By Carl Jackson
Sedona News – Over 60 Sedona residents gathered at the Sedona Elks Lodge on Airport Road on July 20, 2023 to discuss how to solve the high number of short-term rentals in this small tourist town. Short-term rentals, or STRs, are homes rented for less than 30 days.
The gathering was hosted by Susan Edwards from the Arizona Neighborhood Alliance, a volunteer organization from Maricopa County working to protect Arizona’s neighborhoods. According to the Arizona Neighborhood Alliance website Arizona has over 65,000 STRs.
Virtually the entire Sedona City Council was also in attendance for this neighborhood meeting including Mayor Scott Jablow, Vice Mayor Holli Ploog, Councilor Jessica Williamson, Councilor Brian Fultz, and Councilor Melissa Dunn.
Some of the city councilors lamented the loss of local city control that has come with laws such as Arizona Senate Bill 1350 that states “A city or town may not prohibit vacation rentals or short-term rentals…based solely on their classification, use or occupancy.”
According to Susan Edwards, the purported purpose of the 2016 bill was to fast-track Arizona into the “sharing economy” and protect property rights, but some believe it was more about increasing state tax revenue ($961 million for STRs in 2022) and arm twisting from powerful lobbying groups like the Goldwater Institute and the Arizona Association of Realtors.
Although STRs can raise home values for mostly absentee owners they have created less affordability, and a lower quality of life for those that call Sedona home. Said one resident, Carol Gandolfo, “We don’t have neighborhoods anymore”, echoing the views of many in attendance.
As background, Sedona has a housing stock of about 6,500 homes of which 1,100 are short term rentals. According to Councilor Williamson, this 17% density is one of the highest in Arizona.
The city has labored to pass state legislation that would cap short term rentals in Sedona while still allowing owner-occupied STRS. But to no avail. According to Mayor Jablow Sedona’s proposed HB 2711 did not make it to the House floor.
There is one glimmer of hope, however, that Mayor Jablow supports, which is an Arizona Ballot Initiative. “But the city council can’t be involved in the initiative. It has to come from citizens, and it is a huge amount of work and cost… but I think it’s our best chance because it doesn’t have to go through the legislature.”
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9 Comments
It seems to me the problem is not locals renting a portion of their house. Rather investment firms buying up all available property and turning it into STRs.
A little discernment is needed IMHO.
https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2022/02/15/investment-firms-take-aim-at-short-term-rentals/
I think the intent was for someone to be able to rent out a room to provide supplementary income. As long as it is their primary residence I think that is OK.
What evolved is people buying up houses and turning them into mini hotels, which also changed residential areas into commercial hotel zoning. It also eliminated moderately priced rental housing, leading to more commuters.
Solution, you can only rent ONE room in your PRIMARY RESIDENCE, unless your HOA prohibits short term rentals. If you need the money bad enough to have strangers in your home, that is your choice. Making my neighborhood into a transient hotel zone, not OK.
Being a local and owning an Airbnb in Sedona has allowed our family to grow financially. It’s lead to other businesses we have created and jobs for others. People never think of the positives that STRs bring. Sedona has always been a vacation town.
Every Air B&B removes an inexpensive rental from housing inventory. With that rental gone housing for workers is gone also and they must commute thereby increasing traffic. The so called jobs created just made more traffic.
Every Air B&B helps further destroy a once residential neighborhood, now populated by strangers.
Sedona was a spiritual town, with more churches per capita than any other place. Now it is a traffic clogged tourist trap. But jobs !!!
Sedona does not have more churches per capita than any other! There a many other cities like Sterling Heights MI and Birmingham AL that have far more and most are “mega churches”. Yes Sedona has too many because one is actually enough if used by all faiths on a schedule like they do in Israel. Isn’t faith about a story rather than a fancy building, car or clothing that tend to be competitive items for church goers?
Sedona was a ranching town followed by a filming industry town. Don’t recall reading about it being a town of faith. The way most Sedona residents act toward their fellow Americans struggling to survive is quite un Christian like and appalling in general.
” Struggling to survive !”
Translation: Who cares about traffic or your quality of life, I’m trying to make money here !!
If you were Christian you would just turn the other cheek as I bulldozed your house for my parking lot. After all, I’m struggling to survive !
Fortunately I don’t subscribe to your cult of personalities nor your faith so I turn my cheeks to you eternally as a “good faith” gesture. Hope that brightens your day!
Some peoples God is money.
I’ve noticed a few things, no one gets out alive and you can’t take it with you. No matter how big a pile of money you make in 3 generations it is gone, that is if you were generous enough to have children.
If you destroy a beautiful place, deny religion and are motivated solely by money, many religion’s have stated there will be consequences. But you don’t believe “Fortunately I don’t subscribe to your cult of personalities nor your faith “.
Personally, I believe in God, I think we should try to leave the world a better place for us having lived. We should love one another. Even the greedy fools.
But we shouldn’t let the greedy fools run rampant.
I agree with you on the greedy people. I didn’t say I don’t have faith, a faith of my own. I’ve seen what the three prominent faiths have done to the world and mankind first hand-through war, greed, hate, fascism, racism, communism, capitalism, poverty, oppression and ignorance!