The referendum to overturn the decisions of Sedona’s Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council on the “Safe Place to Park” initiative has sparked a community-wide debate. At the core of this issue is a proposal to revive a 20-year-old outdoor event center, which proponents claim can be revitalized without using taxpayer money. Residents should be cautious about coming to conclusions about a Disneyland-type venue being built in the heart of our city without a comprehensive citizen-based input process.
The real issue isn’t their supposed “concerns” about “Safe Place to Park,” the city’s temporary, two-year initiative to provide up to 40 parking spaces for overnight sleeping for individuals who work in Sedona and are already sleeping in their vehicles. It’s doubtful that the project could proceed anyway.
However, the referendum is real and will be on the ballot on November 5 under the title Proposition 483.
This election issue has become an opportunity for proponents of Cultural Park 2.0 to push for the rebuilding of the amphitheater and the massive parking facilities needed, as a primary use of the 40-acre property acquired by the city to address critical housing issues along with other “community-centered” amenities and projects.
This idea, championed by a new resident and his followers, aims to shift the focus from the current master planning process for the city-owned Western Gateway 40-acre property—intended for housing and other amenities—to establishing a 5,000+ attendee entertainment venue.
Advocates for converting the old amphitheater into a modern concert venue emphasize their positive vision, overlooking potential downsides. They paint an overly rosy picture, ignoring negative aspects such as the daily influx of 5,000 people and the 2,500 cars needed to transport them, despite there being parking for only 700 cars.
Opponents of the employee “Safe Place to Park” parking area were concerned about people talking over 1,000 feet from their homes. However, these same opponents, many of whom live in the Bristlecone Pines community, don’t realize that the amphitheater will have live amplified music, which will be bothersome during every event indefinitely.
Concerns have been raised about the feasibility and impact of such a project on Sedona, a small town with a population under 10,000. Critics of rebuilding the amphitheater argue that Sedona would need more infrastructure, including sufficient hotel rooms and restaurants, to support the massive influx of concert-goers from cities like Phoenix, especially on summer weekends.
And remember, the calls to try to maintain Sedona a small-town atmosphere can be challenged by such proposals to create giant tourist venues in the heart of Sedona.
They emphasize the importance of a stable government and a transparent planning process, cautioning against decision-making through referendums, which they perceive as a form of “mob rule.” They remind everyone that the city’s plan for the 40 acres includes a comprehensive planning process with public input on the ultimate use of the property, leaving the door open for discussion about anything, including resurrecting the amphitheater.
Experts warn about the potential pitfalls of the referendum process, highlighting concerns about manipulation and bias. The concept of the “will of the people” can be easily skewed, especially if certain voices or interests hold disproportionate power or influence within the community. This can undermine the democratic process and result in decisions that do not truly reflect the interests of the entire population.
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30 Comments
I have no problem with a temporary, safe place to park.
All housing would be best used at the large property outside of town named the Dells.
It will be condensed and has plenty of room for expansion!
Time should be spent on a real master plan for those 40 acres!
I dont think any of that is a crazy thought.
WS Dave,
respect your opinion on utilizing the so called “dels” for low income housing development. However as a veteran you should know that people being placed in contaminated areas will only result in chronic severe long term illnesses and law suits resulting from them that would far far outweigh the costs of building in the first place.
Have another location in mind perhaps? One that isn’t contaminated with nearly a century’s worth of human waste and the chemicals used to treat it?
And to the spade calling moron, the safe parking area was to be restricted to the people who provide Sedonite’s daily services by providing proof being employed here full time. The area was never announced not intended as an open come one come all homeless camp as you so paranoidly described. So let’s really call a spade a spade here, you don’t like nor want to see the homeless to include those who work here full time anywhere in Sedona or anywhere else you go because you’re a hater aren’t ya spade!
I did PR for the CP years ago..the men in charge were not professional .. and when Georgia F.. pulled her Money it fell apart..
the traffic and noise was a bother to the Neighborhood …. Forget rebuilding it bad Idea…
Let’s call a spade a spade. This was a proposed Homeless Camp at the CulturalPark. You refer to your constituents like we’re idiots and that people are being manipulated, and, how dare we stand up to the City and use our rights as citizens to say “not on our watch”. The amazing residents of Sedona will continue to expose all of the Cities nefarious ideas for this community.
