ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW

The Architectural Review Committee is a three person body appointed by the Board of Directors to serve at the pleasure of the Board.  The Board designates an alternate member to serve when one of the three members is required to stand down due to a conflict of interest, for example, a review of their own home plans.  Current members of the ARC are listed on the contacts page.  All improvements of any kind within Eagle Rock require the review and approval of the ARC in addition to meeting the requirements of the City of Sedona such as building permits.

The ARC is charged, under clause 6 of the CCRs, with reviewing proposed Development Plans.  Clause 6E of the CCRs specifies that “Approval of plans shall be based upon adequacy of site dimensions, conformity and harmony of exterior design and location with neighboring structures and sites, relation of finished grades and elevations to neighboring sites and conformity to the specific and general provisions and intent of this Declaration (i.e. the CCRs).  The Architectural Review committee shall have the right to take into consideration, without limitation, the color, texture and materials, the inherent aspects of the Parcel, the harmony thereof with the surroundings and the impact upon the Property as a whole.”

The ARC strongly encourages Eagle Rock owners to consult the Sedona Residential Design Manual when preparing house or landscape designs as the ARC will utilize it during the review process.  The manual can be found on the "Important Documents" page of this website.

The ARC intends to solicit input from members on proposed developments: information on proposed developments will be made available to members for comment.  The ARC aims for a fast turnaround in its review of plans.  The ARC has the duty to review plans in their entirety and will include impact on views, any use of the common area for flatwork (patios or walkways), colors and landscaping.

For Members Planning to Build a Home:

In practice, the ARC focuses on an early stage review to check the basic concept of the development, and a review of the final plan set that is also submitted to the City of Sedona.  The ARC recommends that members planning to build a home advise the ARC early in the design process.  Preliminary concept plan, including landscaping plans, are required to be submitted to the ARC for a pre-review to identify potential problems before the design advances.  This minimizes rework.  Members can submit material to the ARC by contacting the Chair of the Committee.  Copies of the full final plan set are required as pdf files: an ARC approval will include conditions specific to the site.

ARC Procedures:

The ARC will advise all members of the HOA of a planned development at both the early design and final design review.  For both stages, the ARC will make information on the proposed development available to interested members to enable them to offer input.  For final plan sets, the ARC normally makes available to requesting members the site plan (including landscaping), floor plans, elevations, sections, and exterior finishes as pdf files.  The ARC specifies to members that the files are for purposes of review only and are not to be used or copied.  Any member planning to build a home who has reason to be concerned over this distribution should advise the Chair of the ARC at time of submission and explain the nature of the concern. The ARC sets an objective of completing the solicitation of member input in a two week time frame.  Unless unusual problems are encountered, the ARC expects to be able to complete its review in an additional week.

ARC Policies:

The Board of Directors has provided some recommendations and guidance to the ARC.

Under the Eagle Rock Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CCRs) the ARC is the final authority on the approval of development plans, not the Board of Directors. However, the Board suggested that the ARC consider five items in its deliberations:

1. The ARC collect and hold a $5,000 Development Fee while a home is being built, to be used as necessary to repair damage to the Common Area that is not repaired by the member building a home. 

2. No vegetation (planting) should be approved that would grow to exceed the height of the existing vegetation in the Common Area: tall trees or bushes that would block future views should not be approved.

3. Any planting in the Common Area, e.g. restoration of damage during construction, should be limited to natural vegetation species.

4. The ARC should consider requiring minor adjustment in roof heights to preserve view lines, provided that any adjustment would not be so great as to impair the utility of the building.

5. As per the CCRs, the primary design standard is that development will be within the building envelope, specifically no structures or walls outside the building envelope. Exceptions may be able to be made on a case by case basis for flatwork (e.g. a ground level walkway or patio, which the City of Sedona does not consider to be a "structure"), in which case impact on present and future neighbors will be considered. Another possible exception would be a structure designed to protect one or more homes from runoff."

In January 2013 the Board passed the following motion:

“The Board of Directors directs the ARC, in reviewing developments in Eagle Rock, to take into consideration the principles discussed in the Sedona Residential Design Guidelines. While the ARC should consider house style in its deliberations, it should avoid any bias toward a particular style.  Further, the Board endorses the ARC’s existing practice of allowing only plantings of species whose mature heights are not expected to exceed 22’, and allows the ARC to enforce this height limitation at any time.”