During the Wednesday, Jan. 15, Yavapai County Board of Supervisors meeting, Vice Chairman and District 3 Supervisor Randy Garrison announced that the Villa Bellaggio development project has been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
“The Bellaggio development projects that was being proposed just outside of town, here in the Cornville region, has been pulled,” Garrison said in a brief statement at the beginning of the meeting. “So that will no longer be going forward. So if you’re paying attention to development happening in the Verde Valley or across this county, that is a project you won’t have to worry about, at least for the next little while.”
That was all he had to say on the matter other than he still expects to receive emails on the development even though it may not be moving forward.
In an interview with Larson Newspapers late last year, owner-developer Doug Adams, of Mesa, said Villa Bellaggio would be an Italian-style village made up of houses, apartments, business area and wineries off Oak Creek Valley Road. The purchase of the land was contingent on the project receiving the needed zone changes from the county.
“We were looking for a project that would offer affordable housing close to Sedona,” Adams said at the time. “We had this idea before we even heard about the project north of us [Spring Creek Ranch]. And by having an Italian village feel to it, it offers something different and not simply row after row of houses.”
Because of its location, Adams said there was just one family within 1,000 feet of the proposed project. This is one of the reasons why his project was requesting to have five-story buildings on the land. He said these would be limited to the proposed apartments/condos and not any hotels.
“You won’t be able to see anything from State Route 89A or from anywhere else for that matter,” he said. “So whether it’s one or five stories, what’s the difference? I don’t want people to think everything that’s built will be five stories. We would plan to have a nice mix of buildings of varying heights, again similar to that of a hilltop Italian village but in this case, in a valley.”
Because of costs like sewer and water and a new fire truck, Adams said in order to maintain the plan to offer affordable housing, density — such as a five-story apartment complex — would be needed. He added that the taller buildings may have included a first floor for retail or restaurants, the second floor a possible office and the remaining floors residential.
“The plan right now would be to sell pieces of the property off to other developers or for us to have joint ventures with others,” Adams said.
With Villa Bellaggio withdrawn, Spring Creek Ranch is the only proposed large development between Cottonwood and Page Springs Road off State Route 89A that is still up for consideration by the county.
Both Villa Bellaggio and Spring Creek Ranch have garnered a lot of attention in the area from concerned residents. The county has received hundreds of letters from residents regarding both.
In December the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-4 to recommend denial to the supervisors for a zone change request by the owners of Spring Creek Ranch.
On Jan. 15, at the regular Yavapai County Board of Supervisors meeting in Cottonwood, Spring Creek Ranch applicants Eric and Lisa Borowsky requested a continuance for a zoning map change of approximately 282 acres, known as Spring Creek, until the Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, March 18.
Yavapai County Development Services Director David C. Williams informed the board that they could go ahead with the continuance or, by direction of the board, remand the application back to the Planning & Zoning Commission.
“The Planning and Zoning Commission had reviewed the old plans but had not seen the plans since the applicant made changes, based on public input,” Williams said.
“I really appreciate that the applicant has taken the concerns expressed in regards to this application seriously, and wants to reach out and engage our community in hope of finding some common ground and shared benefits,” Garrison said.
District 1 Supervisor Rowle P. Simmons made a motion to remand the application back to the Planning and Zoning commission and District 2 Supervisor Thomas Thurman seconded. The board’s vote was unanimous.
“I think this is the right thing to do since the applicant has made substantial changes to the original plan, and because the P&Z commission was mixed on their vote, they had not provided the board with clear direction.”
Both Spring Creek and Villa Bellaggio are in Thurman’s district.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795 ext 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
