It’s been a decision nearly a quarter-century in the making.

In 1993, Bruce Tobias and Carol and Robert Flynn purchased 27 acres. Since the purchase, the property has been landlocked with access being denied by an adjacent development.

Throughout the city’s involvement in this issue, which dates back to 2001, various Sedona City Councils have consistently encouraged the land owners and the Oak Creek Cliffs Homeowners Association to work out an access arrangement using the existing private crossing and private road at the Oak Creek Cliffs Drive alignment.

This included council making a formal request to that effect in 2007. The Oak Creek Cliffs Homeowners Association subsequently provided a letter indicating it would not reconsider granting access through its properties.

The parcel owners attempted to negotiate for access through non-federal land to the parcel several times over the years. When negotiations failed, Tobias and Flynn sued to condemn a private way of necessity in Coconino County Superior Court.

The state court denied the parcel owners motion for failing to carry their burden of proving reasonable necessity for the easement because the parcel owners might be able to obtain access over National Forest land.

Subsequently, Tobias and Flynn filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. In 2002, the court issued in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that an easement by necessity exists.

Now, jump ahead a decade and a half.

A recent draft Environmental Assessment considered four alternatives to providing access to the property. The decision concerned two alternatives taking access from State Route 179 utilizing a bridge over Oak Creek and taking access from Chavez Ranch Road, which would include a 1.4-mile road through an open area of undeveloped land.

Council gave direction to staff to draft a letter that was later signed by Mayor Sandy Moriarty that established environmental concerns as the first priority and impacts to views as the second priority for selecting an alternative. And while the U.S. Forest Service has chosen the 1.4mile roadway, the city was seeking a hybrid of two of the options that included a bridge over Oak Creek.

Council considered the draft Environmental Assessment for the Tobias-Flynn property access in September 2017, a city report states. The city of Sedona was the only objector to the Forest Service’s decision.

The options considered by the USFS included:

• A road approximately 0.85 miles long to the property that would start from Oak Creek Cliffs Drive. The route would include a two-lane, 24-foot wide bridge approximately 450 feet long and approximately 60 feet high that would cross Oak Creek just above the upper end of the swimming hole, and cross one ephemeral natural drainage tributary to Oak Creek. By comparison, Midgley Bridge is 375 feet long.
• A road approximately a halfmile to the subject property. It would cross Oak Creek upstream from the above alternative and cross one ephemeral natural drainage tributary to Oak Creek. A 24-foot-wide bridge approximately 650 feet long and approximately 80 feet high would cross Oak Creek downstream from another informal “swimming hole.”
• An access road, 1.4 miles long plus 1,850 feet of reconstructed Chavez Ranch Road, to the private property starting from the Chavez Ranch Road. It would cross approximately nine small ephemeral natural drainages and washes that are tributary to Oak Creek. Approximately 40 percent of the roadway will be in city limits and the rest in Yavapai County. The road will be paid for by the property owners.

During its July 10 meeting, council met with representatives of the USFS to discuss the city’s opposition to the alternative chosen. While most on council felt it was already a done deal, they chose to maintain their opposition, which means they will meet the week of July 23 with the deputy regional forester. This meeting will focus on the city’s objections, but also its suggestions as to how to minimize the impact of the Forest Service’s alternative and to better understand the decisionmaking process.

Nicole Branton, district ranger for the Red Rock Ranger District, said there is no development plan in place for the Tobias-Flynn property but that the roadway will be part of that plan.

“We don’t know if it will be one house, three houses or the maximum that we modeled this on,” she said. “When and if that future proposal comes up, we would do what we do on any other development that involves the National Forest; that is, work with you on how that’s carried out.”

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 122, or email reland@larsonnewspapers.com