Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2025-17: An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, amending the Flagstaff Zoning Map to rezone approximately 13.82 acres of real property located at 2951 S Masonic Lane, from the Rural Residential (RR) zone within the Resource Protection Overlay Zone (RPO) and Suburban Commercial (SC) zone within the RPO to the Medium Density Residential (MR) zone within the RPO, providing for severability, authority for clerical corrections, and establishing an effective date.
 

1. Read Ordinance No. 2025-17 by title only for the final time
2. City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2025-17 by title only (if approved above)
3. Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-17

A Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment request from ViewPoint Engineering on behalf of Red Oak Development Group to rezone approximately 13.82 acres located at 2951 S Masonic Lane from the Rural Residential (RR) zone within the Resource Protection Overlay zone (RPO) and Suburban Commercial (SC) zone within the RPO to the Medium Density Residential (MR) zone within the RPO.

The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission voted (6-0) to forward the request with a recommendation of approval with the following conditions in addition to the conditions recommended by staff:

1. The site plan shall be revised to remove the rooftop deck from the amenity building.
2. The site plan shall be revised to remove the observation deck.
3. Should the development result in condominiums, a restriction prohibiting the fractional sale of units shall be placed in the codes, covenants, and restrictions and recorded prior to or concurrent with recordation of the final plat.

The Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment has no financial impact.

The Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment has no policy impact.

Connection to PBB Priorities and Objectives:
       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 & multi-modal transportation options.
• Increase the private sector's participation in environmental stewardship efforts.

Connection to Regional Plan:
A complete analysis of the Regional Plan goals and policies is included in the attached Planning and Zoning Commission staff report.

Connection to Carbon Neutrality Plan:
HA-1: Create housing options for households at all income levels and family sizes occupied by local residents.
FS-2: Encourage new buildings to rely on the electric grid as their main energy source.

Connection to 10-Year Housing Plan:
Create 2.2: Identify suburban areas to support greater density and intensity of development

There has not been a previous City Council decision on this ordinance.
 

The City Council may adopt, modify or deny the proposed Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has the following suggested conditions:

1. The subject property must be developed in accordance with the approved site plan and the conditions of approval dated May 9, 2024. Modifications (other than minor modifications) to the approved site plan will require an amendment to this Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment request.
2. The site plan shall be revised to remove the rooftop deck from the amenity building.
3. The site plan shall be revised to remove the observation deck.
4. Should the development result in condominiums, a restriction prohibiting the fractional sale of units shall be placed in the codes, covenants, and restrictions and recorded prior to or concurrent with recordation of the final plat.
5. All other requirements of the Zoning Code and other City codes, ordinances, and regulations, shall be met by the proposed development.
6. All terms, conditions, and restrictions detailed within the “Pinehaven Development Agreement” must be fully satisfied.
7. 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 to the former classification of Rural Residential (RR) and Suburban Commercial (SC) in accordance with A.R.S. § 9-462.01.

The request for a Direct to Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment was filed by ViewPoint Engineering on behalf of the applicant, Red Oak Development Group, to rezone approximately 13.82 acres from the RR zone within the RPO and the SC zone within the RPO to the MR zone with the RPO located at 2951 S Masonic Lane.
 
The subject property (“Property”) is approximately a 13.82-acre vacant parcel. S Masonic Lane bisects the site in the form of an access easement providing connection from the Pinnacle Pines subdivision to E Zuni Drive. The applicant proposes an 83-unit multiple-family development consisting of townhome-style buildings which cluster units in 20 groups of 4 and 5. The development proposes a financial contribution to the City’s Affordable Housing Fund totaling $1,802,413.83. This contribution is in lieu of constructing 10 Category 1 affordable units at 12% of the total unit count in order to utilize the affordable housing incentives for a reduction in resource protection. 
 

The following Zoning Map Amendment Findings will be analyzed specific to the approved site plan and considered if the site were to be redeveloped entirely under the MR zone standards.
 
