and the development review in February, the project will most likely move on to the City Council in March.
In the event that the commission does not approve the zone change, the Baney Corporation would not have to start the process again with a new submittal, Tate explained.
“Because the Planning and Zoning Commission is a recommending body on the zone change and if they were to deny the [development review] and recommend denial of the zone change, the zone change would move ahead to City Council regardless because they are a recommending body,” Tate said. “Then we would appeal the decision on the [development review] so that both cases would be heard by the City Council.”
Tate said he is optimistic about what he will be bringing before the commission in February.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Tate said. “But I was encouraged by a lot of the positive things that the commissioners had to say, particularly about the workforce component, and the Baney family’s genuineness … and their commitment to doing a high-quality project and committing to being part of the Sedona community in the long term.”
