Sedona City Council will not appeal court ruling on Cultural Park initiative

Proposition 403, the Sedona Cultural Park Preservation Act initiative, will appear on the Tuesday, July 21, ballot after Sedona City Council voted unanimously, 6-0, not to appeal the measure following a closed-door executive session Tuesday, May 12. Councilwoman Charlotte Hosseini was absent.

“We are pleased that we can stop litigating and start campaigning,” wrote William “Bill” Noonan, treasurer of the Save Sedona Committee, which collected signatures to get the measure on the ballot. The initiative seeks to require the park’s preservation as public space and “prohibit residential development of any kind or overnight camping or sleeping within the Sedona Cultural Park.”

Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper ruled May 6 that the initiative is not an unconstitutional zoning by initiative, which the city argued in its filing on March 31. Napper struck down that argument on the grounds that the initiative does not change the land’s current zoning, but rather, codifies existing uses.

“Based on legal clarity, due to the court decision on this matter, I move that council not appeal the legal decision so that this matter can move forward to the July 21 ballot,” Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella said, calling for the vote.

“The only thing I would say is that as we approach the election, I’m hoping that the community will be respectful in its dialog on this issue,” interim Mayor Holli Ploog said to the NEWS following the vote.

Council is scheduled on Tuesday, May 26, at 4:30 p.m. to discuss issuing a non-committal Letter of Intent with ad hoc group Sedona Cultural Park 2.0 to develop a business plan for the potential reopening of the 5,550-seat Georgia Frontiere Performing Arts Pavilion as a performance venue.