Sedona City Zoning Code

ARTICLE 7

Subdivision

7.1. Purpose

This article establishes the minimum standards for the design and improvement of land subdivision and land splits to:

A. Facilitate the orderly growth and harmonious development of the City and to protect and promote public health, safety, and welfare.

B. Provide lots and parcels of sufficient size and appropriate design for the purposes for which they are to be used;

C. Protect the natural environment and scenic beauty of Sedona by promoting the use of good design, landscape architecture, and civil engineering to preserve and enhance natural topographic features, watercourses, drainage ways, floodplains, slopes, ridgelines, rock outcrops, native vegetation, and trees and to control erosion and minimize runoff;

D. Provide safe ingress and egress for vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic;

E. Encourage the placement of roads and driveways so that they follow natural topography wherever possible, and minimize cutting and grading;

F. Ensure safe and efficient traffic circulation through coordinated and connected street systems with relation to major thoroughfares, adjoining subdivisions, adjoining streets, and public facilities;

G. Provide adequate water supply, sewage disposal, storm drainage and other utilities and facilities;

H. Provide for adequate sites for schools, recreation areas, access to public lands (trailheads), and other public purposes;

I. Facilitate the transfer of lands having accurate legal descriptions and to establish and assure the rights, duties and responsibilities of subdividers and developers with respect to land development;

J. Ensure that the costs of providing the necessary rights-of-way, street improvements, utilities and public areas and facilities for new developments are borne fairly and equitably; and

K. Encourage the clustering of dwellings and other structures to preserve open space, preserve the natural terrain, minimize impervious area and resulting water runoff, minimize adverse visual impacts, minimize public infrastructure costs, and prevent public safety hazards;

L. Provide a common ground of understanding and an equitable working relationship between public and private interests, so that both independent and mutual objectives can be achieved in the subdivision of land.

7.2. Applicability

7.3. Subdivision Standards

7.4. Improvement Standards

A. General

This article shall apply to all subdivisions and land divisions located wholly or partially within the City.

B. Conflict with Other Standards

In the event of a conflict between this article and other provisions of this Code or the Sedona City Code, the more restrictive provisions shall prevail.

C. Existing Subdivision Agreements and Covenants

Subdivisions filed and recorded on a final plat prior to the effective date of this Code shall not be regulated by this article unless proposed for any re-subdivision meeting the minimum applicability standards established in this Article 7.

A. General

(1) Every subdivision shall comply with all other ordinances and regulations of the City and the Arizona Revised Statutes.

(2) Public infrastructure shall be constructed in accordance with Engineering Standards Manual or, in the absence of such detail, shall be constructed in accordance with the Maricopa Association of Governments Standard Drawings and Specifications (MAG specs). If no standard or specification can be found, then the standard or specification used shall be subject to approval by the City Engineer.

B. Minimum Standards

The standards in this article are minimum standards. The City may impose more restrictive standards when it finds that they are necessary to conform the design of a proposed subdivision to sound engineering or design standards or other standards in this Code, as well as the general vision and goals of the Sedona Community Plan.

C. Lot Planning

The design and layout of lots shall be dependent upon topography, natural vegetation, soil conditions, drainage, street traffic, or other conditions. The following standards shall apply:

For a new subdivision, the number of lots created shall comply with the maximum density limits set forth for the applicable zoning district in Article 2: Zoning Districts.

For a lot split, the lots created shall comply with the minimum lot size limits set forth for the applicable zoning district in Article 2: Zoning Districts.

a. Lot width, area, and building setbacks shall comply with the minimum requirements of this Code and shall be appropriate for the location and character of development proposed and for the type and extent of street and utility improvements being installed. Modifications may be granted pursuant to Section 8.8.B, Minor Modification.

b. Side lot lines shall be at right angles or radial to street lines, except where other terrain makes such design impractical.

c. Double frontage lots are discouraged in new subdivisions.

d. Flag lots and other irregularly shaped lots are discouraged in new and existing subdivisions.

e. Corner lots may be required to be wider than interior lots to provide for setback requirements.

f. No lot shall be divided by a city, county, school district, other taxing agency boundary, or zoning or Community Plan designation boundary.

g. The construction envelope on a lot shall be determined by the setback requirements for the lot and the location of natural and/or topographic features such as drainage ways, rock outcrops, native vegetation, and trees.

