By Stephen DeVol, Publisher
Sedona AZ (November 25, 2018) – Take a drive down the hill on Highway 89a about 2.5 miles south of Sedona and look to your right and you will see El Rojo Grande Ranch. It’s the open riparian area just before Sedona Shadows Manufactured Home Park. El Rojo Grande has been sold and the new owners, who also own Sedona Shadows, are requesting a zone change to allow them to build a 688 space mobile home and RV park on the 172 acre site. El Rojo Grande is located outside the Sedona City limits and part is in the flood plain.
This application seeks to rezone (change the zoning map for the subject site) from the existing RCU-2A and R1L-70 zoning designations to PAD in order to develop Rojo Grande Sedona.
Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches, or its romance.
– Theodore Roosevelt
In 1907, in a message to Congress, archconservative Teddy Roosevelt issued this dictum: “To waste, to destroy, our natural sources, to skin, and exhaust the land …will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought to hand down to them amplified.”
The public is invited to comment by December 11, 2018. Visit www.ElRojoGrandeSedona.com for a more complete and comprehensive report on the proposed project. There the reader will find photos and videos and the scope of this project will be found. Most importantly it is here that hearing dates and directions on how to get involved can be found.
Dec. 20 meeting @ 9am. Agenda will available exactly 1 week before on Dec. 13. This will be the first “Work Session” that the county has ever held. There will be no public comment, and they will not be agendized for a decision, as they will need a public hearing prior to decision. There are 2 other zoning matters that will be discussed by P&Z before Rojo Grande. After the presentation, the whole Commission will be transported to the Ranch for a site visit. (We believe that is still considered a public meeting, so the public could not be excluded from that site visit).
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8 Comments
Hi Steve —-
Just a quick clarification —– The property is currently in escrow and not SOLD yet —- The escrow is in the “pending – take back up” stage. The buyers are doing their “due diligence” —-
Thanks–
Christine
Well, here we go again. Sedona staking a claim in county property. As with Red Rock Crossing, there is no legal jurisdiction. I recently received an email from a Sedona NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) resident requesting support to stop the planned development at El Rojo Grande Ranch.
While I have yet to decide how I feel, as a Yavapai County resident, I would like to learn more about the affordability of the proposed units, their water and sewer accessibility and rates, entrance and exit requirements off SR89A and induced traffic study.
I wish, however, Sedona would concern themselves with whether or not this would be a viable community to house their underpaid and uninsured workers and would reduce turnover rates to add to their bottom line and allow for possible employee benefits.
I am also surprised that the anxiety of added traffic and pollution are an issue of Sedona’s concern, when they continue to permit excessive lodging structures inviting people with little to no regard for its infrastructure.
Where is the outcry to finally ban polystyrene from being sold and used in Sedona? Where is the comprehensive recycling program? Where is the demand that lodging units equipped with kitchens add their share of revenue to the infrastructure they experience, since they can avoid restaurant taxes while enjoying no grocery tax?
Where was the concern about putting their sewerage in Yavapai County to avoid the stench of their waste? I live on Oak Creek – the ducks and other water fowl were not complaining of a lack of landing or gathering areas. With the sewer plant, they have just moved a over a little, making it more convenient for a few humans to observe them.
I guess I am curious as to why Sedona has yet to address myriad issues within its city limits and chooses instead to express loud concern over plans outside their island.
Very well put. As always, Sedona acts concerned, yet always allows retailers and tourists to expand, with little to no regard for the people who reside permanently or semi permanently in Sedona.
Traffic is a perfect example. I agree that recycling is not a priority
With “keep Sedona beautiful” .
Thom,
You are sounding a little parochial, my friend. Why should I care what happens to the Sedona Center of Yavapai College? I happen to live in and pay taxes to support Coconino County and Coconino Community College. Yes, some of us do care about what happens in other parts of the Verde Valley, and by extension, even in other parts of Arizona, such as perhaps uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
I find your first statement a little “expansive”. Sedona has no plan to “stake a claim” on Yavapai County property. In fact, Yavapai County sent the city a request to comment on the impacts to Sedona. Comments without legal jurisdiction are generally still allowed in our fragile democratic institutions. City of Sedona City Council allows public comments at council meetings from folks living in the Village of Oak Creek, Cornville, Flagstaff or frankly from anywhere. We would hope that other jurisdictions would offer the same courtesy, since “we are all in this together”, and there are many effects, especially those pesky environmental ones, that do not respect artificial borders.