The real issue is that Sedona is pursuing a failed policy that the rest of the country has already turned against because it only makes homelessness worse. The car park is a shortsighted, greedy, self-destructive discredited approach. In fact, this author, Jablow, called it a “sucky idea” in the international press. Now here he is, targeting the residents who disagree with him in an effort to defeat a ballot referendum of the people he is elected to serve. The resident who opposes the zoning change to a homeless car park is not part of Cultural Park 2.0 which can easily be proven through a simple search. The referendum will pass.
Please check your facts:
https://vimeo.com/931771575/9a7cf3fc99
Mayor Jablow, since I am the “new resident” you attacked in your hit piece, you told an unmitigated lie that I and my so-called “followers” are advocating for a 5000+ seat entertainment venue. The people who supported the referendum did so because they think your idea to put a homeless car park in the Cultural Park is just a bad idea that will cause more problems than it solves. Since you have continued to tell this lie, you leave me with no choice but to expose elsewhere your disdain for the people you were elected to represent.
I am one of the people who help start this referendum on the homeless parking lot. I have lived here for over 30 years, so not a “new” resident. Many of those that signed the referendum were long time residents. We understand that the reason you are pushing the homeless car park is that, when that fails, your next step would be to build housing for them and thereby removing any chance for the citizens of this city and visitors (the millions that the city has paid the chamber to entice visiting our city) to enjoy an enjoyable music venue or just to enjoy the park as a place to hike and enjoy the sunset.,
I have lived through the music and lights when the Cultural Park was in full swing. It was enjoyable to sit outside of my home and listen to the music when I chose not to attend, and I did attend quite a few. I am not concerned about the “talking” of the residents of the homeless car park but the potential of them smoking, starting fires at night when it is cold, children playing outside of the cars and getting attacked by coyotes, javelina, Mojave snakes, coy wolves. I have seen all of those within the boundaries of the Cultural Park. Not to mention the dog that was abducted by a mountain lion a few years ago on Bristlecone Pines.
The shower water will not only contaminate the soil when used to water the trees as is the solution of your PW director, but surely kill them as they cannot take a great deal of water. Not to mention the propane tanks for the water heaters for the shower and the diesel tank for the generators. All of these will not be monitored 24/7 so there is good potential for vandalism and possible fires from the escaping propane.
The will of the people cannot be skewed if they are in fact allowed to vote on the referendum. do you think that the residents of this city are so stupid? I cannot tell you how insulting that statement is. Many of the residents are successful, highly educated, intelligent people. To be treated in the manner that you, the mayor of the city and some members of the city council have treated us really does not say much for your character. And the lies that have been told by the city on this entire matter is appalling.
Our referendum has nothing to do with the people wanting a music venue. It was started as a safety concern for the residents of this city. This homeless car park is an idea that has failed in many other places in the US. Now, many of the cities are being sued by the homeless when the city tries to clean up the homeless encampments. Even the Yavapai sheriffs are trying to clean out the national forest/county open land of the homeless due to rising crime, drug problems and violence. And since, by Sedona’s own admission, the homeless car park will be open to everyone, not just the working people living in their cars as you are trying to push, we have absolutely no way to vet everyone and have no clue as to who we are allowing to camp. You are putting not just the residents of this city, but the people who will be living in their cars, at potential risk.
We’re talking about a safe places for full time Sedona employees who happen to be homeless not every homeless person who walks through Sedona! Don’t confuse the two! Also, who exactly is going to pay to renovate, maintain and operate your magical free neighborhood concert ? Who will staff it and who will pay them? Where will they live? And where do you propose those Sedona employees who are homeless live in between providing you your daily services?
Bill Perhaps you forgot what you said at that council meeting: https://vimeo.com/931771575/9a7cf3fc99
Be sure to vote. We need new leadership that represents Sedona residents.
Seems to me Mayor Jablow has mustered a lot of contempt for the residents of Sedona, it’s time to sent him back to New York!
No one said anything about the concerts being free. Not sure where you got that.We would like to see professionals playing here, again, like Norah Jones. Professional concerts run by professional people. And we pay to attend, just like before.
