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Sedona council annexes about 3,422 acres including wastewater treatment plant; ordinance passes 6-1
Summary
The Sedona City Council adopted an ordinance annexing roughly 3,422 acres — including the city wastewater treatment plant and adjacent city-owned parcel known as The Dells — into city limits, and initially zoned the land RS-35 and RS-70. Council approved the measure by a 6-1 vote.
The Sedona City Council voted to adopt an ordinance annexing approximately 3,422 acres, including the city wastewater treatment plant and adjacent city-owned property called The Dells, into the city's corporate limits.
City staff presented the ordinance during the council's regular meeting and described initial zoning assignments that will apply when the annexation becomes effective in roughly 30 days. The council approved the ordinance by a recorded outcome described in the meeting as one opposed and the remainder in favor.
The annexed area was initially assigned two city residential zoning categories, RS-35 and RS-70, under the ordinance as presented. Kurt (city staff) told the council that a small portion adjacent to the Cultural Park will be zoned RS-35 (about one unit per acre under county mapping), while the larger remainder will be zoned RS-70 under city standards. He said the city's RS-70 uses a 70,000-square-foot minimum lot size, whereas the county's comparable standard is 87,120 square feet, and the ordinance adopts a hybrid that aligns the parcels to the city's code at annexation.
Kurt said that much of the annexation area cannot be immediately developed because the land includes Arizona Department of Transportation property and Coconino National Forest land. "It won't necessarily remain RS-70 with that minimum lot size for forever," Kurt said, adding that the council is free to rezone parcels later, and that the city might seek a rezoning for portions of the annexed land if the wastewater plant expansion or a maintenance operations facility moves forward.
The ordinance was read into the record as "ordinance number 20 25 dash 0 3. 0 3" during the meeting. Kurt said the annexation would take effect in about 30 days but that the exact effective date would be double-checked before final publication.
Staff also said the city plans to relocate or add city limit signage near Lower Red Rock Loop Road and on State Route 89A at the wastewater treatment plant to reflect the new boundary.
Votes at the meeting were taken after a motion to adopt the ordinance and a second. The council's roll call earlier in the meeting recorded the mayor and six councilors as present; when the vote was taken the council indicated one negative vote and the remainder in favor. The ordinance will become effective after the statutorily required waiting period for annexations unless the city clerk's subsequent notice sets a different date.
Next steps described by staff include publishing the ordinance and, in future proceedings, considering any rezoning requests tied to city facility needs such as a maintenance operations site.
