Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance 2020-05:  An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona, amending the Flagstaff City Code, Title 10, Flagstaff Zoning Code (Ordinance No. 2011-20), for the purpose of modifying Section 10-90.40.030 of the Zoning Code, the Rural Floodplain Map, to change the map designation of approximately 1.47 acres from Rural Floodplain to Urban Floodplain on an approximate 4.46-acre parcel located at 3451 East Lake Mary Road.

The proposed Zoning Code Text Amendment (Case No. PZ-19-00187) is to change the map designation of approximately 1.47 acres from Rural Floodplain to Urban Floodplain on an approximately 4.46-acre parcel located at 3451 East Lake Mary Road (Attachment 3).

On January 22, 2020, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the proposed amendment to the City Council with a vote of 7-0.

There are no anticipated financial impacts affiliated with the proposed Zoning Code Text Amendment.

There are no anticipated policy impacts affiliated with the proposed Zoning Code Text Amendment.

Council Goals:
Revise the Zoning Code to remove ambiguities and ensure it is consistent with the community values and the Regional Plan.

Team Flagstaff Strategic Plan:
Work in partnership to enhance a safe and livable community.

Regional Plan:
Please refer to letter "A" of the Key Considerations section of this report.

In April 2017, the City Council approved a Zoning Code amendment to modify the Rural Floodplain map to include additional floodplain areas.

During the February discussion on the subject application City Council had questions regarding the zoning on the property and what could be built.  The subject request does not change the property's zoning.  The Rural Floodplain map is found in the zoning code, therefore an amendment to the map is considered a text amendment to the zoning code.  But it is not a request to rezone the property.  The question for City Council in the subject application is rather narrow, "Is the Rural Floodplain correctly mapped?"

The City Council may adopt, modify, or deny the amendment.

The Zoning Code was adopted by the City Council on November 1, 2011, to replace the former Land Development Code.  Incorporated into the Zoning Code is the Resource Protection Overlay (RPO) that was originally adopted in June 1999.  The intent of the RPO regulations is to maintain and protect existing natural resources, including floodplains, steep slopes, and forests. The most recent amendment to the RPO that is applicable to this application was approved in April 2017.  The April 2017 Zoning Code amendment modified the Rural Floodplain map to include additional floodplain areas.

Overview of the Proposed Amendment:
The proposed amendment is to change the map designation of approximately 1.47 acres from Rural Floodplain to Urban Floodplain on an approximately 4.46-acre parcel located at 3451 East Lake Mary Road (Attachment 3).  The applicant’s narrative and graphics are included as Attachment 4.

The Zoning Code describes the Urban and Rural Floodplains as:

• Urban Floodplains. All watercourses and associated floodplains not defined as rural floodplains are urban floodplains. Urban floodplains are typically located in urbanized areas and have typically been altered from their natural state by channelization. Urban floodplains may be altered to address conveyance and erosion concerns; provided, that all necessary requirements of the City’s Stormwater Regulations as administered by the Stormwater Manager are addressed. However, certain urban floodplains that have characteristics conducive to water quality, wildlife habitat, and stream ecology should be preserved. Proposals for any disturbance of these watercourses shall be reviewed by the Stormwater Manager and must address these attributes and provide for mitigation if necessary. Undergrounding of urban floodplains is strongly discouraged and justification must be provided prior to any approval of undergrounding.
• Rural Floodplains. Rural floodplains are natural undisturbed open spaces that are unsuitable for development purposes due to periodic flood inundation and the need to preserve the stream corridor for beneficial uses such as the preservation of important ecological resources. Rural floodplains are delineated in Section 10-90.40.030 of the Zoning Code, Rural Floodplain Map, and defined as areas of delineated 100-year floodplain that cannot be disturbed or developed except for roadway and utility crossings. Rural floodplains cannot be altered through a floodplain map amendment or revision and must remain undisturbed (i.e., 100 percent protection). The extension of rural floodplains beyond the limits of the delineated floodplains, both upstream and laterally, may be required based on more current or extended floodplain studies, master plan documents or other studies or documents related to hydrology, hydraulics, stream geomorphology, wildlife habitat, or wildlife corridors.