I have been noticing more and more “FOR RENT” ads in the paper and online. The Air BNB market is on the decline, has been for 2 years now, and therefore rentals will be opening up to all.
Read the city documents on the homeless car park. It said it will be open to all as they cannot discriminate. I have read them. And Shannon Bream stated in the meetings that the park will be open to all.
“was enjoyable to sit outside of my home and listen to the music when I chose not to attend”
AKA- free concert
TJ Hall..you really have a thing about “free.” I paid for front row seats when it was someone I really wanted to see and hear up close. If not, I would sometimes sit on my deck for a few minutes to hear. Why is that such a problem for you?
It’s not a problem. Problem is putting a music venue over the well being of our cities un housed employees for personal pleasure! That’s the problem!
Mr. Noonans’s and his followers’ opposition to a ‘Safe Place to Park’ is not a mere disagreement but a stark contradiction, as seen in the Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/931771575/9a7cf3fc99.
Their expressed concerns conflict directly with their actual comments.
Mr. Noonans and his followers seem to prioritize the rebuilding of an event venue, which is of lesser urgency, over the pressing issue of public housing, which demands immediate attention.
If there was genuine concern about A Safe Place to Park, why did Mr. Noonans and his followers discuss rebuilding Culture Park when speaking to the city council? The park issues were not even on the public agenda.
Could there be a hidden agenda in opposing overnight parking?
Yes, Mr. Noonan made that statement. He said approval of this zoning change would undermine the rebuilding of a new event center.
The zoning change approved by the city council would have stopped any plans to build an outdoor event center next to much-needed future housing.
A Safe Place to Park was only a temporary solution to housing until the area could be developed into workforce housing.
Mr Noonan has taken action to bypass the recommendation of Pand Z and the city council, showing his lack of desire to work within the system.
Most Sedona Citizens do not want a new, rebuilt event center.
Voteno483, for more information. https://vimeo.com/931771575/9a7cf3fc99
The Cultural Park was a beautiful, wonderful thing! Sedona could not sustain it. Concerts rarely sold it out. It was a great place for Jazz On The Rocks, but that was only once a year. I miss it. Went to 80% of the concerts either as a paying customer or volunteering as an usher. Wish it were sustainable. Our little town can’t fill it and Phoenix folks were not to be counted on then. What makes anyone think they will suddenly make Sedona a weekly or even monthly destination for a musical event? They have plenty of choices without the 2-hour drive. We’d have to have a much wider variety of entertainment which may not always please the nearby residents. It was a gorgeous place for our High School graduations. Singing on that stage was an unforgettable experience. But, we can’t live in the past (which didn’t even work longterm). We need to move on. In the meantime, help Sedona’s workforce. Proof of local employment should be a prerequisite. It’s not discrimination. It’s an assistance that benefits Sedona employers and the residents and tourists who frequent those establishments. It needs to start there, and if manageable and successful, expansion to help more could be considered.
Very well put Jeanie C. Unfortunately those who oppose the safe park oppose the mere existence of the homeless employees of Sedona (and homeless in general) unless they serve them and then disappear from the face of the earth in between shifts. Even then, they’d prefer their own snooty kind were the ones serving them not some homeless deviant (in their simple minds). They also fail to answer the key questions about who is going to pay to upgrade, maintain and operate such a large venue? Who would staff it? Does Sedona hire outsiders at overinflated rates to do it or do they do it through local donors and sponsors and staff it with the unhoused employees the safe park was intended for? Who pays to have it and who reaps the profits if there are any which is highly unlikely to ever happen.
I’d love to have an Augusta Helicopter but it’s just not something I can do or afford just as a music venue of that magnitude is not something that would be worth investing in. Having a sustainable workforce is and should be and we won’t have that until AFFORDABLE housing is made available to Sedona’s workforce. The safe park was a baby step in the right direction but was blown all out of proportion by hysterical haters who would rather see the venue as a music venue fail and fail miserably over being humane, thoughtful and caring toward those who keep Sedona running on a daily basis!
Someone mentioned how more for rent signs are popping up because the BnB business is allegedly on the outs? Wouldn’t know it from the dozens of continuously occupied BnB’s in my neighborhood and even if it were true the going rate for a space in someone’s garage here with bare essentials is $2,500-$3,000 a month not including utilities. But those who live in Sedona’s castle’s don’t see nor do they care about what any of the common folk do or think so long as they have their music and services!
