The Sedona City Council has authorized the $1.5M purchase of 1.1 acres to be used for workforce affordable housing. The property, located along Shelby Drive, is part of the Sunset Live/Work Community Focus Area Plan, a guideline for future development geared toward housing diversity, walkability and other planning concerns.
$810K came from the affordable housing fund, and $690K was moved from the budget for a parking garage that is currently on hold. Mayor Scott Jablow said the transfer will not impact the garage timeline when that project eventually moves forward.
The workforce affordable housing site lies next to a recycling plant and storage facility on the west side of town. Rezoning to residential will be required before construction can start. The City’s goal is the creation of 30 units that will be exclusively available for people who work inside the city limits.
There are two other workforce affordable developments on the books in Sedona. The first, Sunset Lofts, will deliver 46 units upon completion. Another parcel next to City Hall will bring another 22.
City officials are trying to match developers and local housing groups that help find housing for those in need.
Another recent purchase by the City—the $20M acquisition of the 41-acre Sedona Cultural Park—is also planned to have a workforce affordable housing component. The cultural park site had been mostly unused for 20 years.
No plan is in place for the site yet, but officials want to include a variety of affordable housing components.
A series of meetings is planned about uses for Sedona Cultural Park, and members of the public have come out both in support and in opposition. A contingent of Sedona residents typically oppose multifamily development in general, and workforce affordable plans can draw considerable outcry.
Opponents of using Sedona Cultural Park had suggested building workforce affordable units in a 200-acre outside the city limits known as The Dells, which is across from Sedona’s wastewater treatment plant.
That land, however, is used to return water from the plant into the aquifer.
Opposition generally stems from the NIMBY effect, in which residents do not want the developments near their own properties. Mayor Jablow has expressed hopes that since the cultural park sits on the far west side of town with few homes nearby, it will be more palatable to residents. (Source)