The City of Flagstaff's Floodplain Manager has reviewed the watercourse that crosses the subject property and has determined that the watercourse is not a natural watercourse.  Therefore, the subject watercourse would not be considered a rural floodplain. In some limited situations, the extension of a rural floodplain beyond the limits of a delineated rural floodplain, both upstream and laterally, may be required based on more current or extended floodplain studies, master plan documents or other studies or documents related to hydrology, hydraulics, stream geomorphology, wildlife habitat, or wildlife corridors. Staff is aware of two reports related to these areas. Staff's 2018 Rio de Flag Floodplain Assessment is a health assessment of all City floodplains regardless of whether they are natural or man-made (Attachment 5). Also attached, is the City’s Flagstaff Floodplain Plant Identification Report (Attachment 6). The purpose of the Flagstaff Floodplain Plant Identification Report was to identify native plant species that can survive among invasive and exotic plants and to develop a seed mix that could be utilized to revegetate floodplain corridors.

Zoning Code Text Amendment
An application for a Zoning Text Amendment shall be submitted to the Planning Director and shall be reviewed and a recommendation prepared.  The Planning Director’s recommendation shall be transmitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission in the form of a staff report prior to a scheduled public hearing.  The recommendation shall include: an evaluation of the consistency and conformance of the proposed amendment with the goals and policies of the General Plan and any applicable specific plans; the grounds for the recommendation based on the standards and purposes of the zones set forth in Section 10-40.20 (Establishment of Zones) of the Zoning Code; and, whether the amendment should be granted, or denied. 

A Zoning Code Text Amendment shall be evaluated based on the following findings:

A.    Finding #1:
The proposed amendment is to correct a designation in the Rural Floodplain Map.  Currently, a 1.47-acre area of a 4.46-acre parcel located at 3451 East Lake Mary Road is designated as Rural Floodplain.  The designated area is a man-made watercourse. This watercourse was constructed to divert a historical natural watercourse to accommodate development on the northeast side of Lake Mary Road. This amendment will change the designation from Rural Floodplain to Urban Floodplain.

Consistent with Policies WR.5.4., and WR.5.5 of the Regional Plan, the man-made watercourse was constructed to mitigate downstream impacts, and divert stormwater flows to a regional detention facility. The 1.47-acre designated area is consistent with the Zoning Code’s description of an Urban Floodplain, which includes watercourses “…in urbanized areas [that] have typically been altered from their natural state....”  The proposed amendment maintains conformance with the Regional Plan.  There are no applicable specific plans related to this amendment.

B.    Finding #2
The proposed amendment will not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience or welfare of the City;

The proposed amendment is not anticipated to be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience or welfare of the City. This amendment will correct an erroneous designation in the Rural Floodplain Map.

C.    Finding #3
The proposed amendment is internally consistent with other applicable provisions of this Zoning Code.

The existing 1.47-acre area of a 4.46-acre parcel located at 3451 East Lake Mary Road is a man-made watercourse, which is consistent with the Zoning Code’s description of an Urban Floodplain. The Zoning Code describes the Urban Floodplain as watercourses “…in urbanized areas [that] have typically been altered from their natural state....” The current indicated area is inconsistent with the description of Rural Floodplains. Rural floodplains are described as “…natural undisturbed open spaces that are unsuitable for development purposes due to periodic flood inundation and the need to preserve the stream corridor for beneficial uses such as the preservation of important ecological resources.” In addition, the City of Flagstaff's Floodplain Manager has reviewed the watercourse that crosses the subject property and has determined that the watercourse is not a natural watercourse. The proposed amendment enhances the Zoning Code’s internal consistency by correcting a designation on the Rural Floodplain Map pertaining to the subject property.

Please refer to the key considerations included in this report.

In accordance with State Statute and the Zoning Code, the Planning and Zoning Commission work session and public hearing for this amendment were advertised in the Arizona Daily Sun on Dec 21, 2020. Also, persons of interest that are on file with the Planning and Development Services Department were notified of the work sessions and hearings via first class mail. The City Council public hearings were advertised in the Arizona Daily Sun on Dec 21, 2020.

Staff has not directly received public comments regarding this application, and there were no public comments made at the Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.  The applicant has received comments from the public, and these are attached as, Attachment #8.  These comments pertain to a private access easement that crosses the southern section of the property to provide access to the west.  This Zoning Code Text Amendment will not affect the private cross access easement.