Sedona planning commission backs Land Development Code changes limiting private sport courts, sends recommendation to council

The City of Sedona Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6–1 on March 18 to recommend that City Council adopt Land Development Code revisions regulating private sport courts such as pickleball, tennis and basketball courts.

City staff introduced the code changes as a response to City Council direction given last October. Keri Myers, City staff, told the commission the amendments would allow private sport courts as an accessory use but add setbacks, limit a single-family property to one court, prohibit temporary or permanent lighting of courts and establish conditions under which a reduced setback could be considered.

The vote capped a public hearing that drew three speakers and lengthy commissioner discussion focused on noise, proximity to homes, enforcement and the potential for short-term-rental (STR) operators to install courts. Robert Pifke, a Sedona resident who said he also serves on the Tourism Advisory Board, told commissioners a recent STR owner installed a court near a neighbor’s property line and argued the city should “stop it before it happens.” Pifke said investors could add courts to STRs to increase revenue and that a Change.org petition opposing courts gathered more than 475 local signatures.

Becky Hoefer, a homeowner who said a neighbor intends to build a court near her property, urged stricter rules and requested additional requirements including required permits with plans, engineering sound assessments, drainage…