YAVAPAI COLLEGE’S NEW TRAILER PARK ON VERDE VALLEY CAMPUS: WAS IT A BADLY PLANNED AND LOCATED HOUSING SOLUTION?

Poorly maintained maintenance road separates neighbors and park,  may face future sewer environmental issues | Board and College should have listened to Paul Chevalier who represented the District where the Verde Valley Campus is located when the issue came up for brief discussion last year, not ignore him

Editor: Robert E. Oliphant

EDITORIAL:  The decision to construct a small 10-space trailer park on the Yavapai Community College’s Verde Campus, right next to the backyards of Clarkdale homeowners, is nothing short of a colossal blunder. This is particularly concerning because the only barrier separating the private homes’ backyards from the trailer park located a few feet away is the College’s poorly maintained maintenance road.

Already, this decision has compelled some neighbors to take matters into their own hands by putting up a substantial metal privacy/security fence to create a barrier between themselves and the trailer park. As apparent from  photos contained in a previous Blog post, construction of the fence must have caused neighbors to expend a lot of extra money to guarantee security and privacy because of the College’s location decision.   (Click here to see earlier Blog story and photos of fence.) 

What’s even more baffling about the location decision is the fact that there are an estimated whopping 50-60 acres of undeveloped land owned by the College immediately adjacent to the main Campus buildings. These vast, unused expanses were readily available for the creation of a small trailer park. Opting to place the trailer park in a location away from the back yards of Clarkdale neighbors would have not only shown respect for the neighborhood but also provided a location with significantly fewer potential problems.

One cannot help but question whether the planners gave any serious thought to the choice of location and the myriad challenges that come with locating a trailer park in such close proximity to a residential neighborhood. Can the College reasonably expect anything but a chorus of future complaints about noise, putrid smells coming from the large septic system, lighting, dogs barking, and litter strewn about the ground stemming from this decision? In addition to these concerns, some residents are already beginning to view the results of the extra-frugal investment in constructing the current trailer park as a Campus eyesore.

During his tenure as the District Governing Board representative, Mr. Paul Chevalier cautioned both the Board and the College executives against proceeding with this particular endeavor. Regrettably, his warning fell on deaf ears.

What’s even more disheartening is that not only were Mr. Chevalier’s concerns disregarded, but the College initiated construction of the park in March 2022 without his involvement or even his awareness. Astonishingly, the matter was never subjected to a specific budgetary vote by the Governing Board. This oversight failure occurred as the executives based in Prescott, who hold sway over all decisions affecting the Verde Valley Campus, deemed the construction cost associated with building the park inconsequential and unworthy of a detailed discussion or a specific vote.

Yet another potential future problem has been spawned by the incredibly ill-advised decision to construct a substantial septic system for use in disposing of waste coming from the trailer park. It would have been far more prudent to consider connecting to Cottonwood’s convenient sewer system, or even directly connecting with the main Cottonwood sewer plant, which is located  is a mere mile or so from the border of the Campus property.  

The planners ought to have been acutely aware of the environmental situation of the eleven thousand inhabitants of the Verde Villages, and that portions of the Verde Villages almost abut the College’s property. In response to their own concerns, the Verde Villages residents have convened a committee to deliberate on the fate of their hundreds of home and business septic systems. They’ve received expert advice indicating that while they may not currently be in violation of the Clean Water Act of 1972, it’s not a question of “if” but “when” they will be. Experts have underscored that the Environmental Protection Agency is deeply concerned about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, durable chemicals that degrade extremely slowly and are present in the effluent associated with septic systems.

The College’s septic tanks dug into the ground for the trailer park will only exacerbate the ongoing concerns in this area related to groundwater pollution.

It’s natural for Sedona/Verde Valley residents to wonder whether the Community College executives genuinely care about their area or if their primary focus is on the annual excess tax revenue generated by property owners in Sedona and the Verde Valley that can used on Prescott/Prescott Valley projects. The establishment of this tiny trailer park for students and faculty is just one of the decisions that raise doubts about the College’s commitment to Sedona and the Verde Valley. If anything, it highlights the urgent need for total  local engagement, control, and decision-making when it comes to the residents of Sedona, the Verde Valley, and the Yavapai Community College Verde Valley Campus and Sedona Center.