City welcomes rentals as sawdust fills the air

By Vyto Starinskas published in the Verded Independent July 24, 2022 

COTTONWOOD – The aroma of freshly cut lumber was filling the hot desert air surrounding the construction site of the 192-unit Inspiration apartment project – just as another 48-unit residential development was approved for Main Street on Monday.

The new project, which is across from the former Hog Wild building, is to be known as Bungalows on Main, according to the LLC.

The site is a large vacant parcel on the south side of Main Street, at the entrance to Old Town, and will be developed as a multifamily residential rental development with a density of approximately five units per acre, according to the application submitted for design review at a meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission. The city once looked at this site for a city hall location, but deemed it too expensive.

Bungalows on Main will function more like a grouping of attached single-family buildings and is akin to a compact single-family subdivision, they explained in the agenda for the hearing.

Buildings will be grouped to create intimate courtyards, anchored by shade trees to support healthy neighborhood interaction

P&Z Commissioner Randy Garrison said the motion, which passed 5 to 1, only dealt with the design, and said the project already met the zoning requirements.

Garrison said he felt the density of the project was too high and too close to the road, but they only could discuss the architectural design. There will be a lot of open space as part of the trade-off, he said.

Garrison asked city staff to give a monthly report on all the apartments that the city has approved in the last half year. He said the city has spent a lot of time approving several apartment projects and he wanted to know how many are breaking ground.

Fain Signature Group broke ground for its 192-unit Inspiration apartments with a ceremony on Dec. 7, 2021, and the group said Phase One of the five-phase project is 50% complete.

The project is going well and it is on schedule, according to Guy Roginson, of, Fain Signature Group, on Thursday. “Leasing has not begun yet. Typically, leasing starts approximately 90 days before opening. We are hoping to begin occupancy in March of 2023.”

The multi-family residential apartment community can now be seen rising at 345 State Route 89A across the street from the Verde Valley Medical Center.

Inspiration’s apartments will have one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, the developer explained. Amenities include a clubhouse, community pool, spa, work-out room, dog park and barbecue areas.

Leasing offices will not be open until the project is near completion, but Roginson said people can submit inquiries at InspirationApts.com

City Manager Ron Corbin said the apartment construction is going along “as expected.” He was amazed by the amount of lumber being used at Inspiration.

In another housing project in the city, the developer at Mesquite Hills, which is building more new homes off Mingus Avenue near the Verde Valley Humane Society, started paving new streets last week. He said there will be hundreds of homes.

Across the street from the Human Society on Mingus Avenue ground is being prepared for a new RV park similar to the one in Camp Verde, Corbin said.

Also, he said, the development Kindra Heights is going gangbusters at the end of Old Town Cottonwood. “Beautiful homes.”

Plans are ready to be picked up for the Sixth Street Lofts apartments for about 50 units, he said. They can start once they pick up their permits.

The city staff is still in the “process” with the developer from the proposed apartment project behind Walmart and apartments on Cherry and 12th streets that have been approved by P&Z, he said.

Corvin added that some more apartments were approved behind the Post Office several months ago. “Those are still in the works.”

Houses are being built at the Vineyards, which is farther up State Route 89A towards Clarkdale, he said. The current phase is about 96 homes.

Corbin said if you ask the developers, the higher interest rates do not affect sales or construction that much.

He said instead of 20 offers, they are now getting five for a home. “There’s still more demand than there is product.”

A Phoenix developer is still moving along a proposal to develop the land across from the Verde Santa Fe development on Cornville Road and State Route 89A. They are working through water and sewer and infrastructure, the city manager added.

And “still nothing” from the developers of the Spring Creek Ranch Development, he said.

The Cottonwood City Council approved an ordinance that annexed Spring Creek Ranch, along with about 11 square miles of Coconino National Forest land in January 2021.

The Borowskys would have to present a plan to the city to develop the 282-acre Spring Creek Ranch property and have it approved by council, he said. “They have to solve water and wastewater.”

Cornville Cell Tower

By Vyto Starinskas

CORNVILLE – The plans for a cell tower near Cornville Road behind Crazy Tony’s Cornville Country Market are up in the air, according to the Yavapai County Development Services Director Jeremy Dye.

The tower was approved Feb. 2 by the director, and did not require a hearing in front of any Yavapai County Board of Supervisors.

“The applicant has notified the County that the project is suspended,” Dye said.

