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Sedona AZ Citizens Steering Committee Holds First Community Plan Update Meeting

The newly formed Citizens Steering Committee for the update to the Community Plan had its first meeting on Tuesday at City Hall.  The Committee will work collaboratively with the community, Planning and Zoning Commission, City Council, staff and others to oversee the formulation of the updated Draft Sedona Community Plan.  The Draft Plan will ultimately be considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council and voted on by Sedona’s citizens. The committee will oversee the public participation process and ensure that the process provides the community a range of visions for Sedona that can be winnowed down into a single shared vision for the future of Sedona. 


The committee will next meet on Thursday, December 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Vultee Conference Room to discuss the scope of the Committee, the planning process and the public participation procedures for the Community Plan Update.  The public is encouraged to attend.


Sedona AZ Community Plan meetings begin

The Committee consists of nine residents and Council member Barbara Litrell and Planning and Zoning Chairman Alex Gillon.  The nine members of the public were selected from a pool of 21 candidates who submitted applications for consideration.  These members bring diverse backgrounds and a passion to contribute to this planning effort:


Mike Bower has lived in Sedona for 31 years as a practicing architect.  He has been involved as a volunteer in the uptown creek area specific plan and the Heart of Sedona plan. 


Jim Eaton joins the Committee immediately after fulfilling a total of three terms on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Jim is a retired industrial advertising and marketing manager and has served on City Council, the Historic Preservation Commission, Verde Valley Forum for Public Affairs, Keep Sedona Beautiful and many other community organizations.  Eaton was selected by the Committee to serve as Chairman for a one-year term.


Angela LeFevre describes herself as a community activist and is president of Democrats of the Red Rocks and a volunteer for Friends of the Forest.  LeFevre was educated in London. Now retired, she worked as a senior manager for Qwest Communications. 


Elemer Magaziner has lived in Sedona for 20 years and was self-employed as a facilitator in corporate and governmental settings in helping to gather and articulate stakeholder expectations and needs while minimizing ambiguity in language. 


Gerhard Mayer has lived in Sedona for 28 years and currently serves on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission.  Educated in Austria, he formerly worked for BySynergy, local land development company, and is now president of MGL Development, a residential and commercial green building company. 


Judith Reddington has served on planning and economic development commissions in numerous locations throughout the U.S. and served as executive director of a regional chamber of commerce. In Sedona, she was one of the organizers of the Sedona Focused Future meetings and now serves on the Board of the Sedona Arts Festival.


John Sather is an architect and partner with Vernon Swaback Partners, an architectural and planning firm with offices in Scottsdale.  He has been the principal community designer for large and small-scale projects throughout the world and includes among his most notable planning projects the first Community Plan for Sedona.  Sather has lived in Sedona for 32 years.


Michael Steinhart comes to the committee with a strong background in the hospitality industry.  Currently the general manager of Poco Diablo Resort, Steinhart was formerly with L’Auberge de Sedona.  He has served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is currently on the board of the Sedona Lodging Council. 


Jon Thompson serves with an educational background in English and creative writing, Thompson had a 35-year career in written communications including textbook publishing, print and online software and electronic publishing systems.  Locally, Thompson served on the Keep Sedona Beautiful reusable bag initiative group.  He will serve as Vice-Chairman of the Committee.


There are many ways for residents to provide input and get involved in this planning project.  The city website has a dedicated page on the Community Plan update that contains information on meeting dates and times; public comments, questions and answers on the Plan update; and a comment card for issues you think are important to Sedona.  There are also exhibits on display at the Sedona Public Library, City Council Chambers and Keep Sedona Beautiful. 


Go to www.SedonaAZ.gov/planUpdate for timely information or contact city staff.   You may e-mail or call Mike Raber, Senior Planner, 928-204-7106, mraber@SedonaAZ.gov or Kathy Levin, Associate Planner, 928-203-5035, klevin@SedonaAZ.gov.  You may also write staff at City of Sedona, Community Development Dept., 102 Roadrunner Drive, Sedona, AZ  86336.

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