Commission hears master‑plan refinements for Western Gateway; commissioners favor flexible, phased approach and community benefits

The Sedona Planning and Zoning Commission held a work session on May 20 to review refinements to the Western Gateway Master Plan (case PZ25‑000004). City staff and the project team presented revised conceptual layouts, updated development capacity tests and a potential phasing approach; commissioners gave direction favoring Option 2’s layout and emphasized flexibility on unit counts, community benefits and transportation connectivity.

Jay Hicks (Dig Studio) and project team members presented two refined plan options and “test fits” assessing how units, parking and open space could be configured. The updated materials show a range of possible development capacity depending on building height and parking assumptions: under the existing multifamily code (approximately 20 units per acre, two stories typical) the gross capacity was calculated in the hundreds; the team also showed higher‑intensity test fits (3–4 story portions) that produced larger theoretical maxima. Jay stressed these were capacity tests and offered phasing scenarios so buildout could proceed incrementally over a 10–15 year horizon.

Key plan refinements presented:

- A larger consolidated community benefit parcel near the trailhead (blocks 1/2/10 in the presentation) that could be held for a recreation center, park, or other public/civic uses rather than immediately developed for housing. - Two alternative street alignments through the site; one preserves parcel consolidation for a larger civic parcel, the other distributes blocks differently. - A mix of housing types in the test fits (townhomes, garden‑style apartments, and 3–4 story multifamily) and varying parking strategies (surface parking versus structured parking) to balance open space, connectivity and parking demand. - Ideas for enhanced active‑transportation corridors and potential transit routing through the campus to connect 89A, the trailhead and internal parks.

Commissioners supported the concept of keeping flexibility in the master plan to allow market‑driven choices at the time of development rather than setting inflexible minimum unit counts. Several commissioners said they favor Option 2 (which places lower‑scale townhomes toward the SR 89A frontage and concentrates larger multifamily farther from the highway) because it provides stronger neighborhood edges and enlarged consolidated community benefit space adjacent to the Western Gateway Trailhead. Commissioners requested the plan allow a range of building heights while preserving view corridors and recommended further study of massing and cross sections so taller buildings are integrated with the site topography.

Commissioners also asked staff to consider policies or RFP language that would support workforce housing goals on the site (for example, specifying AMI targets in developer proposals) and to explore parking strategies such as structured parking to reduce surface lots and increase net open space. Several commissioners recommended proactive community activation through a neighborhood park plus a larger community park or rec center, and they discussed options for placing cultural uses (the Sedona Film Festival and a proposed Fine Art Museum of Sedona were mentioned during public comment) on fronting mixed‑use parcels where access and visibility are favorable.

Public comment was robust and divided. Supporters urged active reuse of the cultural park for community amenities such as an amphitheater, a film festival venue, a museum, and recreation programming. Multiple commenters opposed high‑density housing and four‑story buildings on the cultural park parcel and voiced concern about traffic, loss of open space, and the site’s visual character. One speaker said residents are preparing a ballot initiative to preserve the cultural park as public open space and cultural use (speakers stated intent to circulate a petition; legal constraints on zoning by initiative were later noted in commission discussion). Several cultural organizations, including a newly described Fine Art Museum of Sedona and the Sedona Film Festival representative (mentioned earlier in the process), said they wish to be considered for mixed‑use cultural space on the fronting parcels along 89A.

Staff said next steps will include further public outreach, revisions to the draft master plan to reflect feedback, and preparation of refinements for a future public hearing; the draft plan remains available for public comment on the city’s PlanSedona web page. Commissioners asked that the team include refined massing visuals, clearer cross‑sections and a stronger strategy for multimodal connections across SR 89A (including discussion points that would be shared with ADOT). No formal commission vote or binding decision was taken at the work session; staff will bring revised language and visual materials back for subsequent review.