Dozens of Rimrock residents showed up to stand in the dry lakebed of the former Lake Montezuma for what they described as a “stand-in” on Thursday, May 1, to protest the failure of the lake’s owner to refill it and call for it to be refilled as soon as possible. The lake has been dry since 2023 when Douglas Edgelow, the owner of Sedona Vineyards LLC, purchased the former Beaver Creek Golf Course and drained it. Maintaining the lake is a condition of the property’s Planned Area Development zoning, and failure to comply with a zoning ordinance is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
On Nov. 12, a Yavapai County administrative hearing officer ordered the lake to be refilled by Jan. 20; if it was not, Edgelow would be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000. The stand-in began at 11a.m. and ran until 4p.m., with music, chairs and shade provided on the lake bottom. Event organizer Alexi Allens said that since the lake was drained, the otters, turtles and javelina that previously frequented the area are now gone and that the foundations of nearby homes have been affected by the subsequent drying of the soil.
“I’ve been working with a geotech engineer who also did my property, and he explained how the dirt contracts which thencracks the foundation and the walls,” Allens said. “Houses quite a ways away from the actual lake have been cracking.”
Allens said people are “passionate” about their lake and that the local fire services would appreciate having it refilled as well.
“They said they would love to have the water back; in case we have a wildfire, they can draw from the resource, from the water in the lake,” Allens said. She also argued that property values in the area had plummeted. Allens said she will continue sending petitions and holding stand-ins until the lake is refilled.