Lots shall be designed and located to provide positive drainage away from all buildings, shall comply with the standards in Section 5.3, Grading and Drainage, and shall allow for the infiltration of storm water runoff to the maximum extent feasible.

a. Every residential lot shall abut a public or private street. Access to residential lots shall be from local streets except as specifically authorized by the Director and the City Engineer; and

b. For subdivisions, at least two points of vehicular access into a proposed subdivision shall be provided, where feasible, unless it can be shown to the satisfaction of the City Engineer that legal, topographical, and/or engineering constraints preclude such access. For lot splits, shared common access shall be provided to the maximum extent practicable.

a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, if access is serving five lots or less (including the flag lot), the width of the flagpole portion of a flag-shaped lot shall be no less than:

1. Thirty feet when both public water and sewer systems are to serve such a residential lot.

2. Forty feet when both public water and sewer systems are to serve such a commercial or industrial lot.

3. Twenty-four feet when only a public water or a public sewer system is to serve such a lot.

4. Twenty-four feet when the lot will not be served by a public water or public sewer system.

b. The length of the flag pole portion of the lot shall not exceed 300 feet and shall comply with all other standards and measurements of this Code and other regulating agencies.

c. Flag lots where the length of the flag pole portion exceeds 130 feet shall provide a permanent turnaround approved by the City Engineer and the Sedona Fire District.

The Director may, upon application by the property owner, modify the construction envelope for an individual lot as shown on the final plat provided that:

a. The revised construction envelope is equally as sensitive to the natural conditions as the original construction envelope;

b. The area of the construction envelope is not enlarged; and

c. The construction envelope meets the setback requirements for the respective zoning district. [Ord. 2023-03 § 1 (Exh. A), 4-25-23].

D. Sensitive Lands

Development of lands that are subject to periodic inundation, subsidence of the earth’s surface, high water table, or have difficult topography, unstable soils, or other natural or manmade hazards to life or property shall be avoided to the maximum extent practicable, unless it can be substantiated that:

a. The proposed lot configurations and sizes, grading and drainage techniques or other special development approaches are reasonable and necessary to protect the public health, safety, or general welfare on any lands to be subdivided that are impacted by these characteristics.

b. The sensitive lands are protected through a cluster subdivision, pursuant to Section 7.3.J(2), Cluster Subdivision.

c. The Council may approve subdivision of such land upon receipt of evidence from the City Engineer, the County Flood Control Districts, State and County Health Authorities, and other area Emergency Services Authorities that the construction of specific improvements can be expected to render the land suitable. Construction upon such land shall be prohibited until specified improvements have been planned and construction guaranteed.

a. Lot lines and streets shall be located on or near the crest of ridges or hilltops to preclude prominent line of sight building construction. Building pads shall not be located on or near the crest of ridge lines; and

b. Building pads located near the crest of ridge lines shall be set back from the ridge edge so that they would not be silhouetted and existing trees shall be preserved to screen proposed structures. (See Figure 7-1.)

ridgeline development — Figure 7-1: Ridgeline Development

Because of the unique and peculiar problems inherent in the development of hillsides, special standards and conditions for hillside development areas (an area with average slopes exceeding 15 percent) apply.

a. Sidewalks may be replaced by trails or pathways.

b. Each private access way serving more than one lot shall have a minimum paved surface of 16 feet in width or as may be required by the Engineering Standards Manual. Where needed, as determined by the City Engineer, additional easements for drainage or utilities shall be provided.

E. Block Layout

Residential blocks shall not be less than 300 feet nor more than 600 feet in length. The City may approve a shorter or longer block length when necessary to accommodate natural features such as steep slopes, environmentally sensitive lands, and pedestrian linkages.

Blocks shall have sufficient width to provide for two tiers of lots of depth meeting the minimum requirements of this Code, except where lots back onto a collector or greater street, natural feature, or subdivision boundary, or where lots face an approved cul-de-sac.

F. Street Design

All public and private streets shall comply with the Engineering Standards Manual and the Sedona City Code, and shall comply with the following standards:

Whenever a tract to be subdivided is located within an area for which a CFA or Specific Area Plan has been approved by the City Council, the street arrangement shall conform substantially to this plan.

a. All new collector and local streets shall connect with surrounding streets at safe and convenient locations as required by the Director to allow convenient movement of traffic and reasonable access for emergency vehicles.

b. When connections to surrounding streets are proposed or required by the City, public right-of-way shall be dedicated and streets developed to existing paved rights-of-way.

c. Where there is no paved street between the subdivision and an existing paved street, an interim street, improved in accordance with local street standards, shall be constructed by the applicant for developments with densities in excess of one residential unit per two acres of land.