“To date, the applicant has not applied for building permits,” Dye said. “The applicant has 180 days from the date of the approval letter to apply for building permits, or for a 180-day extension to allow additional time to apply for building permits.”

Dye did not go into any specifics on why the permit was suspended.

However, a neighbor of the cell tower, Gillian Goslinga, said, “We wanted proof that the developer, Tilson Technology Management, had done the federally required National Environmental Policy Act review or ‘NEPA.’

“On Jan. 27, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the FCC asking for this information because the county and applicant ignored our requests,” Goslinga said. “NEPA can become a recourse, maybe the only recourse a community has, to make sure a tower placement is environmentally the smartest, safest and most responsible.”

NEPA was the only recourse, she said, because Yavapai County was not applying the full legislative intent “of their own code to protect of our environmental resources.”

“Meanwhile, the county went ahead and approved the permit on Feb. 2, stating Tilson was in full compliance with all local, state and federal regulations, including the FCC,” she said.

To make sure NEPA was reviewed, Goslinga and cell tower neighbor Runnin’ W Wildlife Center owner Billie Harvey filed a pleading with the FCC listing red flags for the NEPA review.

In an April 14 email, Jennifer Flynn, attorney-advisor for the FCC, wrote to Goslinga that “Tilson Technology Management, Inc. acknowledged receipt of Dr. Goslinga’s concerns and informed the parties that it expects to complete its environmental screening report within 60-90 days. We therefore toll the pleading cycle until July 7, 2022.”

“The FCC agreed and gave Tilson until July 7 to respond with an environmental report of their own, to which we will, of course, respond,” Goslinga said.

She brought to the FCC’s attention that there are three federally registered Oak Creek critical wetland habitats, eight endangered species, and 10 threatened migratory species as well as a native raptor and wildlife recovery center inside the immediate “action area” of the tower, and a kindergarten, she said.

Tilson Technology Management did not return requests for comment.

In an email to the Verde Independent, Dye said the applicant provided “all documentation required by the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Ordinance section 605 to our office. “

Federal requirements for wireless communication facilities are separate processes outside of the scope of Yavapai County Development Services, he added.

The tower is an allowed-use on this property “by right,” given its C-2 commercial zoning, Dye said. So it does not have to go in front of the Board of Supervisors and is approved by the Yavapai County Development Services director administratively under Section 605 of the county zoning ordinance which he did in February.

“Our county ordinances don’t require proof of NEPA review for permitting towers. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 does allow local governments to write into their codes such protections and many other protections we still don’t have here in Yavapai County,” Goslinga said. 

“We also have let the county know they cannot claim FCC compliance in a legal permit approval letter like they did without actual binding proof of compliance,” Goslinga said. 

She said she asked county officials to make sure the applicant was NEPA compliant, but Goslinga said they ignored her.

“The problem is that the county doesn’t seem to be responding to the seriousness of placing permanent and massive microwave radiation infrastructure in the middle of our rural communities and lives,” Goslinga said.

“County’s blind eye to this is a big problem for a growing many of us in Cornville and in the Verde Valley as towers and antenna pop up everywhere. “

Verde Village Commentary

Dr. Cheryl Kasdorf

This "article" was published in "The Verde Independent" at 9:01 PM, July 2, 2022. It was not bylined or sourced to a reporter.  Therefore we believe the article/letter was submitted by the Verde Village Property Owners Association (VVPOA).  It has all the earmarks of a "submitted piece".  Therefore we believe this article is outside of Copyright protection from Verde News and can be used as a public domain piece.  Anyone wishing to dispute my claim may email me at johnparsons@gmail.com

This article is meaningful to me personally even though I don't know the author.  It speaks to why someone would move to The Verde Valley and fall in Love with the area, especially The Verde River.  I believe the article is instructive because the author carefully describes the various phases she passed in her journey.  It's quite well written and a wonderful personal testimony to "All Things Verde."

"Codes, Covenants and Restrictions or CC&R’s are designed primarily to upgrade and enhance property values in a community. For more than 40 of VVPOA’s 50 years, there was an Architectural Control Committee of volunteers who devoted time and efforts to enforce the established CC&R’s to help keep the Verde Villages a desirable place to live.

Due to lack of funds, volunteers and resources, the VVPOA no longer has the ability to enforce the covenants and they have not been renewed at the 25 year deadline. Therefore, it falls on Yavapai County to enforce restrictions.

