https://sedonaeye.com/wizards-of-sedona-big-3-powers-and-an-affordable-housing-sham/

Recipients of City Hall giveaways and their members influence the outcome of Sedona elections in their favor.

Wow! And that’s a direct reflection on the outcome of the last Sedona election? So much for education!

The National Citizen Survey “Sedona, AZ Community Livability Report 2017” found 57 percent of residents were opposed to growth in “Tourism (i.e., hotels, restaurants).” Traffic congested Sedona has new hotels and restaurants anyway, and more are proposed.

Under GOVERNANCE the following 5 out of 9 comparisons lagged below the nation benchmark: Overall direction; Confidence in City government; Acting in the best interest of Sedona; Being honest; and Treating all residents fairly.

The Mayor, City Council, and City management staff continue to ignore this National Citizen Survey information that City Hall paid big $$$$ for. Meanwhile, the greedheads at the Chamber of Commerce and Lodging Council spend City taxpayer money to harm Sedona’s livability and quality of life.

You ought to know the stats you try to manipulate.

The city has been losing residents because of bad policy, and real estate agents are wary of selling anything in a municipality that doesn’t know its residents value and who choose not to honor P&Z and codes proven to protect the city income at a sustainable pace of growth.

City councils are concerned that Whole Foods may consider packing up and leaving, CVS & Walgreens as well. But the issue is when they do, not if they will, how the city is positioned to absorb their loss and now, absorption is not problematic. The CVS building was held to strict building codes as was Mariposa which will hold its city area resale value. Whole Foods modernization of its building will allow a new supermarket to easily resume service even if on a smaller scale, Walgreens building can be replaced for its land which holds west Sedona resale value.

There is no downside of services if any of those retailers pull out unless the city “builds to keep” unneeded low income targeted government controlled housing and draws a different demographic that adversely impacts tourism and residents. The Sedona employee and resident draw is based on “self motivation”, not “artificially induced demographic diversity economics”. Induced economics has always met with failure as in Reno NV, a city whose government walked and talked the same as Sedona staff and councils do now.

Right now there are no “pockets of fear” as is euphemistically said, no trails that are targeted by gangs or have become hangouts for druggies in its caves and mountain ledges, and housing rental projects of those who chose unemployment rather than seek it.

If you chase away the middle class travelers and the high end spenders then jobs will disappear and “pockets of fear” will drive the Sedona safety net to another town. There is no shame in being a highly educated (66% with some college or more, 81% with high school degree or more) city that values itself and its residents and that has a high standard of living and protects its assets, the limited views of red rocks. It’s difficult being best, it’s easy being less than best.

In an aside, there are plenty of “off the books” long term rentals. The Sedona political conversation is not its economic reality, it is induced economics by a small cadre of residents wanting to benefit from government programs.

Programs that must be manipulated to be relevant are not a Sedona conversation, they fail the litmus test of need. The super majority of our residents own, a healthy percentage rent. Leave the working system be. Government never improves, it speeds decline.

Sedona Real Estate

Median Home Value
$446,900 National $184,700

Median Rent
$1,206 National $949

Area Feel Based on the population density of the area.
Suburban

Rent vs. Own

Rent 27% Own 73%