Discussion only.

The Southside Community Specific Plan (Southside Plan) is a specific plan that is intended to become adopted policy for the City of Flagstaff. The Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 (Regional Plan) states, “The purpose of a specific plan is to provide a greater level of detail for a geographic area or element of the Regional Plan, and to provide for the systematic implementation of the Regional Plan” (Page III-8 based on Flagstaff City Code Section 11-10.30.010).  City staff and the Southside Community Association have been co-leading the effort to develop a Southside Community Plan since June 2017. Over the last three years, the community has come together through surveys, informal gatherings, and public meetings to draft a plan for the consideration of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council.

This work session is an opportunity for the City Council to discuss the content of the amendment and specific plan and request any clarifications in advance of the public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

On Wednesday, July 22, 2020, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt:

• the proposed minor amendment the Regional Plan Maps 21 and 22 to change 36 acres of Existing Suburban to Existing Employment and text on page IX-35 to allow for a mix of residential, commercial, and light industrial (employment) activities in Urban Neighborhood and Urban Activity Centers, when permitted by a specific plan, and
• the Southside Community Specific Plan with additional Heritage Preservation goals, policies and strategies included on pages 38 and 51 of Volume 1.

Notable Content of the Southside Community Specific Plan
The content of the Plan was developed with collaboration from a Stakeholder Group appointed by the Southside Community Association.  This group reviewed issues, draft content and public comment and provided advice to the project team on how to address complex issues and clarify draft material. The group also reconvened after the 60-day public review to provide feedback on conflicting public comments and concerns. This process resulted in goals, policies, strategies and concepts that are focused on building community and embracing the heritage of the Southside. Some notable policies of the plan include:

• Emphasis on the importance of historic preservation of both the built environment and the human stories of the Southside, while maintaining choices for property owners and creating awareness of the community’s history.
• Creation of Southside Subareas that can serve as a framework for future zoning districts that create a variety of buildings and that are designed to create compatible new development within the historic district.
• Creation of the Live-Make Center subarea that would blend old and new concepts by allowing for larger mixed use buildings in an appropriate location with an emphasis on integrating small scale and low nuisance industrial uses. (This new concept is the rationale for the Minor Regional Plan Amendment).
• Support for and promotion of Southside businesses as a unique and distinctive part of the Flagstaff Downtown.
• Maintenance of small flexible commercial and office spaces and adaptive reuse of the historic commercial buildings in the Southside.
• Support for the creation of new parks on existing City property that is underutilized and under the new Lone Tree Overpass.
• Preserving the community use of and improving the services and amenities at the Murdoch Community Center.
• Addressing incomplete street infrastructure and recommendations for tweaks to ParkFlag to accommodate unique circumstances in the Southside.
• Identification of potential sites for ParkFlag managed surface lots.
• New concepts for improving bicycling and pedestrian traffic through and within the Southside, taking the City’s most walkable neighborhood to the next level of sustainability.
• Support for the Downtown Connection Center and a desire for complimentary facilities and design that make it an attractive amenity.
• Guidance for treatment of narrow rights of way within historic subdivisions as redevelopment and improvement projects occur.
• Support for removal of the FEMA floodplain, increasing emergency preparedness and homeowner education, and addressing localized flooding issues.
• Emphasis on Crime Prevention through Environmental Design and addressing nightlife-specific issues over a strategy of increased police presence and enforcement.
• Clarifying concept illustrations concerning the meaning and potential influences of the Southside Subareas to help guide future rezoning cases and Zoning Code updates.
• Unique and community driven conceptual designs for possible public improvements such as park space, landscaping and possible expansion at the Murdoch Center, signalized crossings, FUTS paths, and street cross sections.