The City Council adopted the Flagstaff Zoning Code (City Code Title 10) on November 1, 2011 to replace the former Land Development Code. It was soon realized that additional amendments to the Code were necessary. The Planning and Zoning Commission has conducted five meetings to review a comprehensive package of amendments, and on June 24th recommended that the City Council should approve them. The purpose of this work session is to seek  Council direction on an approach for the review of the proposed amendments to the Flagstaff Zoning Code.

COUNCIL GOALS:
7) Address key issues and processes related to the implementation of the Regional Plan
8) Improve effectiveness of notification, communication, and engagement with residents, neighborhoods and businesses and about City services, programs, policies, projects and developments

REGIONAL PLAN:
The Flagstaff Regional Plan supports the update and amendment of the Zoning Code with many applicable goals and policies. Only a few are listed here.

Goal E&C.5. Preserve dark skies as an unspoiled natural resource, basis for an important economic sector, and core element of community character.
Goal E&C.7. Give special consideration to environmentally sensitive lands in the development design and review process.
Goal E.1. Increase energy efficiency.
Goal CC.2. Preserve, restore, and re­habilitate heritage resources to better appreciate our culture.
Goal CC.3. Preserve, restore, enhance, and reflect the design traditions of Flag­staff in all public and private development efforts.
Goal CC.4. Design and develop all projects to be contextually sensitive, to enhance a positive image and identity for the region.
Goal LU.3. Continue to enhance the region’s unique sense of place within the urban, suburban, and rural context.
Goal LU.4. Balance housing and employ­ment land uses with the preservation and protection of our unique natural and cultural setting.
Goal LU.5. Encourage compact develop­ment principles to achieve efficiencies and open space preservation.

Introduction
The City Council adopted the Flagstaff Zoning Code (City Code Title 10) on November 1, 2011 to replace the former Land Development Code. At the time of the Zoning Code’s adoption, staff notified the Council that amendments to the Zoning Code would be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for approval following its adoption. With a document as complex as the Zoning Code, and despite staff and the consultants’ best efforts and attention to detail, it was realized that some standards or issues would be incomplete or incorrect.
 
Over the past few years, 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), have documented sections of the Code where possible amendments would be required. Also, ideas for amendments have been submitted by interested Flagstaff residents and design professionals, and these have been compiled with staff’s revisions into a comprehensive document of suggested revisions to the Code.
 
The Planning and Zoning Commission held three work sessions on the proposed amendments – April 29, 2015 (the required citizen review session), May 13, 2015 and May 27, 2015 – to review, discuss and provide comment and feedback to staff on the proposed amendments.  On June 10, 2015 the Commission held a public hearing in which they heard from some residents and continued their review and discussion. Finally, on June 24, 2015 the Commission unanimously moved to recommend that the Council approve the proposed amendments as presented by staff together with additional changes recommended by the Commission.
 
As will be explained in more detail below, most of the amendments are technical “fixes” to sections of the Code that were not correctly written and are confusing, or in some cases, to update or remove a standard or process that is either outdated or redundant. There are also some more significant amendments though, some of which as described below, will require policy consideration and direction from the Council.
 
Overview of Proposed Amendments – Chapters 10-10 through 10-90:
Generally, the amendments proposed to the Zoning Code fall into three distinct categories: 

1. Minor Amendments
   These include clarification of language, insertion of appropriate cross-references, rearranging of text so that it is more logically organized in the Code (without substantive amendment to intent), or correction of a standard that was incorrectly stated.


2. Major or Substantive Amendments
   These include a revision to a development standard, addition of a new land use in the land use tables of Chapter 10-40 (Specific to Zones), addition of a new standard (typically more restrictive than the current Code), addition of a new or changed process/procedure, or addition of a development standard from the former Land Development Code that was not brought forward into the current Zoning Code. Some of these amendments may involve a policy decision by the Council after consideration of the staff’s, Commission’s, and public’s recommendations and ideas on the subject.


3. Non-substantive clerical and grammatical amendments
   Staff has developed an ongoing list of non-substantive clerical and grammatical edits that do not change the intent of a Code provision, but which do correct cross-references, incorrect word use, and grammatical errors.
    
   In addition to a legal review of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code, the City Attorney’s office is also conducting a comprehensive overview of the Zoning Code to ensure that it is reviewed for ease of use, readability, any ambiguity is eliminated, and all grammatical errors are corrected.
    

Samples of each of these types of amendments are included in Attachment A.
 
The proposed amendments to the Zoning Code as presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission are organized by chapter as listed below (no amendments are proposed in Chapter 10-70 (Specific to Civic Spaces)):
 
Chapter 10-10: Title, Purpose and Jurisdiction
Chapter 10-20: Administration, Procedures and Enforcement
Chapter 10-30: General to All
Chapter 10-40: Specific to Zones
Chapter 10-50: Supplemental to Zones
Chapter 10-60: Specific to Thoroughfares
Chapter 10-80: Definitions
Chapter 10-90: Maps
 
A summary of the substantive amendments is provided in a table on the first page of each chapter with a brief description of the amendment and on what page it may be found (see Attachment B). Throughout each chapter, an explanation of why the amendment is proposed is included. This is easily identified because it is written in italic font.
 
