Council Votes to Deny 5-year Renewal of Use Permit for Tent Shows at Sedona Vista Village

PROJECT SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: Use Permit Renewal to allow up to 15 art/craft shows per year for up to 50 vendors at the Sedona Vista Village.  Located on the Northeast corner of the intersection of SR-179 and Jacks Cyn Rd in the Village of Oak Creek.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY APPLICANT AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS: Yavapai County Development Services forwarded to the BPRCC a Letter of Intent and Site Plan submitted by the show promoter, along with the Use Permit Renewal application (included in the Appendix). The BPRCC Planning & Zoning Committee reviewed the request on October 23, 2020 at their monthly committee meeting conducted via Zoom, which was open to the public. The presentation can be publicly viewed and/or downloaded from the BPRCC website.

PROJECT RATING BY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMITTEE  After review and discussion of the information provided by the applicant, in addition to committee research, site visits, and community input, the P&Z Committee unanimously suggested a rating of Zero Stars (out of 3) based on failure to meet existing ordinance standards and/or general community expectations. 

AREAS of CONCERN:

• The Site Plan provided does not reflect the property in its current configuration, placement of “Tents” is ambiguous and overall scenario inaccurate.  At a site visit on 10-23, committee members counted 58 10×10 vendor spaces, in excess of the current Use Permit, and more than the maximum outlined in the UP Renewal.  The Site Plan does not define “50 Vendors”.  On 10-23-20 there were instances of (1) multiple vendors in a 10×10 tent space, (2) single vendors in 10×20 or larger tents, (3) vendors not under a tent who were spread over large areas, (4) vendors with merchandise spread across landscape meridians.  There were instances where displays were obscuring vehicular traffic, and other irregular situations.
• The 6.5-acre host property was redeveloped in 2018-19, and a 120-room Element Hotel added in 2020. Thus, the current redeveloped configuration of the property is no longer suitable for Tent Shows.
• The Tent Show site, following the sale and development of the land area now occupied by the Element Hotel, contains 50% less total land area, and 60% less parking than when the last UP was issued.
• This location is at the busiest intersection/roundabout in the Village.  Tent Show customer access is via a single entrance on north-bound SR-179 which also serves patrons, employees, and deliveries for the Element hotel and Sedona Vista Village businesses.  The only other entrance to the site is via Cortez Drive (residential), a secondary road.
• As of this date, the host property is not fully leased, making the parking situation even further out of compliance with zoning ordinances.
• Placement of the Tents in code-complying parking spaces (reference Report from Sedona Fire) reduces the code-required parking for host property tenants, resulting in a deficit against the requirements imposed by the Zoning Ordinance.
• The resulting tightly-confined parking lot, with highly restricted flow from vendors and shoppers creates a hazardous scenario for pedestrians, particularly vulnerable elderly and handicapped.
• The Site Plan (and current practice) is not compliant with Fire Code Regulation. Reference report provided by Sedona Fire. The blocking of fire lanes, lack of sufficiently wide walking lanes between tents for safe personal distancing, narrow passage for automobiles and dead-end corridor on South end (Verizon, Famous Footwear) make the front lot hazardous and non-compliant.
• Vendor parking on Cortez Drive endangers pedestrian and cyclist use (residential street) as there are no shoulders or sidewalks.
• The application does not stipulate signage. Previous Use Permit allowed only one show sign and one parking sign. The 10-23-2020 inspection observed 20+ signs at this time. As the property is located at the busiest crossroad of the Village, a specific signage plan is essential.
• Increased flow of pedestrians and bicycles crossing (often jaywalking) from the Chase Bank parking lot across SR-179, negatively impacts traffic flow during busy weekends. Further impact from the pending development of the now vacant Patel property across Jacks Canyon will aggravate an already treacherous situation.
• Standard practice for Tent Shows is a few weekends per year in a community. The 2015 permit specified 10 shows/year, and was increased in 2016 to 15 per year without limiting the number per/month, per season or within the VOC Hwy 179 corridor. Consequently, shows are being held Fri-Sat-Sun (sometimes Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon) sequentially during the busiest tourist weekends of the year. In addition to the Use Permit reviewed here, the promoter currently conducts Tent Shows nearby at Bell Rock Plaza. This situation is fatiguing for residents who are unable to move comfortably to the market, bank, restaurants, shops, etc.
• How can the community have assurance of compliance with the approved Site Plan, Yavapai County ordinances and first responder safety codes? We recommend regular fire inspections and a process for citation and remediation to maintain a safe environment for residents and visitors. The “Flexibility” clause in the Letter of Intent does not allow for adequately informed decision-making, including input from community stakeholders on the impact of suggested changes. 

Recommendations to Improve Harmonization with the Affected Communities:

• Our review suggests that alternate, safer locations in the Village of Oak Creek could serve the applicant’s purpose well.
• Safety is the highest priority concern: we recommend a location with adequate corridors between vendors (personal distancing, handicap access, dog-friendly, etc.), safe access from the main thoroughfare(s), adequate parking that doesn’t impinge on surrounding businesses or residents, attractive signage that blends with the community. The location and configuration of the Sedona Vista Village does not meet that standard.
• Preparing a more specific Site Plan with greater detail, including size and type of vendor stations would be greatly helpful for the community, the supporting public agencies and the promoter.
• A publicly available show schedule with dates and locations would be very helpful so community activities could be coordinated (and ideally collaborated) with all Tent Shows.

Meeting Location: Virtual Zoom (Check the BOS website calendar for information on how to join the meeting)