Supervisors table Whispering Canyon Phase 11 final plat after resident safety, traffic and process concerns

The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors on March 5 voted to table the final-plat approval of Whispering Canyon Phase 11 — a proposed subdivision of 53 single‑family lots on roughly 61 acres — until its April 2 meeting so staff and applicants can answer outstanding questions about traffic, slope setbacks and neighborhood communications.

Becca Sierrakis, a planner in Development Services, told the board the application is a continuation of a planned-area development (PAD) that was originally approved in 2001. Phase 11 would add 53 lots, bringing the PAD total closer to its approved maximum of 400 lots; the PAD already includes multiple prior phases and centralized water and wastewater provided by Inscription Canyon water and sanitary districts.

Why it mattered to supervisors: Supervisor Kuchnio and other board members said the project raised several unresolved, community‑safety questions — most prominently traffic and emergency egress on Williamson Valley Road and the internal street widths proposed under an older county standard (20-foot travel way with 2‑foot shoulders). Neighbors said Williamson Valley Road has become far busier in recent years and that more study is needed of traffic and turnouts before additional residential density is added.

Public comment and key concerns: Several area residents submitted written comments and three spoke at the meeting. George Thornburg, who said he moved to the area five years ago, urged an environmental review, expressed concern about wildlife displacement and questioned notification practices for nearby property owners. Thornburg said mail notice had not reached many neighbors and encouraged the board to delay the application.

Another resident who was not present but whose letter was read to the board reported construction work and a grading cut that she said left a steep embankment above her property; she also reported harassing email language from the developer’s representative. Supervisor Kuchnio said he wanted the applicant and staff to answer why the embankment was constructed without a guardrail and to review the exchanges the resident submitted.

Technical issues raised at the hearing: Public Works Director Roger McCormick said the PAD and earlier plats were approved under a 2001 county standard (Resolution 1036) that called for narrower local private streets than today’s collector standards. McCormick said the interior, low‑volume streets in this PAD are to be built to the earlier local‑street dimensions (20-foot travel lane with two-foot shoulders) and that the Inscription Canyon-sanitary district expects to provide required fire flows via hydrants.

Planner Sierrakis reported the project had three letters of opposition posted on the county portal, mostly citing additional traffic on Amsellem/Williamson Valley Road. Staff recommended approval pending conditions and technical corrections; the board chose to table the matter to allow time for follow-up with applicants and neighbors.

Board action and next steps: The board voted unanimously to table the item to the April 2 meeting. County staff said a one‑month continuance would allow staff to gather the traffic, drainage and communications clarifications requested by the supervisors and to confer with Public Works, Fire District staff and the applicant. The applicant’s engineer, Scott Lyon of Lyon Engineering, said wastewater effluent is reused in the adjacent golf course but deferred other water‑reuse specifics to the Inscription Canyon sanitary district.

Ending: The board did not deny the plat; it postponed a decision to ensure the county addresses outstanding resident safety and notification concerns and to give staff time to report back with technical clarifications on roadway widths, trail access and slope protections.