The Coconino County Board of Supervisors shot down a rezoning request Tuesday for a proposed resort community on Interstate 17 between Flagstaff and Munds Park.
The project, called the Windmill Ranch Resort, would have brought 151 RV sites and 147 cabins to a 61-acre stretch of property just south of the Newman Park exit.
The developer had asked the county to change the area's zoning designation from the general zone to a resort commercial zone.
The project had been unanimously approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in February, with some commissioners saying it was the best project proposed for the area that they had seen in some time. But it was a different story with the Board of Supervisors.
Before voting, the discussion of the project among the supervisors was fairly scant; board members seemed somewhat uncomfortable speaking about the project, with long moments of silence before the vote was called.
In the end, the decision to reject the project was unanimous, although Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez did not vote and appeared to have dropped off the meeting sometime before the vote was called for.
Several of the supervisors acknowledged that they believed the project was well planned and put together, but they still harbored mixed feelings.
Issues surrounding off-road vehicles were of particular concern to the board, as was building on a highly visible area that is, at the moment, mostly undeveloped.
“I’m seeing what I perceive to be an urbanized design in one of our actually iconic gateways as you look at the Peaks and you have the meadow that's along that area,” said Board Chair Matt Ryan, who represents District 5 including the development area. “It’s a well designed project, there's no question about it, [but] I’m struggling making the findings on this one.”
And Supervisor Patrice Horstman also echoed that sentiment.
"The reason why it still remains difficult for me is that, here in Coconino County, we have large areas of rural natural open areas. The vast landscapes of rural Coconino County are really part of our charm -- it promotes our economy, it promotes our historical values,” Horstman said.
Supervisors may have also been swayed by public input, which was largely in opposition to the project. Before voting, the supervisors also heard from a handful of members of the public, some of whom were residents of nearby Munds Park who raised concerns over off-road vehicles and the potential for short-term rentals.
Vice Chair Lena Fowler referenced some of those comments before she voted against the development.
“I think this is a really good design, but the concerns from the communities are legitimate. There are concerns about the ATVs in the forest and out in the community; we’ve been getting those complaints for some time throughout the county,” Fowler said.
The developer had committed to providing education materials to residents about leave-no-trace practices and proper forest service trails to drive off-road vehicles, but Fowler pointed out that once a resident left the development, there was no way to enforce those teachings.
Before the vote, the developer had also agreed to add a condition to the development agreement that they consult the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office on the issue of off-road vehicles. Similar discussions had already began to occur with National Forest officials.
Ryan said one reason he was uncomfortable with the project is that it was placed in a well-known meadow area. Projects in such areas are often placed on the edge of the clearing to preserve a portion of the meadow, he said.
About half of the project was to be set aside as open space, but Ryan pointed out that almost all of that open space would still be modified as opposed to simply untouched by the developers.
The board's decision comes as the county has seen a new wave of camping resort proposals across remote areas.
The project area has historically been used for ranching activities and is surrounded by the Coconino National Forest on three sides. Although it is largely undeveloped, there are currently several ranching buildings, stock pens and two billboards on the site.
The billboards don’t conform to current county codes, but were grandfathered in and would have been removed to make way for the resort.
According to the developer, short-term rentals also would not have been allowed on the site, with leases on RV spots lasting at least a year. The cabins would have been sold, but could not be rented out by their owners for less than a month.
If the developer were to appeal the board’s decision, the case would be heard in Coconino County Superior Court.
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Adrian Skabelund can be reached by phone at (928) 556-2261, by email at askabelund@azdailysun.com or on Twitter at @AdrianSkabelund.
Adrian Skabelund
Reporter - Government, Development