The Verde Villages were not developed like most “planned communities.” The Queen Creek Cattle Company did not follow through with essentials, such as good roads, access to utilities and fire protection. The VVPOA was formed to address these issues and thanks to the original founders, the community has turned out to be a nice place to live.

So as taxpayers, residents of the Verde Villages should call on the county when they have issues in the community that they feel need to be addressed such as junk on lots, overgrown weeds, unsightly buildings. The VVPOA cannot address any violations of covenants, codes or restrictions.

So does the VVPOA still have a purpose? We believe that we do. Volunteers have currently proposed a new mission statement which reads as follows: The VVPOA Community connects us to our neighbors, to Nature, and to the lifestyle we all seek. We’d like to invite all members of our community to help keep this a great place to live. Call 928-646-6505, leave your number and tell us what you would like to do to help.

Introducing Unit #2 Director Dr. Cheryl Kasdorf in her own words:

I established my Naturopathic Medical practice in Cottonwood in 1998. I had lived in different parts of Yavapai County since 1976 and wanted a small-town environment and found it here. When it was time to buy a house in 2013, I found exactly what I needed in the Verde Villages. It is a quiet neighborhood, dog friendly, and a 7-minute commute to my office.

What impressed me when I arrived in central Arizona were the wide-open skies. Nighttime stars, the winter rising of Orion and the ever-present Big Dipper, the moon, and a breath-taking view of the Milky Way! I had never seen it before like I can see our galaxy here.

Daytime unobscured horizons allowed me to watch storms roll in, notice when I could see the moon depending on its phase, and see the seasonal shifts of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset. All of this connected me deeply to Nature as I attuned to her cycles. That connection is now evident in my Naturopathic Medical practice.

I celebrated Flagstaff becoming the first International Dark Sky City in 2001, and I then saw Cottonwood follow in 2019. I discovered that Yavapai County, where I live, has had a dark sky ordinance since 2002. I am passionate about maintaining the darkness of night not only for star gazing, but for us humans and all the other creatures whose circadian rhythms depend on darkness. At least half of all bugs as well as animals such as foxes, skunks and coyotes are nocturnal and many others are active at dusk and dawn. Porch and yard lights left on all night disrupt their activities, impacting their lives and the balance of Nature.

I think neighbors would be surprised at how many people around them are also bothered by excess night light, especially if a light shines directly into your window. I have politely asked neighbors to turn off or shield lights, and they were happy to do so, not realizing the situation.

Now, the YC ordinance does not require residents to change existing fixtures, but for people who value the balance of Nature and perhaps also balance with their neighbors, an easy step would be to turn off outside lights when not needed, and install downward-facing and motion-activated lights for safety.

Another passion of mine is water and the Verde River. I feel fortunate that the Verde Villages have a Nature Preserve, and I go there to connect with the river. I am looking into what more I can do such as catching rainwater to make my home River Friendly as promoted by the Friends of the Verde River. I have found practical solutions to make the city water that comes into my house as healthy as possible. I myself drink, and water my garden with revitalized water, and it makes a difference in my energy and the vitality the produce gives me.

In my early adult life, I lived in community and enjoyed its many benefits. As someone who enjoyed spending lots of time by myself, it was refreshing to have ready access to others for connection and creativity.

Today I have community in various aspects of my life, but discovered that I am missing going out my door and connecting with people. I have recently come to realize that one of the most important aspects to a healthy life is community participation. A mentor impressed this upon me when he talked about the most vital part of a meal is not where the food came from, but the people you are sharing it with. That showed me where I can grow in my life.

When I saw the potential of the Verde Village community through its Association, and the efforts of the current leaders to develop a vital, supportive, fun, inspirational community, I jumped in. I am currently the elected Director for Unit #2 and am volunteering to fill the office of Secretary as well as helping with the community vision, mission and message.

I am looking for neighbors who also value real-life connection to others, beyond technology. I see that the future depends on us coming together on a neighborhood level to share resources, grow food, and celebrate together. Nothing is ever going to be the same, and we now have the opportunity to create “the lifestyle that we all seek” as stated in our mission. Let’s come together to discover what that looks like.

For my part, I know it includes a focus on Nature and health, dog walks, dark skies, Verde River conservation, creative collaboration on community projects, and getting me and my neighbors out of our houses to share together.