Public Hearing, Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2014-30:  An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, extending and increasing the corporate limits of the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, State of Arizona, pursuant to the provisions of Title 9, Chapter 4, Arizona Revised Statues, by annexing certain land totaling approximately 3.14 acres located at 2701 S. Woody Mountain Road, which land is contiguous to the existing corporate limits of the City of Flagstaff and establishing city zoning for said land as RR, Rural Residential. (Annexation of property for Aspen Heights located on Woody Mountain Road)

The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a Public Hearing to consider this Annexation request at its regular meeting on September 24, 2014.  The Planning and Zoning Commission voted (6-0) to forward the request to the City Council with a recommendation of approval.  Annexations are required to be adopted by ordinance.

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COUNCIL GOALS:
Retain, expand, and diversify economic base
Effective governance

REGIONAL PLAN:
The current application was filed prior to the ratification of the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 (FRP 2030) and is therefore being reviewed against the policies of the Flagstaff Area Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan (RLUTP).

LU1.6 - Require Urban Development to Locate within City Boundaries: In order to ensure that all urban development can be provided with adequate public facilities and services, all urban land uses shall be located within the Urban Growth boundary and within the City’s corporate boundary limits. The Regional Plan encourages urban land uses to locate only within incorporated areas in order to obtain City services, utilities, and fire protection. The City shall consider the annexation of land into the city limits when the annexation of such property is consistent with the goals and policies of the Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan.

The Public Hearing for both the annexation and rezone was opened on October 21, 2014, and continued on November 3, 2014. It has been continued again to the November 18, 2014, meeting, although no further public comment will be received.

The City Council may approve the ordinance as proposed, approve the ordinance with conditions, or deny the ordinance.

A request by Aspen Heights to annex approximately 3.14 acres at the intersection of East Route 66 and Woody Mountain Road. The area subject to the annexation is a portion of parcel 112-01-019. This parcel is currently vacant and was at one time heavily forested before the Woody Fire in 2006. The parcel is located within the Resource Protection Overlay (RPO) Zone and still maintains forest resources towards the southern portion of the property. The parcel is located within the Urban Service Boundary and this small portion of the overall parcel is within County jurisdiction.

The current application was filed prior to the adoption of the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 (FRP 2030) and is therefore being reviewed against the policies of the Flagstaff Area Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan (RLUTP). For comparison purposes only, policies from both plans are identified and discussed. The RLUTP designates this parcel as Mixed-Use. This land use category requires an average density of seven dwelling units per acre. The Mixed-Use category may have an emphasis on either residential or non-residential. The objective of this classification is to mix land uses by providing housing, shopping, and employment. However, this category does not preclude single-use developments. The FRP 2030 designates this parcel as Future Urban within an Urban Activity Center. The density range required for residential mixed-use is eight dwelling units per acre and a minimum floor area ratio of 1.0 or greater.

This annexation is the first of a two-step process. The second being a Concept Zoning Map Amendment request to zone the parcel to the MR, Medium Density Residential Zone (33.33 acres) for a student housing development and the HC, Highway Commercial Zone (3.60 acres) for future commercial development. The Zoning Map Amendment application is being processed concurrently with this application but will not become effective until after the annexation has been completed. A full Zoning Map Amendment policy analysis can be found in that staff report.

Annexations are adopted by the City Council via ordinance.  Ordinance No. 2014-30 annexes 3.14 acres located at 2701 S. Woody Mountain Road into the City of Flagstaff. Prior to the second read of Ordinance No. 2014-30 the City Council will approve an Annexation and Development Agreement for the Aspen Heights project.  A copy of the draft development agreement is attached for review.

 

Community benefits and considerations related to this request are addressed in more detail in the attached Planning and Zoning Commission Staff Report, dated September 12, 2014.  The existing City of Flagstaff boundary bisects the current parcel limiting the development of the site.  The majority of the existing parcel is located within the City of Flagstaff boundaries and the annexation will result in a correction of the City limits to allow for appropriate development of the subject site.  The proposed development will require a proportional- share contribution to a future traffic signal at the intersection of Route 66 and S. Woody Mountain Road per the results of the accepted traffic impact analysis.  In addition, approximately 5500 linear feet of sewer line will need to be upgraded in conjunction with the proposed development.  The Applicant has indicated their desire to participate in the recapture program.  The proposed development plans to off-set recreation impacts associated with the project by providing substantial recreation improvements on site in compliance with the City of Flagstaff Zoning Code.

Inform/Consult

The Applicant held a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 5:30 pm. The Applicant received two phone calls from their meeting notice requesting information about the project. Seven people attended the meeting and had questions in regards to the case. None of the attendees expressed opposition to the Annexation or the Zoning Map Amendment. Staff has not received any other comments in regards to either the annexation or the Zoning Map Amendment.

Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council are conducted in conjunction with any request for Zoning Map Amendment. In accordance with Arizona Revised Statute, notice of the public hearing was provided by placing an ad in the Daily Sun, posting a notice on the property, and mailing a notice to all property owners within 300 feet of the subject site. As of this writing, staff has received two email letters, copies of which are attached to this report, wanting to make sure that the planning for the site takes into account the use of Woody Mountain Road by a large number of W.L. Gore employees who commute to the facilities in the area and expressing concern about the increased lighting impacts from higher density development within Lighting Zone I.

The Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on September 24, 2014 at 4 p.m.  Three individuals spoke in regards to this case.  Two addressed concerns in regards to dark sky related issues and the impacts of outdoor lighting.  One individual asked for additional information in regards to the provision of affordable housing.

• (Recommended Action):  The City Council may approve the Annexation as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff by reading and adopting Ordinance No. 2014-30.
• The City Council may approve the Annexation with conditions of approval.
• The City Council may deny the Annexation.