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Sedona plans regional preapproved housing library to speed permitting under state law
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Summary
Staff proposed creating a Verde Valley preapproved housing plan library under SB 15 92 with design competitions to seed high‑quality ADU, single‑family, duplex and triplex plans; council discussed fee waivers, permit turnaround benefits and links to local land‑use code changes.
City planning staff told the Sedona City Council they plan to comply with state requirements for preapproved housing plans (SB 15 92) by creating a regional Verde Valley plan library and running design competitions to seed high‑quality plans.
Tony said the city will pursue a program (Option B under the statute) that allows designers to submit plans to a shared library to streamline permitting. Staff proposed four design competitions—one for each plan type required by the statute (ADUs, single family, duplexes and triplexes)—to attract accredited firms and rapidly populate the library with quality options. "If we're doing that same thing but you're instead paying $6,000 to get the same site plan, then, you know, it's fantastic," Tony said, explaining the expected savings for builders who select preapproved plans.
Under the plan, the city would waive its permit fees for plans in the approved library to reduce cost and shorten permitting turnaround, with staff estimating permit turnaround could be cut to "literal days" versus weeks under standard review. Councilors asked whether zoning and Land Development Code changes would be needed to make duplexes and triplexes practicable in targeted zones; staff said some LDC amendments will be necessary and would be part of an upcoming code critique and rewrite process.
Council directed staff to proceed with the library approach while ensuring the Verde Valley communities can participate and to return with details on fee waivers, MOU status and a timeline for competitions and catalog launch.