I can’t help but laugh at the moral crusaders and their sad, small attempts to shame folks opposed to the parking project at the cultural park. As much as they want to play bully, the self-righteous indignation is utterly meaningless beyond the time it wastes. But what is meaningful were the efforts to subvert the perfectly legal, perfectly legitimate referendum process. That’s what’s despicable and should be investigated more thoroughly. It has certainly motivated many of us to become far more engaged.
And it’s curious: why aren’t these same folks advocating for Safe Place to Park on their own properties? They already have bathroom facilities. I assume they trust their workers. If they expect their workers to sleep in cars, let’s see it in their parking lots first.
It’s one thing if the city wishes to provide services for the poor, it’s quite another to keep showering these companies with goodies: build them parking garages, expect their workers to sleep in cars, give them early access to town decision-making process where they dump on residents, and so on. Again, keep pretending you have some privileged moral position here. Keep pretending that you’re so much smarter than us. For me at least, it only strengthens my resolve. (Plus, I’m having a great time meeting and organizing with my neighbors. It’s really fun and enlightening.)
If you want me to trust your good intentions (especially after the outrageous revelations in RRN), the very least you can do is trust mine.
I’m curious why you think that the people who support a safe park for SEDONA’s unhoused employees (who also serve you) need to live on our properties rather than everyone doing their share by providing a safe park and subsequent affordable housing units? Why don’t you want to do your share? Oh yeah you’d rather have a couple of expensive concerts in a failed unsustainable music venue for a short period until it fails again and fails miserably $ ! Than to help those who serve your selfishness? Just sayin
Hi TJ,
I didn’t realize I wanted a music venue, but I thank you for the suggestion. I don’t attend a lot of shows so that’d be a bit out of character for me. I’ve heard several interesting ideas but haven’t really come to an opinion about potential long-term uses for this parcel of public property. Am I allowed to come to my own conclusion or do I have to choose yours?
Regardless, the reality is this: a referendum is happening. Even if your side wins, it’s going to be a long while before facilities could be constructed, policies and procedures enacted.
As a business owner, you sound very passionate about this cause. You want your employees to sleep in their cars in a safe-ish space. So it strikes me as odd that you aren’t advocating they park on your lot or on your personal property right now during this moment ahead of the referendum. You seem to believe it’s crisis so why not do this small deed right now? Be the shining example. Show us the way. Ya know, it also strikes me as odd that you aren’t advocating for a much higher minimum wage to give workers more choices. I’m happy to create a petition for it if you’ll gather the signatures.
Hey GeanieASS, wages aren’t the issue AFFORDABLE housing availability is. Also if you are against a safe park the likelihood is your are pro music venue vs pro humanity. Otherwise you have no point and are just muckraking!
Also love the diversion from your inhumanity and unwillingness to help others by suggesting a few residents should take in Sedona’s unhoused employees rather than accepting your part in the responsibility to our community and its success.
Great deflecting though!
If anyone actually attempted to support these unhoused employees on their own property you would have a shit fit about that too! So just be honest about that one!
If you don’t want a music venue what do you want? As JB so eloquently stated, “wages aren’t the issue Affordable Housing is.” So how would you fix that exactly?
And I can’t help but be ashamed that my fellow M’erican’s are so selfish and hateful toward our Un housed Sedona employees so much so that they’d rather waste money on a music venue that is a failed music venue just to keep our homless employees living out in the boonies without running water, AC, Heat, or electricity. Pretty damned shameful and pathetic! Nobody is pretending to be smarter than you people just are so you need to face that fact.
Hi JB,
You must have missed the RRN piece from earlier this week. Check it out. It has internal emails and the works. If the cruelty and unethical behavior don’t bother you, you might really enjoy the digs at people like me: an ignorant NIMBY according to one councilor for example.
Didn’t read it nor care to but thanks.
If you have been around long enough you know some of what said is true?
And if you read even more, you can see they lost the grant money to do it on state funds.
And why?
Because of people making a mountain over a temporary mole hill!
When the truth hurts, you are probably part of the problem.
I’ve yet to see truth come from RR News and that does hurt them not I. Thanks for playing.