By Ron Eland | Red Rock News
A woman in the audience may have summed up the feelings of most there. “I don’t want to see the Village of Oak Creek become ‘Vegas of Oak Creek,’” she said, receiving a round of applause.
The comment came during the Thursday, Feb. 14, Big Park Regional Coordinating Council meeting. A Hilton Garden Inn is being proposed at the corner of State Route 179 and Jacks Canyon Road. The meeting, held at the Sedona Fire District’s Station 3, was standing room only. In fact, SFD Fire Marshal Jon Davis had to ask that 35 people leave because the meeting room exceeded capacity.As expected, the vast majority of those who were in attendance oppose the hotel, which is currently designed to have three stories and 165 total rooms. A zoning change is being requested and will be heard before the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday, March 21, in Cottonwood.
The zoning for that piece of property has remained the same since 1968. Under the current zoning, only two homes could be built on the 4.74-acre lot. Following more than 90 minutes of presentations and public input, the BPRCC voted unanimously to deny recommendation to the county to allow the zone change. The council is not a governing body but rather an advisory one to the county. BPRCC’s planning and zoning committee also unanimously recommended denial.