d. Whenever possible, proposed intersections along one side of a street shall coincide with existing or proposed intersections on the opposite side of such street. Where a centerline offset (jog) occurs at an intersection, the distance between centerlines of the intersecting streets shall be not less than required by the Engineering Standards Manual.

e. The street pattern shall not cause adjacent property to be landlocked nor prevent access to public land.

a. Streets shall be arranged in relation to existing topography to produce streets of reasonable gradient to facilitate adequate drainage and to produce desirable lots of maximum utility.

b. Where a subdivision abuts or contains the right-of-way of a drainage way, a limited access highway or an irrigation ditch or abuts a commercial or industrial land use, the Director may require the location of a street approximately parallel to and on each side of this right-of-way at a distance suitable for appropriate use of the intervening land. This distance shall be determined with due regard for approach grades, drainage, bridges or future grade separations.

a. Streets shall be related appropriately to the expected use of the property. Minimum requirements for street right-of-way, pavement width, and other standards for public and private streets are set forth in the Engineering Standards Manual.

b. Other designs and materials may be required for the construction of streets, curbs, and sidewalks when, in the determination of the City Engineer, such methods would be more environmentally desirable or more in keeping with the design of the development or neighborhood.

c. Turnarounds shall be provided at the ends of cul-de-sacs and at elbows on one-way streets. Turnarounds shall meet the minimum requirements of the Sedona Fire District.

Unless otherwise provided in this Code, sidewalks shall be provided by the developer and installed on both sides of all arterials, collector streets, and local streets (including loop lanes and cul-de-sacs), and within and along the frontage of all new development. Also see Section 5.4.H, Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation.

G. Street Naming and Traffic Control Signs

The subdivider shall indicate the street name for public streets on the preliminary plat by projecting existing north-south and east-west street names that fall in alignment. Where no current streets are in alignment, the subdivider may propose a name subject to final approval by the City Engineer and City Council.

a. All streets in a subdivision shall be named and identified by signs installed at every street intersection.

b. These signs shall be standard street signs as indicated in the current edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

c. All traffic control signs, as well as street name signs, required in a subdivision shall be provided and installed by the City at the expense of the subdivider in conformance with the current edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and any relevant Arizona state supplements.

H. Easement Planning

(1) Easements for utilities shall be provided as necessary to ensure the provision of services to each lot. The developer will provide to the Director written documentation of approval by the utilities with respect to easements.

(2) Areas dedicated for easements shall have sufficient width for roadway and other improvements, including roadway, drainage, utilities, pedestrian access with consideration of sidewalks, slope, landscaping, and consideration of bike lanes.

(3) Land within a public street or land within a utility easement for major power transmission (tower) lines or pipelines, or land within an access and/or ingress/egress easement, shall not be considered part of the minimum required lot area or lot width except where lots exceed one-half acre in area. This shall not be applicable to land involved in utility easements for distribution or service purposes.

(4) Drainage easements shall be provided to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and the County Flood Control District. Drainage easements shall be provided as required by the Engineering Standards Manual. Such easements shall not necessarily prohibit construction over drainage ways so long as required flows are maintained.

(5) Buildings above drainage easements shall be constructed such that the supporting foundation bridges the drainage easement and allows for removal and replacement of the drainage facility.

(6) Easements necessary to ensure nonmotorized access to adjacent public lands shall be provided to the satisfaction of the Director and the Forest Service.

(7) Trails and/or walkways may be required where essential for circulation or access to schools, playgrounds, shopping centers, transportation and other community facilities. Such trails and/or walkways may be used for utility purposes. [Ord. 2020-04 § 1, 9-8-20 (Res. 2020-16)].

I. Reservation of Land for Public Use

Land areas within a subdivision may be reserved for parks, trails, recreational facilities, and other public facilities including open space, drainage facilities, storm water facilities, and wastewater facilities; provided, that the reservations are in accordance with adopted specific plans and other goals, objectives and standards adopted by the City Council to ensure that City-identified amenities and community benefits are provided.

J. Alternatives to Subdivision Standards

Alternatives to the standards in this article shall be subject to approval by the City Engineer and Director prior to approval of the subdivision application pursuant to Section 8.8.B, Minor Modification.

This section provides optional standards for cluster subdivision development to protect sensitive lands and common open space areas, and to implement the Sedona Community Plan and/or adopted CFA or specific area plans. A cluster subdivision is a residential or mixed-use subdivision in which some or all of the lots are allowed to be smaller (in area and width) than otherwise required for the underlying zoning district, in exchange for permanent protection of sensitive lands and/or common open space. (See Figure 7-2.)

