SR179 road widening impacts Sedona home

Ms. Taylor and her husband, Larry, moved to Sedona in 1998 and built their home on Spur Circle. They started a successful artistic mixed metal and ceramic sculpture company called Earth & Sky Creations by Taylor, and their home became both a studio and art gallery. Their residence was featured in "Better Homes and Gardens Building Ideas Magazine" and has hosted many architectural and artistic tour groups.

In 2007, Larry died of a heart attack. Said Gayle, "This is the first time that I'm glad Larry isn't here. This construction would just make him heart sick."

On February 19, 2008 Ms. Taylor says she returned home to discover that the entire ADOT right-of-way by her home had been bulldozed, including all trees and vegetation. On February 20th, at approximately 7:15am, she says that ADOT used their equipment to remove one of the outdoor sculptures created by she and her husband that was on ADOT's right-of-way. In neither case did she receive any notification from ADOT.

Since the area in front of her home is on ADOT's right-of-way, there is not much that Ms. Taylor can do; and she appears to have resigned herself to that fact. "At this point," said Ms. Taylor, "I just want to minimize the impact of the construction."

She has met with representatives of ADOT and the City of Sedona to ask for help. Said Ms. Taylor, "I have met with my architect...and [I want to] design a wall that will be aesthetically attractive, help preserve the value of my property, provide me with much needed privacy, and save as many trees and vegetation as possible.."

She plans to construct a 220 foot long wall along the new roadway and she is asking to use up to 100 feet of ADOT's right of way for a portion of the wall in order to save a number of trees.

She is also asking ADOT to help dig the trenching for the wall since their equipment is already on site, and also build a berm in front of the wall.

Lastly, she hopes ADOT will help her move the sculpture that they moved to a new location.

Ms. Taylor cites ADOT's SR 179 Project Overview: "The central goal of the project is to develop a transportation corridor that addresses safety, mobility and preservation of scenic, aesthetics, historic, environmental and other community values..."

* Note: Ms. Taylor lives on Spur Circle, not Spruce Circle, and the
highway is being widened to 57 feet, not by 57 feet, as stated in the video.

Letter to the Editor

I am a Senior citizen who has lived in Sedona for a total of 24 years -- and I am justifiably outraged! My home is at 174 Juniper Trail, Lot 15 in Doodlebug Subdivision, on a once quiet dead-end road. Not only has the Hwy 179 "improvement" project come up to and impacted our back lot line, but Juniper Trail itself has become nothing more than an access road for all manner of highway construction equipment, both heavy and light, and frequently a parking lot for construction workers. Oftentimes this increased traffic is moving at a speed that has no consideration for residents' cars nor for people walking dogs. And the paved surface of Juniper Trail, a city street, is beginning to break down from this heavy traffic and overuse.

Initially a construction employee on-site during the first day of this phase assured me that only about 10 to 15 feet of trees would be removed from our side of Hwy 179. In reality, they took 30 to 40 feet or more! This has a direct impact on the value of our property and our ability to sell it if such an occasion should become necessary! Our appraisal clearly states "the mature vegetation on the rear portion of the site acts as a buffer for the traffic (noise as well as visibility)". We now have a clear view of traffic across the entire property line, and an increase in traffic noise directly attributable to the removal of so many mature trees. This will worsen as the highway traffic is moved even closer to our once-private deck. The red rock view from our deck now includes a view down the throat of a huge culvert across the wash that is on our lot.

It is apparent that ours is the only property in Doodlebug that has received neither compensation nor consideration, and been impacted to this extent by the current construction and the proposed appearance and aesthetic quality of the final result of the Hwy 179 project. On a daily basis, we are sandwiched between disruptive construction in back and heavy traffic in front -- all beginning early in the morning. I am 80 and my husband is 84. This house represents much of our life savings. Our ability to live comfortably in Sedona is based solely on the expectation that we may continue to see an increase in the value of our property, and not an ADOT imposed decrease. It is sad to think that this is how the value of a quarter century spent in Sedona comes to an end; sadder still to see how Senior citizens can be treated in this "improvement."

Please help our situation by continuing the 6 to 8 foot high wall along the highway to act as a sight and sound buffer! It is not right to force us to sit on our deck and look into nearby car windows as they pass by. And please, when trees are replanted along the right-of-way, fill our open spaces with very large and healthy specimens. Considering the situation into which we have been thrown, honoring these requests would be a simple task to perform. They are imperative to the value of our property and to our quality of life!!

Liz Heffren