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Sedona Short Term Rental Ban Protectionism

The City of Sedona Arizona

The City of Sedona Arizona

Sedona AZ (March 8, 2012) – In a letter to the SedonaEye.com editor, Henry Twombly, a resident of Sedona, writes that the City argument for a short term rental ban is amusing:

Dear Sedona Eye Editor,

I’m amused by the City’s specious argument for the short-term rental ban. Their reason for the ban is to protect the health and safety of the community.

Sedona Red Rock News (March 3, 2012) cited the city’s attorney’s explanation “as protection for residents from noise, overcrowding, traffic and other reasons above and beyond protecting the city’s ‘integrity and small-town character.’” If the City was really concerned about too much noise, overcrowding and traffic, they and the Chamber of Commerce would not promote the presence of 3-4 million tourists a year who cause great wear and tear on the city’s infrastructure. We, the citizens of Sedona, would be a lot safer and healthier without all those extra cars clogging up our streets.

More likely the real reason – one of those “other reasons above and beyond” – is that all the hotel, motel, B and B owners do not want to lose potential customers; and the City does not want to lose the revenue on all those bed taxes. So for the sake of “integrity,” the City should ‘fess up that the ban is about not protecting our health and safety; it’s all about the Chamber and the City not losing money.

Henry Twombly
350 Arroyo Pinon Dr.
Sedona AZ
 

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8 Comments

  1. Jimmy says:

    You do make some good points, Mr, Twombly. However, have you experienced the coming and going, at all hours, the intrusiveness ot vacation renters within areas zoned single family residential? Believe me, it isn’t pleasant. And now with the rash of home burglaries how do we know that these strangers walking our neighborhoods aren’t just literally making themselves at home and filling their backpacks with treasure troves? Bad deal, believe me.

    As property owners practice renting to vacationers selfishly rake in from $3000 to $5000 a month, tax free, while surrounding property owners must sometimes tolerate loud parties requiring police intervention, dogs running amok off leashes, loud racing motocycles, to mention a few of the negatives of short-term rentals, do you really find that tolerable?

    If so, promote it in your own neighborhood and let those of us who object continue to fight for our privacy and quality of life that brought us to living in Sedona in the first place.

    Thank you.

  2. Gertrude says:

    vamous to short term rental varmits

    we’ve got enough desert rats in Sedona without the two legged variety

  3. West Sedona resident says:

    I agree with Jimmy. Further I suggest we tax all home rentals. We have rented short and long term all over the country; they all tax rentals. It’s a business after all.

  4. SLA says:

    I will second Jimmy.

  5. Alarmed says:

    Henry…you must give thanks every day that you have an outlet for your nonsense.

  6. mike says:

    Henry, If anything the city should use a reason that makes a bit more sense. At best, Sedona is a one nighter for tourists, at least that is what we hope anyway since almost 40% of our revenue comes from sales tax. Tourists “blowing through” to the Grand Canyon do little to benefit our economy. What does hurt are short term rentals that create situations in neighborhoods where you do not know who is living next door, nad also can create noise and other problems as they do not have to have any consideration for neighbors. To make a statement that this has something to do the the lodging people shows you do not understand the business.

  7. magickj says:

    There’s a “black-market” list of places where you can rent rooms/home for short stays. Usually a word-of-mouth referral, I know of several people who will rent bedrooms, guest houses and often their own home for less than the 30 days. I live on the same street as one such operation and to tell the truth, I can’t tell when there’s people there or not, except for a stray car or two on our street. I have also succumbed to this law when I did a house-trade – took a vacation and stayed in a home while the residents of that home stayed in my home – and technically broke the law. It’s true – it’s not for safety, it’s for the bed taxes. I’m with you on this one, Henry! And if people don’t want to stay in over-priced hotels, motels, B&Bs, all they have to do is get on the internet or ask a local at one of the coffee places in west Sedona. Fly low and avoid the radar.

  8. West Sedona resident says:

    Obviously rentals shorter than a month should be banned. How Sedona does that has to be figured out and enforced. The comings and goings of vacationers are disruptive to neighborhood ‘community’. As I said before – whether it is a second home rental or someone’s ‘living’ (multiple home rentals), it should be taxed.

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