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Around Sedona

July / August 2007
Joel Gilgoff, associate broker, president
RE/MAX Sedona

What’s Happening: Click on the links below to get a current list of events in and around the Sedona area.

http://www.sedonaaz.gov/tourism/acEvents2.aspx

http://www.sedona.net/index.cfm?Render=EventCalendar_ViewEvents

The first Friday of each month continues to be a special event at 15 Sedona art galleries. Stop at any gallery and hop on the free trolley to see all the rest. For information call 282-3809.

Sedona is again planning a Western Americana Day. This year’s event will take place on Saturday September 22nd at Sedona Airport. Featured will be airplanes, classic cars and a community festival.

Shakespeare Sedona continues with Romeo and Juliet being presented at Tlaquepaque through July 14th. For information see www.shakespearesedona.com.

Sedona Jazz on the Rocks tickets are now available. This year’s annual highlight event will begin Tuesday 9/25 and run through Sunday 9/30 at various venues and locations throughout the Sedona area. The highlight of the weekend will be an all day jazz festival 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM Saturday 9/29 on the grassy knoll of the Radisson Poco Diablo resort. For tickets and information visit www.sedonajazz.com.

Northern Arizona University has an opening Monday July 9th of three separate exhibitions. For details see www.nau.edu/artmuseum.

Local photographer Robert Albrecht has several images on display in the Phippen Art Museum in Prescott. The Phippen Museum is located just north of Prescott on Hwy. 89A.

The 6th Annual Red Rocks Music Festival kicks off on Saturday 8/25 at 7pm at the Jewish Community Center of Sedona. For information visit www.redrockmusicfestival.com.

The Opera League of Northern Arizona Home Tour and Classic Car Show will be held Saturday and Sunday October 6th and 7th. For information call 284-3034.

“Local Color” is the theme of the Jerome Artists Cooperative Annual Summer Membership Show. The show features special works by all of their gallery members and will run through August 1st. For information visit www.jeromeartistscoop.com.

Yavapai College has an extensive 2007-2008 community events season with everything from the Prescott Pops Symphony to the annual Cowboy Poets gathering. For information visit www.yc.edu/communityevents.

City Business:

The City’s Roadrunner Shuttle service has carried over 40,000 people in its first 7 months of operation. The City has added summer van routes to the shuttle which will take passengers from the Uptown Municipal Parking Lot to the Sedona Public Library (located behind the Southwest Inn) with 12 stops in between. The new van route is mainly designed for local teens to get around during the summer but may be used by tourists as well. A day pass costs only $1.00.

The Sedona swimming pool located at the West Sedona Elementary School is now open for all to use.

Yavapai County has increased their construction impact fees to $3,400. The City of Sedona’s residential impact fees are $14,590, Flagstaff’s impact fees total $17,243. Many of the other local communities which currently do not have fees are strongly considering them.

Yavapai County:

The County approved an agreement with the American Safety Razor Company that will allow them to use the Burma Shave trademark on their road signs.

Sedona Shadows, located about 3 miles west of Sedona, has received approval to add 10 more manufactured home pads to its existing 210 sites on its 39 acre parcel.

The final plat for the Retreat on Oak Creek subdivision consisting of 38 single family residential lots on approximately 111 acres has been approved. The subdivision is located south of Red Rock Loop Road at the end of Loy Lane.

New Developments:

Highway Construction: We recommend that during ongoing construction of Highway 179 visitors coming to Sedona from Phoenix come via Highway 260 (Hwy. 17 exit 287) – proceed west to Hwy. 89A – then north to Sedona. This will avoid any possible Hwy 179 construction delays.

Construction on the new $10.5 million Red Rock Ranger Station and Visitors Center is ongoing with completion scheduled for early in 2008. The station is located on Hwy. 179 approximately 1 ½ miles south of the Village of Oak Creek. When completed, the building will encompass 25,395 sq. ft. and will service approximately 700 visitors a day. It will house 86 forest service employees plus visitor center staff and volunteers. The construction is running ahead of schedule at this time.

The Sedona City Council has committed to join a regional task force with the goal of making Sedona a bicycle friendly community. The committee will access current and future planned trails to make sure they are bicycle friendly and create signage and maps for the public.

