Discussion on the path forward for proposed amendments to the Flagstaff Zoning Code

On November 1, 2011 the Council, by unanimous vote, adopted the new Flagstaff Zoning Code. At the time of the Code’s adoption, staff notified the Council that within 6-9 months a round of amendments to the Zoning Code would be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Council for approval. With a document as complex as the Zoning Code, and despite staff’s best efforts and attention to detail, it was realized that some standards or issues would be incomplete or incorrect.
 
Staff has met with the Council a number of times over the past few years to discuss proposed amendments to the Zoning Code as summarized below: 

• October 9, 2012: Council work session – staff presented a suggested path forward for the adoption of amendments to the Zoning Code. At this meeting, it was agreed that staff would summarize the proposed amendments into a table so that decisions could be made as to whether the amendment was technical in nature or one that required a policy discussion by the Council.


• November 27, 2012: Council work session – general discussion on policy and technical amendments to the Zoning Code. The table referred to above was presented to the Council – see Attachment A.


• December 12, 2012: Council work session – agreement was reached that at a work session in January the Council would decide whether or not the policy issues identified so far would be kept on the list for consideration with the identified amendments to the Zoning Code.


• January 15, 2013: Council meeting – discussion to identify policy amendments to the Flagstaff Zoning Code. At this meeting a majority of the Council agreed that the need for amendments to the City’s zone change process was a priority and that a “round table meeting” of community residents and the Council should be scheduled. After three such meetings, and eventual public hearings of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Council, the amendments to Division 10-20.50 (Amendments to the Zoning Code Text and the Zoning Map) were approved by the Council on November 5, 2013. After some discussion it was agreed by a majority of the Council that all remaining items on the List of Technical and Policy amendments (Attachment A.) would be moved forward for future consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Council.

The list of proposed policy and technical amendments included in Attachment A. was derived from City planning staff, as well as staff that work with the Zoning Code on a regular basis (i.e. from the engineering, traffic, stormwater, housing, or legal sections/divisions), documenting sections of the Code where possible amendments would be required. Ideas for amendments submitted by Flagstaff residents have also been included, and over the coming months members of the public will have opportunity to share any further suggestions with staff. Note that this list has not been updated since it was first prepared even though staff has noted and recorded additional other minor amendments since then. No additional  substantive or policy amendments have been identified, except for proposed amendments to Division 10-50.80 (Parking Standards) with regard to the overnight parking of RVs in commercial parking lots which will reflect Council direction provided at the February 25, 2014 Council work session.

AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING CODE
As has been discussed with the Council in the past, the remaining amendments to the Zoning Code may be divided into two broad categories which will be described in more detail in this staff summary:

1. Amendments to Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards); and
2. All other amendments to the Zoning Code.

Amendments to Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards)

The need for amendments to the City’s sign regulations has been supported by the Council, especially with regard to the need to provide more effective temporary sign regulations. In addition, amendments to certain standards for permanent signs are also contemplated, as described below.

1. 10-50.100.070 Temporary signs:

2. 10-50.100.060 Simplify permanent sign standards

3. 10-50.100.090 Expand the Comprehensive Sign Program so it can be applied to non-commercial uses

  Staff continues to add to a growing list of mostly minor amendments to the Zoning Code that require further review, discussion, and codification before being presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Council for approval. In the weeks and months ahead City staff will be meeting to discuss and fine-tune these identified amendments. While the vast majority of the noted amendments are minor, there are, however, some areas of the Zoning Code that would require more work, not because they might warrant a policy Council discussion, but more because there is a fairly substantial hole in the current Code that requires repair. The best example of this is with the Planned Residential Development section where the supporting standards are incomplete and were not as comprehensively addressed when the Code was written as they should have been. Another example of an area of the Code that warrants more substantial amendments is Section 10-50.110.030 in which a Stacked Triplex is suggested as a new building type. Consistent with Council's direction from the February 25, 2014 work session, amendments to the Parking Division (10-50.80) to allow the overnight parking of RVs in commercial parking areas, will also be presented.

Comprehensive Planning and Code Administration staff resources are currently committed to the following major projects:

1. Public outreach to City residents, local community organizations and stakeholders, to inform them of the recently adopted Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 so that they will be knowledgeable about the need to vote on this document in May 2014.


