City Council Recap

Below are the highlights of the January City Council meetings and some decisions that may interest you:

• On Jan. 14, 2025, City Council approved the annexation of approximately 3,422 acres of land including the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Dells, into the City’s jurisdictional boundaries. With the building of a Transit Maintenance and Operations Center on City-owned land near the Wastewater Treatment Plant and possibly future development of the Dells, it’s important to the City that these developments reside within City limits. If residential property is ever built at the Dells, those residents would have the right to vote in City elections. The annexed property outside of the Dells and the Wastewater Treatment Plant cannot be developed in the future due to ownership by the US Forest Service. Once the City has obtained the required number of signatures from the handful of entities owning assessed personal property in the area to be annexed, the City will file the annexation petition with the City Clerk and the Yavapai County Recorder. The final steps, anticipated to occur this Spring, are for the City to post notice of a public meeting regarding the annexation ordinance, and then for City Council to hold the public meeting and vote on the annexation petition.  
• On Jan. 14, 2025, City Council approved a professional services contract for the design of the Transit Maintenance and Operations Center on the Wastewater Treatment Plant property in an amount not-to-exceed $1,872,014, paid out in fiscal year 2025 and 2026. $720,000 of this cost will be paid for in grant funds from the Federal Transit Administration.
• On Jan. 14, 2025, City Council adopted new fees to build new residential and commercial construction which increased current fees by an average of 137% beginning March 31, 2025. Development Impact Fees (DIFs) are one-time charges applied to new development in order that new growth will pay its fair share of infrastructure improvements needed to provide municipal services, and to ensure that existing residents and businesses are not unduly burdened to pay for improvements and services needed to accommodate new development. Read about the new fees starting on packet page 48 in the Jan. 14 Council agenda.
• On Jan. 15, 2025, City Council received an update on the Wastewater Reclamation Plant Facility Plan. The plan is evaluating capacity needs at the wastewater reclamation plant to ensure we have adequate infrastructure to treat wastewater as flows increase. The plan is evaluating different treatment options for removing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from wastewater. Additionally, the plan is evaluating options for disposing our treated effluent including reclaimed water delivery to parks for irrigation and additional treatment of the effluent to be used as a potable water source. Council directed the Wastewater Department to return in six-months to give a progress report on development of evaluation criteria and ranking for the options presented and additional discussion on water policy.
• On Jan. 28, 2025, City Council approved a subdivision request for 60 condominiums, (30 duplexes) on 4.5 acres at 10 Navajo Drive (Navajo Lofts Project currently under construction). These market-rate condominiums will not allow short-term rentals but will allow the developer to sell and rent the duplexes, whereas before they were only allowed to rent them.
• On Jan. 28, 2025, City Council approved a resolution awarding the Fiber Optic Network Partnership - Request For Information (RFI) to Allo Communications to endorse them as Sedona’s preferred Internet Service Provider (ISP) for the purpose of increasing their chances at being picked by the State of Arizona for Broadband Equity and Access Deployment (BEAD) funding to install broadband in city limits in the coming years. 
• On Jan. 28, 2025, City Council approved a purchase agreement to acquire a 1.8 acre commercially zoned property at 2411 W. SR 89A in an amount not-to-exceed $1,990,000 plus closing costs. This City plans to use this property for an upcoming affordable workforce/multi-family housing development.

• On Jan. 29, 2025, City Council held a work session to develop a regional response to addressing homelessness in the Verde Valley. Service providers, regional municipalities and agencies attended the meeting to discuss their services and how to enhance collaboration for those in need. Next steps include mapping and gap analysis of area services, development of a regional response to address coordination of services to vulnerable populations and discussion of potential funding moving forward. An additional work session will be forthcoming.

Did You Know

… that our newest transit service, Sedona Shuttle Connect, launched at the end of August 2024 and has been getting rave reviews, as residents and visitors discover how easy and economical it is to use?! Learn more by reading the 3-month report card.

You may have heard that building standards for parking structures changed during the design phase of the Uptown Parking Garage Project. This new regulation requires the garage to have additional water capacity for the onsite fire suppression system. Rest assured, the team of architects, planners and engineers are aware of the updates and the Parking Garage will meet all water flow regulations and requirements. Project review was made by several outside agencies, such as Sedona Fire District, and progress on this project will continue as projected.

We handled the regulation change as we would with any project moving through the review process, in that City Staff made sure that the design met the new regulations and in building the project, it will be constructed as the plans specify.

 Events

• Save the date! Our next artist reception at City Hall will be held on Thursday, February 6 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm. This reception will feature 75 paintings created by Carol Benally that will be on display through April 24. Award-winning Chapman Stick player Michael Kollwitz will be the special musical event for the evening.
• Join our Sustainability team and Sedona Recycles for a free educational recycling workshop on Wednesday, February 12, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Community Library Sedona.

• Plan to attend our next community meeting for the Western Gateway Master Plan on Wednesday, February 19 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Sedona Performing Arts Center. 

News

• Watch our 2024 Accomplishments video! Our City Manager Anette Spickard provides highlights of staff accomplishments, from the Forest Road Connection to the Dry Creek Shared-Use Path and everything in between. 
• The City of Sedona seeks applicants for one vacant seat on the Planning and Zoning Commission, apply today!
• Check out the new 2024 Community Report for an overview of all City accomplishments in 2024!

• Take a 10-minute online survey by February 23rd to provide input on potential projects for consideration in our budget process. Topics include the development of a creek walk, land acquisition for affordable housing and more. Take the survey at www.sedonaaz.gov/budgetsurvey.

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