Carmen Howard bought a plot of land at the edge of Cloverleaf Ranch Road. With her husband retired, the two wanted to find a way to bring in more money, give him something to do and continue their involvement with the Camp Verde community.
At a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 24, the Camp Verde Town Council approved a use permit for the land to be used as a development for temporary “tiny house” residences, along with vintage RVs. She hopes to bring in long-term stays of several months — retirees, snowbirds — who can add to the town’s character.
“The property was run down when we bought it,” Howard said. “So my husband and I have been developing a vision over the past year to utilize the property to the bene t of the town. Based on the vision in the general plan — agricultural, agri-tourism, maintaining that heritage. The water rights are huge around there so to have the historical irrigation rights is really a big bonus.”
As Camp Verde’s community development manager, Howard sees her role as a property owner in conjunction with her role working for the town. She hopes to use this small community — the property can t up to 2,300 spaces, but she wants to keep it capped at roughly 30 — as a means of improving the whole town.
With her position in the town government, Howard also had a more complicated process of getting her development approved than usual. She recused herself from considering the application that she would normally have handled, leaving Planner Melinda Lee to present before the council.
Some in attendance brought up the conflict of interest of Howard applying for approval from an office she normally works in.
“I’m not in direct opposition to this project,” Councilman-elect Joe Butner said. “When the application was made by Howard, of course she spoke with Planning & Zoning Commission. I’m assuming that a memorandum such as the one that’s attached to the conflict of interest handbook, that Mrs. Howard led such a memorandum prior to this meeting as required by the Attorney General’s office.”
Town Manager Russ Martin assured the meeting-goers that Howard had not herself been involved in the application process on behalf of the town, and that the town attorney had felt she had followed conflict-of-interest rules.
Also at the meeting, there was some controversy over the project’s request for a permit in perpetuity, with some in attendance requesting that she be limited to something like 10 years. The council eventually approved in perpetuity, knowing that since the approval did not change the underlying zoning of the parcel, the council reserves the ability to undo it in the future at any time.
Councilwoman Jackie Baker was the sole vote against the proposal.
Howard says that she hopes to get the development up and running by December. Not requiring any structures, Howard said that after consulting with a contractor, she believes the lot can be made ready with septic, water and power connections in a few weeks.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
