Public Hearing and Consideration of Ordinance No. 2015-21:  A zoning map amendment/direct ordinance amending the Flagstaff Zoning Code to rezone approximately 48.81 acres of real property from Rural Residential (RR) to Public Facility (PF) located at 3200 West Route 66 on parcel numbers 112-01-001D and 112-01-002. (Rezoning of property for the new McAllister Ranch public works yard located on West Route 66).

This request is third and last of three related items. The City of Flagstaff (applicant) is requesting a zoning map amendment to allow for the development of a new public works facility. The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing to consider this rezoning request at its regular meeting of October 28, 2015.  At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Commission voted (7-0) to forward the request to the City Council with a recommendation of approval with four additional conditions.  Zoning map amendments are required to be adopted by ordinance.  All substantive issues area addressed in the attached Planning & Zoning Commission report.

The money resources for the Facility are $14,000,000 bonding authority, landfill fees, both debt and one time money, totaling $5,500,000 and the appraised values for McAllister Ranch at $2,178,000 and the Mogollon property at $2,256,000. Total resources: $23,934,000 available for the Facility.

 

 

COUNCIL GOALS:
3) Provide sustainable and equitable public facilities, services, and infrastructure systems in an efficient and effective manner to serve all population areas and demographics
11) Ensure that we are as prepared as possible for extreme weather events

REGIONAL PLAN:
A full discussion of the applicable policies is included in the Regional Plan staff report to the P&Z Commission (PZ-15-00077-02).

On 7/15/14 the Council rejected a total of nine proposals for alternative sites for the public works yard (core services facility).

The City Council may approve the ordinance as proposed, approve the ordinance with conditions, or deny the ordinance.

The Applicant, City of Flagstaff, is requesting a Zoning Map Amendment to rezone approximately 48.81 acres from Rural Residential (RR) zone to Public Facilities (PF) zone located at 3200 W. Route 66.  This amendment would allow the development of a municipal public works facility, consisting of 87,280 square feet of buildings including an administration building for employees and the public, and buildings to serve the following City of Flagstaff Public Works services and divisions: Parks, Solid Waste, Streets, and Fleet.  The majority of the subject property is currently undeveloped, forested land with the exception of an existing cell tower approximately 330 feet north of W. Route 66 and the McAllister Ranch Complex at the west end of the property.  The property slopes generally 2 to 3 percent towards the northwest which is the Clay Avenue Wash area and is fairly level with the exception of a small knoll at the southeast corner which will be protected for slope resources.

An applicant requesting an amendment to the Zoning map may elect to pursue either a “Direct Ordinance with a Site Plan” or “Authorization to Rezone with a Concept Zoning Plan” per Section 10-20.50.040.D (pg. 20.50-5).  This application is a Direct Ordinance with a Site Plan.  If the Zoning Map Amendment request is approved, the next steps in the process will be Civil Improvement Plan and Building permit submittals.

In a rezoning case, typically a development agreement is formalized between the City and the private developer.  With this project, the City is the developer and a development agreement is not required.  However, any requirements for the City will be included in the Zoning Map Amendment ordinance as stipulations.

If the rezoning request is approved and the 48.81-acre site is rezoned to Public Facility (PF) zone, the proposed public works facility will be considered a permitted use in that zone.  Per the Flagstaff Zoning Code (Section10-40.30.060, pg. 40.30-29). , “Government Service/Maintenance Facilities” is an allowed use under the sub-heading of Transportation and Infrastructure in the Public Facility (PF) zone.

Community benefits and considerations are addressed in the Regional Plan Amendment request.

Inform/Consult
The City hired Shephard-Wesnitzer, Inc. (SWI) to act as the applicant to annex and rezone the property as well as compile and submit concept and site plan packages. The applicant held a neighborhood meeting on January 21, 2015 to discuss the annexation, general plan amendment, and rezoning of the properties. SWI led the meeting with support provided by Johnson Walzer Associates (JWA) and City Public Works staff.  Meeting notification letters were sent to all property owners and homeowner’s associations (HOA) within a 1,200 foot radius. Letters were also sent to the City’s “Registry of Persons and Groups” as provided by the City.  The Citizen Participation Report (CPR), dated May 5, 2015, is attached to this rezoning report.  The applicant received three letters in response to the meeting notice requesting information about the project.  Fifteen people attended the meeting according to the sign-in sheet and had questions in regards to the case.  Some of the attendees expressed concerns regarding the Annexation or Zoning Map Amendment about traffic, cost, noise and lighting.  All of the questions and concerns are addressed in Table 1 of the CPR. As of this writing, staff has received one e-mail dated 10/16/15 from a property owner south of the subject site; the e-mail is attached to the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 Amendment report.
 
Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council are conducted in conjunction with requests for rezoning.  In accordance with State statute, notice of the public hearing was provided by placing an ad in the Daily Sun, posting notices on the property, and mailing a notice to all property owners within 1200 feet of the site (exceeding the required 300-feet distance).  At the October 28, 2015 Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing, there was no public testimony.  At the conclusion of the public hearing, the Commission voted 7-0 to forward a recommendation to the Council for approval of the request with four additional conditions which have been incorporated into the zoning ordinance.