During its Oct. 15, meeting Yavapai County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to table the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock’s request to convert some of its parking into an outdoor 7.42 acre event lawn. The item is slated for the board’s Wednesday, Nov. 19, meeting.

The Hilton located at 90 Ridge Trail has filed two P&Z cases seeking a Major Planned Area Development Amendment and a Revised Final Plat with its attorney Cassandra Ayres, of the Scottsdale-based firm Berry Riddell.

“I’m hesitant to move forward on the two items today,” Supervisor Nikki Check [D-District 3] said. “One of my concerns is that we’re unable to hear from [SFD] prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meetings … There’s a concern about maintaining a fire lane, because this is a three story hotel, and you have to be able to extinguish a fire using a truck and ladder.”

The board’s decision focused on addressing the road’s decades-long disre­pair and lack of county maintenance. Check said she plans to meet with Public Works Director Roger McCormick and the Sedona Fire District fire marshal to clarify Ridge Trail Drive’s and fire safety concerns.

“Since there is no back access, I would like to maintain a fire lane, which can be grass with perme­able pavers capable of supporting fire apparatus,” SFD Deputy Fire Marshal Kirk Riddell wrote to Yavapai County Planner Stephanie Johnson on Oct. 8. “We also need clear access to the fire hydrant.”

During the P&Z meeting the commissioners said fire access issues would be addressed in the permitting process, although Check said it is the responsibility of the board to address fire risks now.

“[Ridge Trail Drive also] has concerns that extend back into its history,” Check said. “But in 1995 at least, the plan was approved on the condition that the resort would bring the road up to county stan­dards, and deed it to the county.

“This project in partic­ular adds minimal traffic, it does add traffic, but the existing traffic has become a problem for the road and its maintenance, because this road leads to addi­tional HOAs behind it.”

The adjacent The Ridge Homeowners Association is in opposition to the project with its members writing to the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 18 that “the road has a history of developing potholes and further dete­rioration from increased use is inevitable.”

“We felt that it was not incumbent upon the appli­cant as one entity using that road to pursue the solution for it,” District 2 P&Z Commissioner Linda Buchanan said. “There’s other commercial entities and on all the residents that bought and chose to build in there when it isn’t a county road, and so to retroactively put the burden on one particular property owner seemed capricious.”

A traffic study concluded that the event lawn will have a minimal effect on traffic and the developers contend that most of the attendees at the lawn will already be staying on site.

Check said in the interim she would like to have a timeline of the condition of Ridge Trail Drive and a history of any agreements on the road’s maintenance. Further she expressed optimism that a long-term solution for the road could be reached but that she does not know what might consist of.

Dave Norton during public comment said that the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council nongovernmental non-profit “is neutrally supportive [of] this, and as long as they follow the stipulations from the P&Z commission and update their lighting” to the county standards.

“My concern is moving forward, I think we need to jump in and address water and water usage on golf courses, turf, every­thing, when it comes to commercial projects. I’d like to see that on a future agenda,” Supervisor Chris Kuknyo [D-District 4] said after confirming that the lawn’s turf would be natural grass.

“Events will not take place before 8 a.m. or after 11 p.m.” and “There will be no amplified music and/or announcements after 10 p.m.” are included in P&Z’s major recommendations.

Similarly a Water Service Franchise Agreement with Arizona Water Company and Yavapai County was also tabled until the Wednesday, Nov. 19, meeting in Cottonwood.

“There were some discrepancies in relation to the map provided by the Arizona Water Company, and also the legal descrip­tion in relation to being inclusive of water lines that are existing within the city of Sedona limits,” McCormick said. “Because of that, we need to revise the map and the legal description for this item, and would request that we move this hearing to a future date.”