A.    Finding #1:
The proposed amendment must be found to be consistent with and in conformance with the goals and policies of the General Plan and any applicable specific plans.  If the application is not consistent with the General Plan, and any other applicable specific plan, the applicable plan must be amended in compliance with the procedures established in Chapter 11-10 of the City Code (Title 11: General Plans and Subdivisions) prior to considering the proposed amendment.  Refer to the Planning & Zoning Staff Report for an analysis of the Regional Plan.

B.    Finding #2
To meet the finding, the proposed amendment must be determined not to be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare of the City of Flagstaff (the “City”); and will add to the public good as described in the General Plan. Staff does not believe that the proposed project will be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare. The developer has identified the following Community Benefits and Public Good:

           i. The developer will provide improvements along E Zuni Drive and S Lone Tree Road, including new/improved sidewalks, parkway, and a bike lane. 
          ii. The developer will provide two bus stops serving both directions along E Zuni Drive. 
         iii. The developer will contribute to the City of Flagstaff Affordable Housing fund commensurate with 10 Category 1 affordable units or 12% of the total number of units for a total contribution of $1,802,413.83. 
 
C.    Finding #3
To meet the finding, the affected site must be determined to be physically suitable in terms of design, location, shape, size, operating characteristics; and the provision of public and emergency vehicle access, public services, and utilities to ensure that the requested zone designation and the proposed or anticipated uses and/or development will not endanger, jeopardize, or otherwise constitute a hazard to the property or improvements in the vicinity in which the property is located.  The Inter-Division Staff reviewed the application and concluded that the site was suitable for the proposed development as conditioned. The IDS team based its conclusion on the review of all applicable codes and requirements as well as impact analysis of the site. Any potential impacts will be mitigated by the developer and off-site improvements will be required to serve this development.

  The developer has identified the following Community Benefits and Public Good:         
         i.   The developer will provide improvements along E Zuni Drive and S Lone Tree Road, including new/improved sidewalks, parkway, and a bike lane. 
         ii.  The developer will provide two bus stops serving both directions along E Zuni Drive. 
         iii. The developer will contribute to the City of Flagstaff Affordable Housing fund commensurate with 10 Category 1 affordable units or 12% of the total number of units for a total contribution of $1,802,413.83. 

The developer held two neighborhood meetings in regard to this case on October 17, 2024, and November 21, 2024. Both meetings were held with in-person and virtual options for attendance. Per the meeting sign-in, approximately 17 individuals attended the first meeting, and 10 individuals attended the second meeting. Citizen participation summaries, attached, were prepared in response to the questions, comments and concerns presented. The meetings included a presentation from the developer and a question-and-answer session where questions could be asked or typed into the chat. Comments on the project included the following topics: increase in density of the area, impacts to traffic, impacts to dark skies and natural environment, increased noise, the project’s proposal to use a fractional ownership model, and the timing of the project.    Ten emails from the public have been received as of the writing of this report and have been included with this agenda item. All correspondence either voiced opposition or concerns with the project such as traffic, concerns about parking, impacts to the natural environment, and concerns about fractional ownership or short-term rentals.  In response to neighbor participation, the applicants removed fractional ownership from their proposal. The applicant has included in their development agreement a restriction that prohibits leases under 30 days.

At the Planning and Zoning Commission held on July 23, 2025, the applicant stated that the rooftop deck of the clubhouse and the observation tower had been removed from their plans in response to neighbor discussion held in the neighborhood meetings. These modifications were not made to the site plan application that had been approved by staff. To account for the applicant's intended changes, staff recommended that the Planning and Zoning Commission include in their recommended conditions of approval the removal of both the rooftop deck and the observation deck. The applicants have provided a revised site plan with the observation tower removed as well as revised building elevations and floor plans for the Clubhouse. These amended files have been attached to this report in addition to the original files.

 

The Planning and Zoning Commission also included a recommendation to prohibit fractional sales of units to be consistent with discussions the applicant had with the neighbors.  Staff modified the draft Zoning Ordinance to include the following condition: “Should the development result in condominiums, a restriction prohibiting the fractional sale of units shall be placed in the codes, covenants, and restrictions and recorded prior to or concurrent with recordation of the final plat."