As housing costs skyrocket, Sedona will allow workers to live in cars. Residents aren't happy

SEDONA, Ariz. — After nearly seven hours of heated debate, Sedona City Council voted 6-1 to approve a program that will provide a safe place to park for workers in the city who are living in their cars.

The Safe Place to Park program will include 40 parking spots for those employed full-time within city limits. It requires participants to actively engage in case management with local social services — with an end goal of securing permanent housing after the program ends. The site will include temporary restrooms, showers and trash bins.

Funded through a two-year grant from the Arizona Department of Housing, the site will be managed by the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition.

They will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing rules within the lot between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. All vehicles will be required to leave during daytime hours.

The council's decision last Tuesday comes after more than a year of planning and refining a program aimed at providing relief for area workers while affordable housing projects move through the construction process. City officials estimate that a 30-unit workforce housing project will be ready for residents by the time the Safe Place to Park program ends in 2026.

The measure comes as workers are being priced out of housing in Sedona, a picturesque desert city amid majestic red rock formations that draws more than 3 million tourists each year. The median home price has jumped 75% since 2019, according to Zillow, to more than $930,000.

Council members acknowledged the live-in-cars program is not ideal and is not the permanent solution to the area's affordable housing crisis. But they said it is something that can be done immediately to help alleviate the situation for those who would otherwise be illegally sleeping in their cars on city streets or nearby National Forest land.

"I don't think there's anybody up here or staff that are extremely proud of this. This is a last-ditch effort," Mayor Scott Jablow said. "No one's really proud because this isn't really the answer. It's one of many answers."

A petition to let Sedona voters decide for themselves on the program could soon be making its way around town.

Ballot referendum could be on the way

The vast majority of residents spoke against the program, with some calling for a ballot referendum to put the decision in voters' hands.

"If the city does pass this misbegotten zoning ordinance, I've already prepared and tomorrow I will file for a ballot referendum so the people of Sedona can correct that mistake," said Dr. Bill Noonan, who said he moved to Sedona from Portland to escape a homeless crisis that he said was created by the city.

While a majority of the residents in attendance at Tuesday's meeting spoke against the project, council members said numerous emails they've received in support of the program illustrate residents are more split on the issue than the night's meeting would suggest.

Despite being initially supportive of the program during prior council discussions, Vice Mayor Holli Ploog cast the sole dissenting vote. She said she ended the night conflicted with how to best represent the people of Sedona on this issue.

"I wish we had the authority to put this on the ballot because I want to hear what the community actually wants to do," Ploog said.

Something as divisive and controversial as the program could "break this community," she said, adding she welcomes a ballot referendum and would even sign the petition herself.

"It's the only way that the people will have a voice — through the ballot box," Ploog said.

Lot's location at Cultural Park raises concerns about future plans

Many opponents of the project took issue with its location in a parking lot on the northwest corner of a 41-acre Cultural Park. The city bought the property for $23 million last year after it spent more than a decade on the market after being purchased out of foreclosure.

The land sat largely unused for two decades. City officials argued without city involvement, the site would likely become a hotel or resort that could bring even more short-term rental units to the city. They also argued a lack of height or density restrictions could put Sedona’s famous red rock views at risk if a developer prioritizes profit.

The program will be located on about 6 acres of land previously used as a parking lot. The area is not visible from any nearby residences or roadways, according to city staff.

But some community members argued the presence of the lot alongside one of the city's greatest assets would diminish its value in the eyes of many residents. Many also spoke of fears of the park becoming a hub for area pollution, drug use and other illegal behavior, permanently damaging what residents described as a "Sedona treasure."

Tim Jessup, a decades-long Sedona resident and music engineer who works with the band Chicago, noted the project site is near the band's current studio. He said the program would "upend the Cultural Park," a venue that could otherwise provide a huge boost to the local economy.

Putting the program in the Cultural Park would "kill the golden goose and eat it," Jessup said.

But city officials emphasized the program is temporary — with a firm two-year limit on the grant funding as well as a zoning reversal that would revoke the specified land use in June 2026.

The community over that period will be undergoing an intensive process to develop a master plan for the future of the Cultural Park, which officials estimate will take at least two years to complete.

"If we don't do this now, then there's never going to be a time for us to do this," said council member Melissa Dunn.

"We can wait two years until we have housing, but those people will be living on the street in their cars, will be living in the forest with unsafe conditions," Dunn said.

"So it just feels like this is time for us to do what might be uncomfortable but probably in the long run is the best thing for our community. These people are residents here, they are part of our community and to deny that because they live in their cars just feels incorrect to me," she said.

Supporters call for compassion and community

The few who spoke in favor of the project argued housing costs across the Verde Valley have skyrocketed. Many of the people who work in the restaurants, shops and other businesses that maintain the town's tourism industry are now being priced out.

This program, they said, is a way to keep them in town and keep them safe.

"This for me is an opportunity to display who we are as a community," said the Rev. Anthony Johnson.

A minister in Sedona, Johnson described the program as a chance for residents to display their humanity and hospitality to their neighbors, highlighting that a lot of the night's conversation included terms like "stopgap" and "right now."

"I would remind us all, now is all we have," he said.

Jay Williams, a 25-year resident and homeowner who works as an area director for a local company, shared Johnson's sentiment. Williams spoke passionately in support of the program, during last week's meeting and a prior one in January where the Safe Place to Park program was discussed.

Williams said he participated in one of the initial employer feedback sessions about the project, and only a few had concerns about potentially transient employees. He described much of the night's public opposition as "pathetic" and "prejudiced."

"All I hear are justifications from those who want to deny peace and safety to their peers," Williams said. "Sitting here tonight I've heard those against this refer to potential participants as animals, vagrants and drug dealers and the parking area as a zoo, all while proudly trumpeting their ignorance about the struggle these people face."

"We are talking about assisting members of our community — members who already exist in our community and who are positively affecting it," he said.

Reach the reporter at LLatch@gannett.com. Coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. The Arizona Republic is part of the USA TODAY Network.