Regarding your valid concern over affordable housing:
Folks, this is an age 55+ delimited community, and the vast majority of the people we need to help are not in that age bracket. Further, I briefly studied costs that will be involved to “move in”. You’ll need a double-wide manufactured home for $50-$110,000 (only 2 manufacturers in Arizona). See: https://www.thehomesdirect.com/blog/average-cost-of-a-manufactured-home. Then you have to transport it to Sedona from Chandler (at least). You have to build stem walls, plumbing and electrical connections and have it set into place. By the time you add taxes, insurance, heating and cooling (not super insulated) water, sewer and electricity you are up to an annual cost with the $900 monthly site rental fee (way low, because that was based upon infrastructure construction costs at Sedona Shadows about 25 years ago) of about $22,000. Typical bank loan ratios limit housing to no more than 30-35% of your income. So, you’re going to need age 55+ income of about $66-70,000 (conservatively). That leaves out teachers, most city staff except Dept. Heads, and certainly none of the various lodging, resort, or retail staff. So even if there were a cadre of folks that this parameter fit, the State of Arizona prohibition against discrimination based upon investment use, such as a short-term rental, is applicable to counties as well as cities – so we have the same elements at work, except for 13% more people on our roads and trails. Guess who’s police and fire will get called to respond to a problem 2.5 miles from city limits.
The winners in this Planned Area Development appear to be the owner/developer and Yavapai County (property taxes). The folks left with the challenges created (and no additional funding) are the residents of Sedona. Remember, there are a variety of uses that may better fit this property on Arizona Dry Creek Scenic Road. We oppose this most objectionable use!
Thom, regarding a number of your other comments, I agree with you on many; others, the State of Arizona has preempted cities from regulating, and some concerns are currently under study such as… a variety of commercial uses and their sewer fees structured accordingly.
A correction I can add to Christine’s (above) is that the development is now planned for 600, 50′ X 70″ manufactured homesites, and 50 RV plots closest to and visible from 89A “Dry Creek Scenic Road”. Mmmmmm – wonderful!
Thom,
First of all, why not spell your name correctly!
Anyway Thom, I have rarely agreed with anything you ever said and this time is no exception. Everybody wants to “cash in” on the Sedona name so that is probably why they do not build somewhere else (Cornville for example -nice little place), or the parts of Cottonwood already zoned and not built.
I do not see that Sedona citizens have no right to comment, and like Ernie said Yavapai County has already asked Sedona to comment.
Bill Eich
Speaking of cashing in, are you going to have any more tent sales in Sedona like you used to have ?
1. My name is what it is
2. Everyone already has cashed in on Sedona’s name
3. My point was for Sedona to take care of its issues – both counties
4. One person’s recycles is another’s trash
5. I appreciate that Yavapai County offered Sedona Council to weigh in
6. If traffic is going to be a driving issue, (pun intended) why didn’t Sedona Council stop the plethora of timeshares that contribute nearly nothing financially while straining the infrastructure and, along with the continuing of permits for new motels, added more traffic than locals could muster
7. Sedona, in my humble opinion, it seems, could benefit by negotiating with the developers and supply some affordable housing and remove the 55+ restriction. By the way, in response to a 55+ community being proposed, not all people retire at 55 and i would venture some are working in Sedona.
8. The owner of the vacant property where our art shows were held removed to build a motel that the city approved – neither of which it seems had the best interest of visitors and the arts community at heart
9. A simple solution might be for another party to buy the property – maybe build a cultural park or something
Please go to the website http://www.elrojograndesedona.com to learn about the 179 acres of lands being considered by Yavapai County for rezoning. Letters to support and allow the development or to oppose the zoning change need to be received by Yavapai County December 11th. Emails should be addressed to tammy.dewitt@yavapai.us with the Subject line: Regarding El Rojo Grande Ranch and include YOUR NAME and YOUR ADDRESS in the email.
There are three additional departments in Arizona that need to hear specifically from the citizens regarding this project – ADOT for Traffic; Water and Sewer Departments. Please send your letters out in triplicate.
ADOT c/o Please send your email through the public relations office email address: mkirby@azdot.gov
Dept. of Water Resource : communications@azwater.gov
or Assured and Adequate Water Supply Staff Manager David McKay dmckay@azwater.gov
David Dunaway
Groundwater Protection and Water Reuse Value Streams Manager
Water Quality Division
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
1110 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
(602) 771-6176
dwd@azdeq.gov
Finally, a statement that needs to be clarified is that we learned that the County does not take into account: Water, Sewer, and Traffic. ” That is mostly true, although they are part of the discussion and of great interest to our communities. The State is in charge of Water, and therefore under the purview of Arizona Department of Water Resources. The Department of Transportation is in charge of traffic in this case since the roads within this proposed development are private and the primary road that accesses this development belongs to the State of Arizona, Highway 89A. And finally Sewer is under the control of Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. As long as those entities are satisfied with the programs or infrastructure being proposed by the developer than the County will not rely on those issues to either accept or deny an application.”
Please do write your letters of concern, Karin
It is exciting to see residents of the Sedona area taking interest in the potential development at El Rojo Grande Ranch. With much misinformation circulating about the proposed plan, those interested in learning more about the project are encouraged to visit http://www.RojoGrandeSedona.com for factual information about the community.
Among the details on the site that may be of interest: Nearly half the property will be set aside as open space, the development will preserve the existing natural washes, generous setbacks from State Route 89A are allotted, and substantial testing has found the acquifer and existing site well have adequate water supply. Plenty more information about the community and homes is available on the site as a reference to all.
–Rod Jarvis
Zoning Counsel for Equity LifeStyles