By Michael Yarbrough, Sedona Resident
(November 22, 2019)
Editor,
I have become aware that there are two massive residential/commercial developments that have been proposed on property between Sedona and Cottonwood along 89A. These developments would start from Spring Creek Ranch Road and would be adjacent to each other. Together these projects could add 10,000 people to the area and have a devastating impact on our ability to enjoy living in this area and also on the natural environment including our water supply and natural resources.
Spring Creek Ranch seeks to become a Planned Area Development with the ability to add 1900 Manufactured Home lots, 500 Recreational Vehicle sites and other rental units and assisted living. Villa Bellaggio also seeks PAD designation and seeks to add hotel units, homes, rentals, condominiums. They also envision shops, galleries, winery, offices, lakes and parks.
I am not opposed to development. This land is zoned residential and efforts have been made to develop a residential community on these parcels. That is what the community and zoning board determined was the best use of this land. We should all voice our concerns about these PAD requests to Yavapai County as soon as possible. It is essential to preserve our are and curtail unbridled increases in density and overuse of our limited resources.
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1 Comment
Warning both of these projects present real probems for the Verde Valley.
Villa Bellagio is unrealistic and not likely to go anywhere so I will focus my comments on Spring Ranch.
Spring Ranch plan seems to be to build another town in the Verde Valley with an emphasis on manufactured homes. If you have the notion that workers will occupy most of these 1900 manufactured homes, instead of retirees, I respectly suggest that this is mere wishful thinking. Younger workers usually have families and need more space than a manufactured home. More likely these manufactured homes will be occupied by retirees on limited incomes, sometimes just social security, who wlll not likely own the land on which their homes are built. Such retirees are subject to increases in land rent. We have examples in America of such rents being raised regularly to the point where residents had to leave because they could not afford the increased cost of land rent or even have the money to relocate the manufactured home they paid for. They lost their homes. The developer, or whomever the developer sold the development to, then owned the homes as well as the land. Tne developer or his (her)successor could then resell the home to another and the cycle begins again.
This is just one concern of several that needs to be outed.
Paul Chevalier
.This is not an answer to our need for affordable housing for workers and their families.