Some say Sedona, Arizona’s claim to fame lies in its red rock cliffs and outdoor adventuring. Others point to its “worldwide reputation as a place of enlightenment. This is home to a large community that promotes a variety of alternative healing and spiritual practices.” Whatever the draw, Sedona has a bit of a problem: While visitors and established residents have plenty of money, the “working class” that keeps this tourist destination going can’t afford to live there. A City of Sedona plan for homeless parking is creating an uproar.
City of Sedona plan for homeless parking not an “encampment”
Earlier in March, Sedona’s city councilors voted to create a parking lot for “homeless” people to park their RVs or cars. The lot would have portable showers and restrooms. The council quickly made it clear that this lot would not be an “encampment”: no tents were allowed, and parking would be permitted only during nighttime hours. The reasoning behind the lot, which would operate for only two years, is that many Sedona workers just can’t afford to live in the city, and it’s a long way to other affordable communities.
Earn $1,800 a month—pay $3,500 to rent
Buying a home in Sedona is the stuff that dreams are made of. The median home price in Sedona is $733,000. Renting a home? Sedona’s median rent is $3,500. City officials say the average worker there earns between $1,400 and $1,800 a month. Boiled down another way, Sedona’s cost of living index for housing is 142.8% of the national average.
The plan would create the safe parking lot on a portion of a five-acre site. In addition to providing safe parking and support amenities, the city says it will provide programs to help users secure permanent housing. The plan is to take the two years to work on developing more affordable housing in Sedona. Users would have to prove that they are actively employed in Sedona or own a small business.
“Sacred ground desecrated”
After the City of Sedona’s plan for homeless parking was announced, opposition soon popped up. Susan Gerbi, a Sedona resident, was quoted by the media: “How long before Sedona is sued? How long before someone is injured on the site, god forbid it’s a child.” Gerbi wonders, “How long before we attract outside activists and our simple rules and regulations are torn apart? How long before the once sacred ground of our western gateway is desecrated by a full-on homeless encampment? Not long at all.”
Even before the city council approved the safe lot, Sedona resident Bill Noonan warned, “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.” Noonan has followed through on his threat. He’s spearheaded a petition drive to place the matter on the November ballot. Noonan and his helpers have a month to secure 597 signatures. If the referendum makes it on the ballot, Sedona’s registered voters will have the final say on just what happens to the working poor of Sedona’s red rock country.
##RVT1150b
Same story as other big draw touristy areas – expensive to go and cost, then leave, by workers can’t afford to live there. Same as Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs etc. can’t make a living wage and workers have to live 30 to 40 miles away for affordable housing. As to the homeless – no reason Sedona should be any different than other (attractive) cities and towns. Here in Central Oregon, been dealing with the problem for several years now and it is only getting worse with no real solution in sight.
“Let them eat cake.”
👍Well put.
What a wonderful idea for any community! Housing for those workers who can’t afford the local rent, but limited to those who are actually part of the community!
Something doesn’t make sense. It Says “no tents were allowed, and parking would be permitted only during nighttime hours”.
And then says “many Sedona workers just can’t afford to live in the city”.
So they can park during the night, but not live there during the day.
Am I missing something here?
I also found the logistics of this plan a bit confusing.
NIMBY bigtime. Hypocritical much? I’ll bet the guy spearheading the opposition wouldn’t like to do without the services of the working class-Who will stock his grocery’s shelves, cut his hair, mow his lawn, assist his pharmacist, staff his First Responders?
Also there’s a problem with not allowing anyone to park there during the day. What about night shift workers??
Barbers are working poor?
Thank you, Russ and Tina! 🙂 Sedona certainly is an … um, … “interesting” place. We stopped by there a couple of years ago and got a personal tour. It was a fascinating place. Our guide was about as interesting, too, his dog and ours accompanied us. His solution (?) to the heat was a long skirt rather than pants. 🤔😯 All in all, it is certainly worth visiting , particularly if you hire Jim for a Sunset Tour (https://winetoursofsedona.com/sedona-red-rock-adventure-tours/). Thank you for the information about the effort to create some cheaper housing that the worker bees can afford. Hopefully they figure things out. Meanwhile, safe travels and happy Easter! 🙂
What is the real reason for the ever increasing gap in wage and price control? Those who own rental properties, where are they getting their tenants from who pay the exorbitant prices? Landlords must still be making money or they would bankrupt.
I’ve been to Sedona and it’s a beautiful place, but I think the real problems of Sedona go much deeper than just an overnight parking area for low-income earners. I think Sedona has other far more serious problems to address first and, if addressed, they might not need that parking area. Let the workers leave and go elsewhere and see what the residents of Sedona do.
It’s funny, the rich need the poor, just make them live somewhere else.
NIMBY for sure. But hey, every successful civilization built there fortune on the backs of the less fortunate. We just don’t want to give them a sliver of compassion with clean water and proper place to poop. We are ALL responsible for the unhoused whether we choose to turn our backs on these people or not.
I think I would seriously contemplate moving if I could not make enough money to live where I worked. I don’t care how cosmic, beautiful, or spiritual it is.
One sentence in the article sums it up quite nicely:
“How long before Sedona is sued?”
Deep down, it’s the lawyers that are the problem. Frivolous lawsuits. People sue for the same reason they buy lottery tickets. 99% of the lawyers give all the rest a bad name. Lol
On the other hand, let’s give the NIMBY’s a choice. Ether build affordable housing for the “working poor”, or take in a family into your own home. See how quickly their attitude changes. These people are the working poor, NOT the hordes of criminals that are invading our southern border. These are people that are working, paying into the system, and contributing to their community, they’re not looking for a free ride.
you had me agreeing right up until your “hordes of criminals..invading…” sheesh
Who is going to build the “affordable housing”? What exactly is affordable? The price and taxes on materials and labor has to come from somewhere. Even in my own community this “affordability” response seems to be the common go-to thing but no one can quite pin down the nasty little detail of what it will cost and who pays.
A micro brewery in a small upper Michigan town with similar problems bought a local motel and rents workers rooms for a reasonable rate.
The Father’s Day floods a few years ago in other parts of upper Michigan took out a lot of low to mid-income housing (a 1,000 year event). Owners and renters typically didn’t have flood insurance. They abandoned their mortgaged or rented property and relocated. The area almost instantly had a severe labor shortage for services be it food, health, childcare, maintenance or education. The working poor are not by choice homeless ‘bums’, ‘drug-addicts’ or ‘criminals’. We winter in a Texas RV park with fellow retirees who don’t worry about their next meal. 4 miles away is another RV park with mostly working poor. The rigs may not be as shiny, but neither park is full of trash and problems.
Know Sed well. Residents are the biggest bunch of blind self absorbed delusional narcissists that could ever be found concentrated in one small space.
The ‘let them eat cake’ comment is right on.
Choices exist!
1. Free to move on!
2. Pick a cheaper place to live, move and work there!
3. Buy an EV and commute 60 miles.
4. Car pool in the EV.
5. Squat for 12 months.
No one has a right right to live above their means on the backs of others. However, If the rich Sedona Snowflakes find themselves cleaning their own homes and no wait staff at the Vegan Cafe, they may find creating a housing cooperative beneficial but regardless, the free market will sort it out if they can’t.
NIMBY all the way! Sedona is great, but my question is if workers can stay in this designated areas at night with their cars, vans, or RV’s, where do they park them during the day? Sounds like a plan that has not been fully thought out.