The Arizona Supreme Court has refused to overturn the Court of Appeals decision to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Citizens for an Alternate Route (CFAR) in an attempt to force Yavapai County to rebuild Red Rock Crossing.
CFAR filed a petition for special action against Yavapai County on April 24, 1998, claiming the County was required by law to replace the low-water concrete crossing originally built in the 1930’s and washed out by floods in 1978.
Maricopa County Presiding Superior Court Judge Robert D. Myers disagreed and dismissed CFAR’s petition on October 23, 1998.
On March 29, 1999, CFAR took its case to the Arizona Court of Appeals, hoping to reverse Judge Myers' ruling.
However, the Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court’s decision. On November 26, 1999, the three-judge panel unanimously agreed with Judge Myers that Yavapai County could not be forced to rebuild Red Rock Crossing.
CFAR had one last chance to get what it wanted by going to the Arizona Supreme Court. On December 27, 1999, they filed a petition for review with the state’s highest court.
On April 18, 2000, the Supreme Court denied CFAR’s petition, letting the Court of Appeals ruling stand. That effectively ended CFAR’s two-year legal odyssey.
Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest staff attorney Jennifer B. Anderson, who has been representing the Sierra Club throughout the Red Rock Crossing legal battle, was pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision. "We consider this to be a victory for the Club, as well as for the preservation of the beautiful Red Rock Crossing area," she concluded.
Reacting somewhat differently, CFAR President Ivan Finley told The Sedona Red Rock News, "We knew it was a long shot, and it was basically the last legal step that was available to us."
But the fight over Red Rock Crossing is far from over.
During an interview over Sedona radio station KAZM, Finley announced it was now time to move the matter from the courts to the political arena and elect a new county supervisor. "There is a good candidate running in opposition to the man that put us in this position," he stated.
Incumbent Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Chip Davis, the apparent target of Finley’s wrath, has said the County isn’t necessarily responsible for restoring the Crossing. Other county officials have agreed.
So it appears the debate over Red Rock Crossing, ongoing for over a decade, will once again become an issue in this year’s election.
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