Madole-Rigby House Owners Push for Multifamily Rezoning Transformation

The owners of a substantial parcel of land in West Sedona have submitted a request to rezone their property from single-family residential to high-density multifamily. This application was filed on December 16.

Known as the Madole-Rigby House, the structure was built in 1948 and sits on 9.8 acres divided into two assessor’s parcels near the Windsong Mobile Home Park and adjacent to Safeway. The current owners have argued that renovations performed in 2001 disqualify the property from being listed as a historic landmark.

However, the city of Sedona’s Historic Preservation Commission once deemed the Madole-Rigby House one of the most endangered sites in Sedona. In September 2010, the commission noted that it may be the oldest surviving adobe house in the area, designed by celebrated architect Howard Madole.

Madole, reflecting on the house’s construction in a 2009 interview, shared memories of building it alongside his family. He recounted how his mother provided daily lunches during construction, creating a nostalgic connection to the site.

The house was crafted by hand over two years, with the family producing adobe bricks from the red earth on the property. A Hopi craftsman, Emerson Maningha, even hand-carved one of the fireplaces.

In the early 1960s, the house transitioned to ownership by writers Elizabeth and Douglas Rigby. Elizabeth captured local stories and images for Sedona Red Rock News, while Douglas contributed essays to esteemed publications such as The American Scholar. Fellow Sedona author James Bishop noted Douglas’s whimsical worldview during his lifetime.

Following the Rigbys’ passing, the Sedona Christian Fellowship acquired the property, later selling it in 1999 to the Pacific Southwest District of the Wesleyan Church. In 2015, the present owners, James Spindelman and Soo Young Kim, purchased it.

To facilitate the rezoning, Spindelman and Kim have proposed a deed restriction on short-term rentals for any future units built on the site, lasting 15 years. Their application clarifies that no specific site or development plans are currently in place and aims solely to increase multifamily zoning in the area.

A traffic analysis included in the application anticipated a potential development comprising 200 apartment units, predicting it would generate approximately 1,292 trips per day. The Planning and Zoning Commission has yet to schedule a date to review the rezoning application.