Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2026-07: An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, amending the Flagstaff Zoning Map with a Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment conditioned on a revised Site Plan of approximately 12.29 acres of real property generally located at 1801 S Milton Road.
 

1. Read Ordinance No. 2026-07 by title only for the final time
2. City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2026-07 by title only (if approved above)
3. Adopt Ordinance No. 2026-07

Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment, by Gammage & Burnham, PLC on behalf of Vintage Partners, of approximately 12.29 acres located at 1801 S Milton Road.  The proposed development site consists of four parcels zoned Highway Commercial (HC) with the Resource Protection Overlay (RPO).  The request is to amend the 2018 Zoning Map Amendment with a revised Site Plan.

The Flagstaff Planning & Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing to consider the Zoning Map Amendment on February 25, 2026.  The commission voted 4-1 to recommend approval subject to the conditions in the report.

No financial impacts are anticipated with this request.

No policy impacts are anticipated with this request.

The City Council approved a Zoning Map Amendment, Preliminary Plat, and Development Agreement for the Mill Town project, as part of a public-private partnership (P3), on April 17, 2018.  The P3 project was formalized through a Pre-Development Agreement between Vintage, the City and the Arizona Department of Transportation in March 2015.  The first amendment to the Development Agreement was approved on October 19, 2021 and the second amendment was approved on March 4, 2025.

The City Council may adopt, modify, or deny the proposed Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment.  The Planning & Zoning Commission recommends the following four conditions:

1. The subject property must be developed in accordance with the approved site plan and the conditions of approval dated October 7, 2025, unless modified as provided for in the Mill Town Development Agreement as amended.  Modifications, other than modifications permitted by the Development Agreement, to the approved site plan will require an amendment to this Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment request.
2. All other requirements of the Zoning Code and other City codes, ordinances, and regulations shall be met by the proposed development.
3. All terms, conditions, and restrictions detailed within the Mill Town Development Agreement, as amended, must be fully satisfied.
4. In the event the property is rezoned and the Developer fails to obtain final Civil Plan approval within two (2) years of the effective date of the rezoning ordinance, then the City may schedule a public hearing before the City Council for the purpose of causing the zoning on the Property to revert the back to the former classification, per Section 10-20.50.060 of the Zoning Code.

On April 17, 2018, the Flagstaff City Council approved the rezoning of approximately 18 acres of land owned by Vintage Partners, LLC (“Vintage”) generally located at 1801 S. Milton Road and commonly referred to as the Mill Town property. The rezoning was part of a public private partnership (P3) between the City, Vintage, and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) that relocated the Harkins theater to the east side of Flagstaff, relocated the local ADOT offices to the old Harkins site, combined the delivery of City transportation improvements to Beulah and University with improvements required for Vintage's project mitigation (including the Milton pedestrian underpass), and opened the Mill Town property for residential and commercial development by Vintage. The rezoning ordinance contains multiple conditions, one of which is that the Mill Town property must be developed in accordance with the approved site plan (PZ-16-00239-01) that was presented to Council at the time the rezoning was approved. This site plan contained 3 commercial pads and a multi-family building that contained 340 units and 1,221 bedrooms, as well as an associated parking garage on parcel 1.  
 
As part of the rezoning of the Mill Town property, the City and Vintage entered into a development agreement on June 4, 2018, to facilitate development of the Mill Town property and related transportation improvements. Understanding the complexity of the P3 project and the amount of time to develop a project like Mill Town, the City agreed that the development rights granted by the rezoning ordinance would be vested for five years, and that development of Vintage’s approved site plan would be governed by the Zoning Code in existence as of the effective date of the development agreement. Such provisions allowing a developer to rely on a specific version of the Zoning Code for a period of time until the property is ultimately developed are not uncommon in development agreements, as they provide certainty for the developer and recognize the development process can take years.
 
Unfortunately, development of the Mill Town property stalled after the ADOT facility was moved. With development of the Mill Town property on hold, the transportation improvements that Vintage was required to deliver pursuant to the development agreement were also on hold.
 
On October 22, 2021, the City and Vintage entered into the first amendment to the Mill Town development agreement to, among other things, (1) state that the City would assume responsibility for administering design and construction of both the City and Vintage transportation improvements, (2) describe how Vintage will reimburse the City for the cost of its required transportation improvements (including the pedestrian underpass), and (3) extend Vintage’s right to develop the Mill Town property in accordance with the rezoning ordinance and approved site plan for an additional two years (now seven total).
 
In 2024, Vintage informed City planning staff that it had found a partner to develop the residential component of the Mill Town property (apartment complex), but the new partner wanted to amend the approved site plan beyond what would be covered under a Minor Modification to Site Plan Approval which would allow for changes up to approximately 10% from what was initially approved. However, because the rezoning was conditioned on development in accordance with the original site plan, Vintage was informed that it would need to request an amendment to the rezoning ordinance and a second amendment to the development agreement. In addition, the two-year extension of the right to develop effectuated by the first amendment to the development agreement was specific to the approved site plan, which was now going to be amended. Accordingly, City staff, working with Vintage, drafted the proposed second amendment to the Mill Town development agreement to clarify and confirm that Vintage could develop an amended site plan under the same Zoning Code that was initially utilized for the project.  The second amendment was approved by City Council on March 4, 2025. 

Livable Community - Actively support attainable and affordable housing through the City’s 10-Year Housing plan as well as other projects and opportunities.
Environmental Stewardship - Implement sustainable building practices, enhance waste diversion programs, alternative energy programs and multi-modal transportation options. 
Environmental Stewardship - Strengthen Flagtaff's resilience to climate change impacts on built, natural, economic, health, and social systems.

An analysis of the Regional Plan goals and policies is included in the attached Planning and Zoning Commission staff report.

HA - 1: Create housing options for households at all income levels and family sizes occupied by local residents.
DD - 1: Encourage vibrancy, appropriate density, and attainability in existing neighborhoods, so that more residents are within walking distance of their daily needs.

Create 2.2 - Identify suburban areas to support greater density and intensity of development.
Create 4.8 - Explore allowing additional flexibility for homeowners and landlords to increase density.