When the city of Sedona or any other government entity attempts to make changes in Sedona, people come out of the woodwork to protest and demand to be heard.

However, now that it’s time to put together a new Sedona Community Plan, the very framework future decisions will be based on, the Citizens Steering Committee hears only crickets.

The normal faces are present. Some Sedona residents are involved in everything, and they appear to understand the plan’s importance when it comes to where Sedona will go from here.

The small pool of interested residents lacks youth as well.

The plan will shape the community where people in their 20s and 30s will raise their children and make a living.

This demographic, while often the busiest, needs to step up if it wants to mold its city’s future.

Residents won’t have a chance to form a new plan for a decade.

State law mandates the plan be updated every 10 years.

The community plan sets a framework for future councils and staff to determine land use within the city limits and sets priorities for the community.

Changes midplan aren’t taken lightly. Since 2002, only four amendments have been made to Sedona’s current plan. Amendments have to be reviewed by staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission, and approved by the Sedona City Council.

Involvement is the only way to create change, and waiting until an issue or problem is bearing down on the city isn’t the right time to get involved.

Residents who don’t take time now to voice their opinions won’t have any right to complain later when a decision is made that falls in line with the plan’s guidelines for the community.

The opportunity is now, so either seize it or let others determine what’s best for your city.

See Page 2B of the Wednesday, Sept. 21, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News for future dates of Community Plan meetings.