1. The cluster subdivision option is available in the RS-70, RS-35, RS-18, RS-10, RS-6, RMH, RM-1, RM-2, RM-3, M1, M2, M3, OC, and PD districts.

2. The minimum parcel size for a cluster subdivision shall be at least three acres.

3. All other standards in the LDC shall apply to cluster subdivisions unless modified by this section.

The standards for cluster subdivision lots are established in Table 7.1 below. The measurements and exceptions in Section 2.23 shall also apply to cluster subdivision lots unless otherwise stated in Table 7.1.

Project Site Standards
Type of Standard	Requirement
Density, maximum	Per underlying zoning district ^[1]
Parcel size, minimum	3 acres
Individual Lot Standards (minimum)
Lot width	25 feet
Notes: [1] Maximum density calculated by taking the gross land area within the cluster subdivision boundary divided by the maximum units per acre allowed in the underlying zoning district.

1. Protected lands shall be identified on the final subdivision plat with a notation that indicates that those lands shall not be used for future development.

2. Protected lands shall be marked in the field with appropriate permanent signage markers in order to distinguish these areas from private property.

3. Protected lands shall be permanently maintained and preserved as:

i. Open space lots with deed restrictions; or

ii. Land dedicated to the City; or

iii. Protected through a conservation easement; or

iv. Other means of permanent protection approved by the City.

4. For any protected land not dedicated to the City, the developer shall provide a permanent mechanism acceptable to the City Attorney for the primary purpose of conservation, preservation, and management of protected lands.

5. There shall be no further subdivision of land in an area approved for cluster subdivision; however, dedication of easements for public purposes may be permitted.

1. Protected lands shall be left in an undisturbed natural state or landscaped pursuant to Section 5.6, Landscaping, Buffering, and Screening.

2. The protected lands shall be used for low-intensity recreation, agriculture, buffers, critical wildlife habitat, or other passive park or open space purposes.

3. The use of protected lands may be further limited or controlled at the time of final approval where necessary to protect adjacent properties.

The review and approval of cluster subdivisions shall follow the procedures for preliminary and final plats, or land division permits in Section 8.5, Subdivision Procedures. The applicable procedure is dependent on the number of lots proposed in the cluster subdivision.

A. Purpose

(1) It is the purpose of this section to establish in outline the minimum acceptable standards for improvement of streets and utilities and to define the responsibility of the subdivider in the planning, constructing and financing of improvements.

(2) All improvements in streets or easements that are required as a condition to plat approval shall be the responsibility of the subdivider.

B. Improvement Plans

(1) It shall be the responsibility of the subdivider to have a civil engineer registered in the state of Arizona prepare a complete set of improvement plans for construction of water and public sanitary sewer facilities or other approved alternate system and all other required improvements. Such plans shall be based on the approved preliminary plat and be prepared in conjunction with the final plat.

(2) Final construction plans for all improvements shall be approved and signed by the City Engineer before approval of the final plat by the Council.

C. Construction and Inspection

(1) All relocation and reconstruction of irrigation facilities shall be done to standards of the owning utility and City Engineer.

(2) All improvements in the public right-of-way shall be constructed under the inspection and approval of the Public Works Department. All construction in public rights-of-way and private streets shall require a City permit. Construction shall not begin until a permit has been issued for the construction. If work has been discontinued for any reason for more than 30 days, it shall not be resumed before notifying the department having jurisdiction.

(3) Improvements proposed or required on county or state highway rights-of-way shall be included in the improvement plans and designed to the applicable county or state standards. Before approval by the City Engineer, the subdivider shall acquire the approval of these improvements by the applicable county or state authorities.

(4) The locations of all utilities to be installed in public rights-of-way or in private streets shall be in accordance with the City’s right-of-way permit and be approved by the City Engineer.

(5) When located under the pavement, utility mains, utility services and/or conduit shall be installed, with sufficient lateral connections stubbed to accommodate each parcel, and identified, and all trench backfill shall be recompacted in accordance with the City’s right-of-way permit and to a density acceptable to the City Engineer, before the final street surfacing is installed.

(6) Underground utilities may be extended and easements shall be required to the boundaries of the plat to provide service connections to abutting unsubdivided land.

(7) The developer shall provide an as-built plan for all utility installations to the City.