Summary of Substantive Amendments
A list of substantive amendments identified by staff that may require a more in-depth policy discussion with the City Council follows (The Council may identify additional policy issues as they review the proposed amendments):

Chapter 10-20 Administration, Procedures and Enforcement

1. Section 10-20.30.060 (Neighborhood Meeting): Increases the number of required neighborhood meetings to a minimum of two, but allows the Director to waive the second meeting in limited circumstances. Also includes a requirement to inform residents living on the subject property. Requires the applicant to provide a copy of the neighborhood meeting report to those that attended and participated in an effort to increase applicant accountability.
2. Section 10-20.30.080 (Notice of Public Hearings): Responsibility for posting the subject property and mailing notice to surrounding property owners and residents living on the subject property is shifted from the City to the applicant.

 Chapter 10-30 General to All

3. Section 10-30.60.040 (Natural Features and Site Drainage): Establishes design standards for cut and fill conditions and retaining walls using the standards formerly in the Land Development Code (LDC).
4. Section 10-30.60.060 (Building Placement): This is a new section based on former standards in the LDC establishing standards for building forward design.
5. Section 10-30.60.070 (Parking Lots, Driveways and Service Areas): This section clarifies the standards for the location of parking areas.

Chapter 10-40 Specific to Zones

6. Section 10-40.30.030 (Residential Zones): Table B (Allowed Uses) – eliminates rooming and boarding as a use and separates out the uses included within this term – dormitories, single-room occupancies, and sororities/fraternities.
7. Section 10-40.30.040 (Commercial Zones): Table B (Allowed Uses) – allows for bars/taverns in the Community Commercial (CC) Zone.
8. Section 10-40.30.050 (Industrial Zones): Table B (Allowed Uses) – allows micro-breweries and micro-distilleries in the LI and LI-O Zones.
9. Section 10-40.60.250 (Mixed Use): Clarifies and expands the standards for mixed-use developments especially with regard to what defines a mix of uses and establishes standards for pedestrian-oriented commercial space.
10. Section 10-40.60.270 (Planned Residential Development): Establishes clear procedures and standards for the use of the building types in Planned Residential Developments that are not in the current Zoning Code.
11. 10-40.60.300 (Secondary Single-Family Dwelling): Includes a new reference to the building form standards of any applicable Historic Overlay Zone to address concerns for new construction out of scale with applicable height standards.

Chapter 10-50 Supplemental to Zones

12. 10-50.20.030 (Architectural Standards): Includes new standards for the placement of building materials in keeping with Flagstaff’s design tradition, and more precise standards on building entrances and windows.
13. 10-50.70.050 (General Requirements – All Lighting Zones): Includes new standards to ensure that neon lighting and architectural/landscape lighting are fully shielded.
14. 10-50.80.040 (Number of Motor Vehicle Parking Spaces Required): Establishes updated parking standards for duplexes and multi-family residences.
15. 10-50.80.080 (Parking Spaces, Parking Lot Design and Layout): This is the issue of vehicle parking in the front yard in residential zones. It is recommended that the locations on a lot where vehicles may be parked may be expanded. Also, the locations on a lot where RVs, boats and trailers may be parked and stored has been expanded. Furthermore, restrictions on the overnight parking of RVs in commercial parking areas are proposed.
    
    Suggestion for a Path Forward for Council Review of the Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Code
    Using the experience learned from the approach taken when the Council reviewed and ultimately adopted the Flagstaff Zoning Code in November 2011, staff suggests the following path forward for the adoption of amendments to the Zoning Code;

• On July 14^th the Council will meet in Executive Session to obtain legal advice regarding the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code.


• In late-July staff will provide the Council with the Planning and Zoning Commission’s final recommendation on the proposed Zoning Code amendments (assuming these are finalized on June 24^th) so that the Council has the opportunity to review them over the summer recess.


• In September, Council and staff may commence a review of the proposed amendments in a series of work sessions. The amendments in some chapters may be combined into one work session (e.g., Chapters 10-10 through 10-30), and other work sessions may be scheduled for one chapter at a time (e.g. Chapter 10-40). In the work sessions, staff will introduce the more substantive amendments to the Council explaining the reason for them and why the new amendment is being proposed. Furthermore, a summary of the Planning Commission’s discussion and recommendations on the amendments will be presented. As a result of this staff presentation the Council should be able to identify any policy issues that warrant a more in-depth discussion, either at the current work session,  or in a future work session. Council may invite members of the public to comment on the amendments to each chapter at the work sessions. Staff will ensure that the work sessions are well advertised so that residents and local stake holder groups may attend.


• Following the work sessions on the proposed amendments, and the conclusion of any policy recommendations by the Council, staff will schedule a public hearing as required by Arizona law and the Zoning Code. Thereafter, first and second readings of the ordinance adopting the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code will be scheduled.  

Conclusion:
Staff looks forward to a discussion with the Council on the path forward for the Council’s review of proposed amendments to the Zoning Code.