Consideration and Possible Adoption of Resolution No. 2018-09: A resolution of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona amending the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 by amending Chapters VIII, IX, X, and XII, and establishing an effective date.

The full details of the proposed plan amendments can be found in Appendix B of the HOH Plan, attached to this staff summary as Exhibit A to Resolution 2018-09. Additional supporting information can be found in the HOH Plan.

Because the impetus for the High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan (HOH Plan) included issues that lack clarity in the Regional Plan, Regional Plan amendments are needed to improve implemetation of the HOH Plan. Chapter 3 of the Regional Plan allows for amendments that accompany a specific plan to be processed without a separate amendment process and without treating them as a major plan amendment, which can only be processed one per year. Therefore, the 60-day review and other relevant process steps can be used for the purpose of meeting the regulatory requirements of both the plan amendments and specific plan adoption process.

The proposed Regional Plan amendments are intended to clarify and assist in accurate cross-referencing between the Regional Plan, the HOH Plan, the Zoning Code, and the Engineering Design Standards and Specifications. Some amendments will fill gaps in some policies. For instance, there is a measure for the Regional Plan to extend the life of the landfill and no corresponding policies. This gap hinders the ability of staff to move forward policies related to materials management and HOH developments. There are also policies that were developed to be part of the HOH Plan that were deemed to have broader application by the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission (LU.18.18 to LU.18.20 and CC2.7 to CC.2.13). The proposed plan amendments include changes to several chapters of the Regional Plan:
 

• Chapter VIII: Community Character changes: add new policies CC.2.8 to CC. 2.13
• Chapter IX: Growth and Land Use changes:
  • Clarification of area and place types language and definitions constituted the majority of the changes proposed in Chapter IX. One policy is proposed to be deleted (LU.1.8), five policies are proposed to be added (LU.10.10 and LU.18.17-18.20), and two policies are proposed to be modified (LU.10.3 and LU 10.7). Major topics addressed in these changes are:
    • The interpretation of the Plan concerning zoning map amendments and development in Downtown (U1) and Five Points (U8) activity centers through a new designation as "Historic" activity centers.
    • Move the Sawmill (U2) activity center to reduce overlap with Southside National Historic District and increase overlap with the Future Urban pedestrian shed along Butler Ave. Added 3D illustrations
    • Clarification of density ranges and connectivity requirements for area-place types
    • Further definition and revision of Neighborhood and Regional scale activity centers, including reassigning six activity centers from Neighborhood to Regional, and disfavoring rezoning for large scale HOH in neighborhood-scale and historic activity centers and historic districts and neighborhoods (Regional Plan Map 14)
    • Better definition of the commercial core and commercial corridors in urban and suburban settings.
• Chapter X: Transportation changes: During the process of understanding how the City can achieve better outcomes for High Occupancy Housing projects. Staff reviewed what types of decisions were not being made consistently or for which the plan provided unclear direction for decision-makers. The table in Chapter X that described area-level "Levels of Service" was not providing all the information needed to inform updates to the Engineering Design Standards and Specifications, and ultimately, the adoption of a Transportation Master Plan for the City. The information on the updated tables is intended to inform decisions about changes to standards and does not directly change any City policies or ordinances without further action by the City.
• Chapter XII: Public Facilities: Added Policy PF.1.7. to make the purpose of sustainability and solid waste practices clearer.
• The term "Major streets" was added to the Glossary.
   

The cost of printing Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 replacement pages for this amendment will be about $1,200.

The major benefit of the plan amendments proposed as part of the HOH Plan  will be that they will help clarify the application of conflicting policy direction for the Flagstaff community. The Regional Plan, by design, has numerous goals and policies which may conflict, at the time of application, based on time and location of a proposed action. The issues that these amendments and Specific Plan will resolve are how to weigh conflicting policies against each other and how to weigh them differently based on the context of the existing and future land uses. The proposed amendment that will contribute the most significantly to this benefit is the refinement of the direction for the 27 activity centers identified in the City of Flagstaff. As currently written, there is very little difference between regional and neighborhoods scale activity centers. All 27 activity centers also have goals and policies that support HOH development without clear parameters on how to prioritize and balance the preservation of community character and neighborhoods with the region’s need for sustainable growth. The buildings with the largest bulk, mass and scale in a given area have a large impact on the character of the surrounding activity center or neighborhood. At the same time, denser and mixed use patterns of development are needed to lower the vehicle miles traveled, make efficient infrastructure investments, and to provide affordable housing for a growing population with a limited supply of land. The amendments to activity centers and the goals of the HOH Specific Plan will limit large-scale HOH to the commercial core of regional activity centers, and small- and medium-scale HOH in neighborhood and historic activity centers. The parameters of these scales are described in the glossary of the HOH Specific Plan. Another related benefit is the clarification of where and how to prioritize protection of historic resources and context to Downtown, Five Points and the districts and neighborhoods identified in the Regional Plan.

See Report for Resolution 2018-08 and attached Project Narrative. The policy related to assembling lots (LU.1.8) is being removed by this amendment.  As a result, the Regional Plan will be neutral on whether or not assembling lots is appropriate. This will make the Regional Plan more consistent with the majority of goals and policies related to Community Character and Neighborhoods, Housing, and Urban Conservation. Assembling lots would not be precluded by deleting this policy but it would be considered in discretionary requests as part of the larger context of area-place types and community character, including the presence of historic and natural resources.

See staff report for Resolution 2018-08.