ACTING CHAIR FEENEY: The Sedona Historic Preservation Commission met briefly and discussed several preservation items, including possible landmark nominations and a pending grant application to update the city historic survey.

The commission heard that the commission’s earlier recommendation on a separate land-use matter — the proposed zone change at the Rigby property — was recommended for denial by staff and by the Planning and Zoning Commission and is scheduled to be considered by the Sedona City Council on Dec. 9.

Why it matters: Commission work on landmark nominations and the citywide historic survey can change how future building changes are reviewed and can affect private-property owners whose structures are documented or designated. The matching grant, if awarded, would allow the city to expand the scope of a planned update to the city’s historic-property survey beyond current budgeted work.

Most important decisions and developments

- Grant application: The commission was informed that Chair Myers has submitted a grant application to the State Historic Preservation Office for a matching grant to update Sedona’s historic survey. The city has already budgeted $20,000 for the update; the grant would match that funding and “allow us to go a little bit deeper than we were originally planning,” staff said. A meeting attendee said the application is due at the end of the week. The commission was told state grants were thought to be limited to about $10,000 but that this application appeared to be “a little bit higher.” No award decision was reported at the meeting.

- Landmark candidates and surveys: Commission members and staff reported outreach and next steps for several potential landmark nominations:
- Church of the Red Rocks (United Church of Christ): Commissioners Bobby (last name not specified in transcript) and staff plan to meet with the church council on Oct. 29 to review the survey that the commission prepared and to explain what landmarking would involve. The presenter said supporters appear “quite in favor of landmarking.”
- Northern Star Motel (Star Motel), Uptown Sedona: Commissioner comments said owner Blair Morton expressed interest but needs to consult co-owners and silent partners before consenting to pursue landmark status. The commission provided the owner with the survey documentation and an explanation of the process.
- Nick’s Restaurant (private owner): Commission outreach was rebuffed; the presenter said the owners were not receptive and that that nomination is “off the table,” though the commission retains the completed survey documentation and photographs.
- A privately owned property formerly belonging to a commissioner’s family (Tom Albright): Commission members discussed arranging a survey of that property. The property owner is planning remodeling work and raised questions about restrictions; commission members said a survey could be performed without committing the owner to designation and that typical repairs such as “replace like with like” trellis work would likely be acceptable. Commissioners discussed rafter-tail lengths and roof pitch when assessing how repairs might affect historic integrity.

Process and next steps

Staff said, if the grant is awarded, the commission will be involved in the update once the work starts. Commission leadership said the preservation survey and potential landmarking items will remain recurring agenda items so the panel can report back on outreach and any owner decisions. Commissioners volunteered one member to help plan Historic Preservation Month activities at the Sedona Heritage Museum; staff cautioned about creating a quorum and asked that only one commissioner participate directly in planning meetings to avoid meeting-law issues.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes from the commission’s Aug. 11 meeting: Motion to approve recorded in the transcript but the transcript did not record mover/second or a roll-call tally; the chair announced the minutes were approved without recorded objection.

What the commission did not decide

No formal landmark designations were made at the meeting, no grant award was reported, and no specific timeline for designation was adopted. Commissioners discussed outreach and surveys and agreed to follow up at future meetings.

Meeting context and logistics

The meeting opened at about 4:09 p.m. and adjourned at about 4:30 p.m. Commissioners present included Acting Chair Feeney, Commissioner Stupak, Commissioner Woods; Chair Myers and Vice Chair Segnor were excused. Staff mentioned difficulties in some commissioners accessing the city website and suggested IT follow-up before the next meeting.

Documents and next meetings

Staff said the state grant application was due at the end of the week and that the city has budgeted $20,000 for the survey update; the commission said it will place grant results and follow-up on landmark outreach on a future agenda.