SEDONA — The City Council overturned the approval of a proposed resort development along Oak Creek on Tuesday night, approving appeals filed by residents who claimed the development would have negative effects on the environment.
The 4-3 vote, taken at the end of a nearly six-hour meeting, kills the project in its current state.
“We’re very happy with the outcome,” said Mark TenBroek, a member of Sedona Residents Unite, one of the project’s opponents. “I thought we had a good chance, but I had always thought it would be a very difficult decision to win.”
The council heard arguments from developer R.D. Olson, both appealing groups and members of the audience in what was, at times, a heated meeting.
Two security guards stood near the entrance of the council chambers after repeated disruptions from the audience. One opponent suggested the developer had trespassed after the R.D. Olson team showed photos of the outside of a home as part of a presentation to prove multistory buildings already exist near the river.
Several times, Sedona Mayor Scott Jablow suggested an audience member should leave if they disrupted further.
Councilmembers who voted to overturn the project said it conflicted with the city’s development guidelines, arguing the proposed Oak Creek Heritage Lodge did not do enough to minimize environmental impacts, address concerns over creating traffic or ensure emergency vehicles such as fire trucks would have adequate access to the property.
Riparian areas:Sedona residents are appealing a new resort development near Oak Creek
Oak Creek Heritage Lodge was planned for an 11.5-acre site just south of uptown Sedona along Oak Creek, on Schnebly Hill Road. The project was unanimously approved by Sedona’s Planning and Zoning Commission in April but was appealed by two groups, Sedona Residents Unite and residents of Bear Wallows Lane.
Opponents claimed the development would be environmentally harmful to the area around Oak Creek and was inconsistent with the city’s land development code.
Residents were concerned with the effect of the development on the area’s ecosystem. The region is riparian, an ecosystem located along a body of water. These riparian areas are rare, making up only 0.5% of Sedona. The site is a source of water for deer, javelina, coyote and bobcat. It’s also a designated critical habitat for two threatened species, the narrow-headed garter snake and the yellow-billed cuckoo.
“There is significant environmental impact in basically scraping the ground, not preserving the riparian area, soils and native vegetation and wildlife habitat,” Councilor Brian Fultz said.
The site is located in the Schnebly Community Focus Area, nearly 100 acres of private land with a set of development goals and guidelines. The Schnebly area calls for development to retain rural character, support nonresidential uses and protect the river environment along Oak Creek.
It permits lodging like small designer hotels, bed and breakfasts, cottages, bungalows and cabins and the plan outlines development should preserve the riparian corridor, with “hillsides, open fields, and a variety of modestly scaled buildings.”
Mayor Jablow argued the development plans did not meet this definition.
The project would include 70 rooms and amenities including a pool, restaurant, spa, meeting space and employee housing. Like the nearby L’Auberge de Sedona resort, the resort would be made up of several clusters of lodging buildings with separate structures for amenities.
Some of the buildings included in the plan are multiple stories and several thousand square feet.
“That’s not a cabin, and that’s not modest in my point of view,” Jablow said.
Councilmembers also questioned if the 90 parking spaces planned by the development company would be enough to accommodate hotel guests, visitors and attendees at weddings and events while still allowing enough access for emergency vehicles.
Traffic near the Oak Creek site is already a “horror show” without an emergency, said Vice Mayor Holli Ploog.
Sedona resident John Martinez, who was in favor of the development, felt the council’s decision was based more on feelings than facts. He said he supported the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
“They have better knowledge than what the council people have,” he said.
Jablow said the developers could refile under a different project, but he said he anticipates they will sue.
Representatives from R.D. Olson declined to comment on the vote.