The Fitch Company is holding public information meetings to discuss their plans for Phase 2 of the Cultural Park Land. Fitch is hoping that the city will approve construction of a hotel on the property which is currently zoned for only community facilities. I feel that the public will strongly object to this proposal.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a recent decision to protect the San Francisco Peaks from Arizona Snowbowl’s plan to expand its 777 acre facility and implement the use of treated sewage to make artificial snow. This 64 page ruling was issued in favor of a coalition of Arizona Indian tribes including Navajo, Havasupai, White Mountain Apache and several other Indian tribes. The tribes all claim that San Francisco Peaks is part of their sacred land.

The Sedona Visitor’s Center remodeling is well underway. Completion of the total remodel is now scheduled for the first week in September. When complete, the center will have a much expanded visitor service area and electronic kiosks to service the needs of more than 300,000 annual visitor center walk-ins.

Open Road Tours has begun daily shuttles between Sedona and Flagstaff. The twice daily shuttle is aimed at people taking the Amtrack train into Flagstaff. For information, see www.openroadtours.com.

The Sedona Fire District is planning to issue up to $22 million in new bonding for capital improvements including a new fire station in the Chapel area of Sedona and eventually one in the Red Rock Loop Road area. The fire department feels that the upcoming implementation of round-a-bouts on Hwy. 179 will slow their response time and require more local fire stations.

A new development to be located on 4.45 acres at the southeast corner of Hwy. 89A and Pinon Drive is proposed to contain 28 residential units and about 50,000 sq. ft. of retail and office space.

Possible new developments in the city:

Two office buildings and 40 units of lodging across the street from the Les Springs Subdivision in West Sedona.

A possible 48 unit residential condominium project called “Falls at Oak Creek”. The project will include the redevelopment of the Oak Creek Mobile Lodge property along SR 179.

A 9 lot single family residential subdivision called “Seven Vistas” located at the intersection of Badger Drive and Lynx Drive in the chapel area.

A possible new 7 lot single family residential subdivision located just west of the Basha’s shopping center on Payne Place.

A new 20 unit motel to replace the existing 14 unit Red Rock Lodge located north of uptown along 89A.

A possible 11 unit single family residential subdivision on 4.8 acres off Schnebly Hill Road.

Remodeling of the old office building/gallery space on Schnebly Hill Road at the junction of 179.

Miscellaneous Around Sedona:

Javelinas on Parade, Sedona’s public art project, will continue on display through November 2007. “Javelinas on Parade”, a 104 page book of photographs and stories, is now available for sale. The book is available at the Southwest Inn or on the Javelina website www.javelinasonparade.com for a cost of $20.00. Proceeds from book sales will be used to support Sedona’s art community.

Out of Africa Wildlife Park (25 minutes south of Sedona) has just opened its first “community aviary”. The aviary will be a permanent part of the park and feature over 90 birds.

Casa Rincon Restaurant has closed and the building has been sold to the owner of the Cowboy Club, Tom Gilomen. A new restaurant named The Barking Frog is scheduled to open later in July.

Events continue weekly at Red Rock State Park. For information call 282-6907.

A new tourist attraction has opened at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon Sky Walk is said to hover 4,000 ft. above the canyon floor with an 140 ft. long 10 ft. wide clear glass pathway allowing visitors to walk out above the canyon and peer down to the bottom. The sky walk is about a 4 ½ hour drive from Sedona over at least 17 miles of dirt road. If this is a must in your itinerary it can be seen on your way to Las Vegas. Cost for this short look is $75.00. In our opinion, the best way to see the Grand Canyon is to take an air tour out of Sedona Airport or Las Vegas Airport.

Julie Hyde, formerly of Quincy, California, recently moved to Sedona and opened Julie’s Design and Upholstery. She has over 22 years experience upholstering antique furniture to modern custom orders. For information call her at 204-5881.

Readers of AmericanStyle magazine ranked Sedona the #2 Small City in the 10th Annual Top 25 Arts Destination reader’s poll. Climbing three places from last year’s ranking, Sedona has appeared on AmericanStyle magazine’s Top 25 Arts Destination list 8 times since the polls inception. This is Sedona’s highest ranking to date.

The Sedona City Council endorsed an effort of a professional rock climbing team to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on July 4th. The team will be carrying a City of Sedona flag.

The Sedona Raw Café has reopened with Bliss Chocolate. The new restaurant is known as Café Bliss and Chocolate. The restaurant will continue to serve raw and living vegan items, daily specials and beverages along with raw chocolate and desserts.

Several new websites will assist you in obtaining the best airfare if you are planning to fly to Phoenix on your way to Sedona. Check out www.farecast.com, www.airfarewatchdog.com and www.kayak.com for deals on flights and car rentals.