2. Amendments to City Code Title 8 (Public Ways and Property) in Division 8-03-002 (North Downtown Business District Encroachment Policy)  to provide updated standards to enable restaurants and bars to establish seating areas on public sidewalks. Minor revisions to the current standards for vendors and other encroachments into the public right-of-way are also proposed. These amendments will be presented to the City Council for public hearing/first reading on March 18^th with the second reading possible adoption scheduled for April 1^st.


3. Relocation ordinance – Staff are working closely with the City Attorney’s office on this issue. It is expected that in the months ahead and certainly before the summer recess, staff will present options and ideas for Council review in upcoming work sessions.


4. Graffiti ordinance – staff is working with the Flagstaff Police Department on this ordinance, and are aiming to possibly present it to the Council at a May work session for adoption in June.


5. Amendments to City Code Title 4, Building Code, regarding the need to update the City’s existing provisions for building and property maintenance. In a work session in early 2013, the City Council agreed that these amendments would be completed and presented to the Council for review and adoption after the amendments to the Zoning Code were completed.

In order to complete text amendments to the Zoning Code, the procedure established in Section 10-20.50.040 will be followed, and it will involve the steps identified in the proposed schedule for the adoption of the 2014 Zoning Code Amendments described below:
 
March 11, 2014             Work session with the City Council to review the path forward for the 2014 Zoning Code Amendments.

Month, 2014:                  Public meeting with the Planning and Zoning Commission. This meeting/open house or citizen review session is required by statute, and it will provide Flagstaff residents with an opportunity to share their ideas for possible amendments to the Code.

Month, 2014:                  Public hearing with the Planning and Zoning Commission. This hearing also provides the public with an opportunity to share their ideas and concerns. It will conclude with a formal recommendation from the Commission to the Council on the proposed amendments.

Month, 2014:                  Public hearing with the City Council. This hearing provides the public with an opportunity to share their ideas and concerns with the Council. The Council may also declare the proposed amendments a public record.

Month, 2014:                  First Reading of Ordinance to adopt amendments. Consistent with City policy, the first reading of the adopting ordinance follows the public hearing and declaration of the amendments as a public record.

Month, 2014:                  Second Reading of Ordinance to adopt amendments.

In addition to the statutorily required steps described above, City staff will be conducting a comprehensive civic engagement program to inform, involve, and consult City residents of the proposed amendments, to listen to their concerns, and to hear their ideas and suggestions.
 
CONCLUSION
At the March 11, 2014 work session, staff will be seeking from the City Council direction on the path forward for proposed amendments to the Flagstaff Zoning Code.
 
Realistically there is at least 2-3 months of work wrapping up all of the Zoning Code amendments before they are presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Council. This does not include the time needed for the sign code amendments, which could take at least an additional 1-2 months to complete. These time frame estimates also include the necessary time needed for public meetings and outreach.
                        
Staff looks forward to meeting with the Council on March 11^th to establish a time line for completion of these important amendments to the Flagstaff Zoning Code, in combination with the other tasks to which staff is already committed. More specifically, staff is seeking direction on the following options for proceeding with the preparation, review, and eventual consideration for approval of these proposed amendments:

Option 1: Combine all amendments to the Zoning Code into a combined "omnibus package" of amendments, i.e. all sign, parking, and other amendments will be prepared, reviewed, and presented for approval at the same time.

Option 2: Separate the permanent and temporary sign amendments from all other amendments to the Zoning Code. If this option is pursued, staff would suggest that the sign code amendments were considered first, and all of the other amendments to the Zoning Code were prepared for review and possible adoption after the sign code amendments were adopted and implemented.

Option 3: Separate the permanent and temporary sign amendments from all other amendments to the Zoning Code. While the sign code amendments would be considered first and prepared for review and possible adoption amendments, work on the other remaining Zone Code amendments could commence before the sign code amendments were adopted.

Option 4: As suggested in Option 2 and Option 3, the sign amendments would be separated from all other amendments to the Zoning Code, except in this option, all of the Zoning Code amendments would be considered before the sign code amendments.