Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2021-11: An Ordinance of the City of Flagstaff amending easements on McMillan Mesa with Arizona Public Service Company (APS) and US West Wireless LLC, and approving an agreement for remediation services with APS, with conditions, providing for severability, authority for clerical corrections, and establishing an effective date; and Consideration and Approval of Land Restoration Agreement with APS for restoration of lands affected by easement boundary changes.

Arizona Public Service Company (APS) is requesting a change in the boundaries of its Utility Easement located on McMillan Mesa that it uses to access the Mount Elden Substation.  The boundary change will enable APS to access the substation with large-scale vehicles for emergency operations and to maintain an existing control cabinet. The proposed change will result in a reduction of the easement area burdening the open space lands by approximately 2.68 square feet.

The Open Spaces Commission supports the boundary change, as long as APS pays for the costs of restoring the open space area on McMillan Mesa affected by the easement boundary changes. The restoration work among other things includes reseeding and invasive weed control measures. APS has agreed to these conditions which are memorialized in the proposed agreement. 

US West Wireless, LLC, owns a separate ingress and egress easement on McMillan Mesa, that coincides with the boundaries of the APS Utility Easement.  This easement will also be amended in order to align with the new APS Utility Easement boundaries.

***The referenced ordinance is still under review by Legal and will be attached and distributed to Council next week.***

None. The City will not be receiving any funds in consideration for the easement boundary changes.  APS will pay for the costs of restoring the land adjacent to and surrounding the Mt. Elden Substation that are affected by the easement area boundary change.

Priority Based Budget Key Community Priorities and Objectives

Previous Councils approved the existing easements. 

Option 1: Approve the easement amendment with APS, approve the agreement for remediation services with APS, and approve the easement amendment with US West Wireless, LLC

Option 2: Deny the easement amendment with APS, deny the agreement for remediation services with APS, and approve the easement amendment with US West Wireless, LLC.

Option 3: Provide direction for additional consideration for amending the APS easement.

In 1985, the City of Flagstaff (“The City”) sold a parcel of land on McMillan Mesa to Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”) for development of an electrical substation, now known as Mount Elden Sub-station. The City granted a Utility Easement allowing access to the parcel in Ordinance No. 1377 (“Original Easement”). The City and APS agreed that the easement would terminate should future road alignment concerns arise. In such a case a replacement easement would be granted.

In 2000, The City granted a revocable access easement to US West Wireless LLC across the lands described in the Original Easement (“Wireless Easement”) in order to access cell tower equipment located on the Mount Elden substation property.

In 2008, The City terminated the Original Easement and granted a replacement easement (“Replacement Easement”). The Wireless Easement was never aligned with the Replacement Easement.

In 2016, voters passed Proposition 413, setting aside, preserving, and designating the land subject to and surrounding the replacement easement, among other lands, to be used as open space for passive park purposes and providing for exceptions, severability, authority for clerical corrections.

APS desires to improve access to the Mount Elden Substation to accommodate large-scale vehicles. Large-scale vehicles are required in the event of emergency substation repairs and replacement. The location of a control cabinet, constructed within the Replacement Easement, prevents access to the substation from large-scale vehicles. APS desires to amend the Replacement Easement to modify the legal description to accommodate both the existing control cabinet as well as large-scale vehicles.
Staff has worked with APS since 2019 to find a permanent solution to its access issues to the substation while ensuring that any solution is consistent with Proposition 413. APS has been cooperative in its approach and have continued to accommodate its requests to address preservation concerns.

This issue was before the Open Spaces Commission twice, which provided stipulations and conditions to address preservation. The Open Spaces Commission recommendation to approve the amended easement captures these conditions. The amended easement and agreement with APS incorporate Open Spaces Commission recommendations and adds to the conservation of McMillan Mesa in the following ways:

1. Marginally reduces overall square feet burdened by the access easement
2. Provides costs for restoration efforts adjacent to and surrounding the Mt. Elden Substation
3. Prevents unauthorized vehicle entry across the easement

Additionally, while researching easements on McMillan Mesa related to APS’s easement, staff identified an access easement for wireless services which is currently aligned an older terminated APS easement. This ordinance also amends this easement to align with the current and to-be amended APS easement, further reducing lands on McMillan Mesa burdened by easements.

Without an amended easement, in order to provide large-scale vehicle access to the Mount Elden Substation, APS will need to move existing infrastructure at an expense estimated in excess of $100,000.

The amended easements and agreement reduce open space lands burdened by easements and provide restoration services on McMillan Mesa.