Appeal of Approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission: the appeal of Conditional Use Permit PZ-18-00182-02. This appeal was requested by the Flagstaff City Council.

Conditional Use Permit PZ 18-00182-02 was proposed to allow a Rooming and Boarding Facility which permits each of the 448 bedrooms (194 apartments) to be leased individually.  The site is 6.71 acres in size and has been in operation as an approved high-density residential housing (apartment) complex since the early 1990's.  The site is located at 901 South O'Leary Street, within the High Density Residential (HR) Zone.

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Community Outreach-Enhance public transparency and accessibility.

There have been no previous Council decisions on this item.

1. The City Council may affirm the decision of the Planning & Zoning Commission (i.e., approve CUP PZ-18-00182-02).
2. The City Council may make alternative findings from the Planning & Zoning Commission and reverse the decision of the Planning & Zoning Commission (i.e., deny CUP PZ-18-00182-02).
3. The City Council may make alternative findings from the Planning & Zoning Commission and affirm the decision of the Planning & Zoning Commission (i.e., approve CUP PZ-18-00182-02).
4. The City Council may remand the decision back to the Planning & Zoning Commission for further review and decision.

The City Council also has the option to modify conditions of the CUP. 

The applicant initially filed for concept plan review on the proposed Rooming and Boarding Facility in October 2018.  A Site Plan application followed; the Site Plan was approved by the IDS staff on February 25, 2019. The applicant thereafter applied for the required Conditional Use Permit.  The Conditional Use Permit was set for a public hearing with the Planning & Zoning Commission on August 14, 2019.  All required notifications were performed including posting the property, mailing property owners within 300-feet, and placing an ad in the newspaper at least 15-days prior to the hearing.  A neighborhood meeting was held by the applicant at the Boys and Girls Club on November 14, 2018, no members of the public attended the meeting.

The Planning & Zoning Commission held their pubic hearing on this case on August 14, 2019.  At the hearing Staff presented the findings of the Staff Report, the applicant presented their request, and public testimony was presented.  The public testimony included one (1) individual who did not speak against the proposed Conditional Use Permit, rather expressed concern with the volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the neighborhood.  Attached to this report is a copy of an e-mail staff received from this speaker that outlines his concerns.

Subject to the findings presented by Staff, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved a motion (3:1) to approve the Conditional Use Permit.  The dissenting vote provided no explanation regarding which of the finding(s) the application had not addressed.  The Planning & Zoning Commission of August 14, 2019, can be viewed online at http://flagstaffaz.swagit.com/play/08142019-1643/4/.

The Notice of Decision for Conditional Use Permit No. PZ-18-00182-02 was forwarded to the applicant and City Council, and was posted on the City's website on August 16, 2019.  Within the ten-day appeal period, a request for review of the Conditional Use Permit was received by the Mayor.  On August 20, 2019, the Flagstaff City Council voted (4-3) to hear the appeal.  Flagstaff City Code, section 10-20.80.030.G requires the appeal be heard by the City Council within 30 days.  The appeal has been noticed as a pubic hearing as is required by the Zoning Code, including posting the property, mailing adjacent property owners and placing an ad in the newspaper.

The Zoning Code requires that appeals be heard at a public hearing.  The City Council can choose to hear the appeal based on the record of information provided to the Planning & Zoning Commission or on an extended record.  The following information pertains to the Flagstaff City Council Rules of Procedure for Public Hearings. 

1. In the case of a public hearing, the Chair shall announce prior to such hearing the total time limit, if any, to be allowed for public debate, depending upon the circumstances and public attendance. The Chair shall also announce the time limits for each individual speaker (normally no more than three minutes), and that no speaker may be heard more than once.
2. Any person wishing to speak with the assistance of a translator shall designate such on the speaker card and be permitted to speak up to five minutes.
3. At the discretion of the Chair, ten or more persons present at the meeting and wishing to speak may appoint a representative who may have no more than fifteen minutes to speak.
4. Speakers may not cede any portion of their allotted time to another speaker.
5. The order of presentation and time limits shall be as follows:

1. Staff presentation (ten-minute time limit, except with specific Council permission to exceed this limit).
2. Applicant's presentation, only upon the applicant's specific request (up to ten minutes, except with specific Council permission to exceed this limit).
3. Council’s questions to staff and applicant.
4. Public comment (three minutes for individual speakers, up to fifteen minutes for a representative of ten or more persons present at the meeting who have contributed their time to the representative), The ten persons will be requested to identify themselves by standing and those included in the group are precluded from making comments on the same topic.
5. Appellant’s response, only upon appellant's specific request (5 minutes),
6. Staff’s response (5 minutes),
7. Council deliberation and questions to staff and applicant.

6. This rule will not preclude questions from members of the Council to the speaker where it is deemed necessary for purposes of clarification or understanding, but not for purposes of debate or argument.

 
Conditional Use Permits are reviewed and approved in regard to the findings identified in the Zoning Code.  The findings for all Conditional Use Permits are as follows:
 

1. That the conditional use is consistent with the objectives of this Zoning Code and the purpose of the zone in which the site is located.
2. That granting the conditional use will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare. The factors to be considered in making this finding shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Property damage or nuisance arising from noise, smoke, odor, dust, vibration or illumination;
2. Hazard to persons or property from a possible explosion, contamination, fire or flood; and
3. Impact on surrounding areas arising from unusual volume or character of traffic.

3. That the characteristics of the conditional use as proposed and as it may be conditioned are reasonably compatible with the types of uses permitted in the surrounding area. The conditional use permit shall be issued only when the Planning Commission finds that the applicant has considered and adequately addressed the following to ensure that the proposed use will be compatible with the surrounding area:

1. Access, traffic, and pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular circulation;
2. Adequacy of the site and open space provisions, including resource protection standards, where applicable;
3. Noise, light, visual and other pollutants;
4. Proposed style and siting of structure(s), and relationship to the surrounding neighborhood;
5. Landscaping and screening provisions, including additional landscaping in excess of otherwise applicable minimum requirements;
6. Impact on public utilities;
7. Signage and outdoor lighting;
8. Dedication and development of streets adjoining the property; and
9. Impacts on historical, prehistoric or natural resources.