D. Subdivision Improvement Agreements for Phased Developments

(1) Upon the approval by the Council of the final plat, the subdivider shall execute an agreement with the City that includes the following:

a. Provisions for satisfactory drainage, traffic movements, utilities and other services determined by the City Engineer in conjunction with required subdivision improvements for each development phase within the subdivision;

b. A schedule specifying the time period in which the improvements for each phase shall be completed. Circumstances under which a time extension would be granted, including a review of the adequacy of financial assurance, may be included in the agreement;

c. Provision of financial assurance for the construction of improvements within each phase of development:

1. The subdivider may apply to the City Engineer for an appropriate reduction in the amount of financial assurance retained by the City or refund of cash deposit upon completion of each phase;

2. Any work abandoned or not completed by the subdivider may be completed by the City, which shall recover the construction costs from the subdivider or surety;

3. No lots shall be released for sale from the approved development phase until either the agreement or an assurance of construction has been posted and accepted by the City Engineer.

(2) Notwithstanding the above provisions, a subdivider may, with the approval of the Director and the City Engineer, record a final plat for all of the proposed subdivision, yet only provide financial assurances for the construction of each phase proposed for immediate development.

E. Warranties

When a roadway, sewer, storm drainage, sidewalk, or any other infrastructure is to be dedicated to the City, the warranty period shall be a minimum of two years, commencing on the date when said appurtenances are accepted by the City Engineer per Engineering Standards Manual. Any warranties provided by the contractor exceeding this two-year period shall be assigned to the City upon its acceptance of said work.

F. Withholding of Building Permits

Any parcel of land which has been the result of major or minor subdivision that does not comply with this Code shall not be a legal building site. No building permits shall be issued by the Director in such subdivision until it is caused to comply with this Code.

G. Required Improvements for Subdivisions

a. Where there are existing streets adjacent to the subdivision, subdivision streets shall be improved in accordance with this Code and the Engineering Standards Manual and to the intercepting paving line of such existing streets or to a matching line determined by the City Engineer. Transition paving shall be installed as required by the City Engineer.

b. No subdivision shall be approved or recorded until provisions have been made to ensure an access road, approved by the City Engineer. Forest Service roads are not considered adequate access unless approved by the Forest Service.

a. Vertical curbs shall be installed along arterial and collector streets and on streets along school, park, or commercial property. Rolled curb shall be used on streets in residential areas with 2,000 ADT or less. In certain cases drainage conditions may preclude the use of rolled curb. The inability to use rolled curb must be demonstrated by the appropriate drainage analysis.

b. Where rolled curb is allowed, five feet of vertical curb shall be provided on both sides of a sidewalk ramp.

a. Permanent monuments shall be installed as specified by the City Engineer at all corners, angle points and points of curve, at all street intersections and all corners and at angle points and points of curve of all conservation easements.

b. After all improvements have been installed, a registered land surveyor shall check the location of monuments and certify their accuracy.

a. New utilities shall be installed underground, except for those excepted by Section 5.7.D(6).

b. When overhead utility lines exist within the property being platted, including boundary easements, these utility lines and new installations within the platted area shall be placed underground.

c. When overhead utility lines exist on the periphery of the property being platted, they and any additions or replacements needed to increase capacity or improve service reliability may remain overhead; provided, that any service drops into the platted area from said peripheral overhead lines shall be underground.

d. Underground utilities may be extended and easements shall be required to the boundaries of the plat to provide service connections to abutting unsubdivided land.

Each lot shall be supplied with safe, potable water with systems that are stubbed out to the property line. Water supply shall be provided in sufficient volume and designed to the standards of ADEQ and the current applicable City building codes.

a. Proper and adequate provisions shall be made for disposal of storm water entering, as well as that originating in, the development. This shall apply to grading of private properties, private access ways and to public streets.

b. Existing major watercourses shall be maintained.

c. The type, extent, location and capacity of drainage facilities for a subdivision shall be as required by the City Engineer in accordance with the approved hydrology report.

d. Increases in on-site storm water runoff due to development shall be addressed in the hydrologic/hydraulic analysis and shall meet the criteria set forth in the Yavapai County Drainage Criteria Manual. This document is on file with the City Engineer.

e. When drainage is required to cross at intersecting streets, concrete curb returns and cross-gutters may be required.

Sanitary sewage disposal shall be provided in accordance with state, county and City health requirements.

Fire protection facilities shall meet the criteria of the International Fire Code as adopted by the Sedona Fire District and shall be subject to the review and approval of the Fire Marshal.

All landscaping, including walls, fences and watering systems, related to the approved subdivision shall be in accordance with approved plans.