Public Hearing, Consideration and Possible Adoption of Ordinance No. 2016-18: 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 Statutes, by annexing certain land totaling approximately 77.8 acres located in Section 4, Township 21 North, Range 8 East, which land is contiguous to the existing corporate limits of the City of Flagstaff, and establishing no city zoning for said land. (Picture Canyon Annexation)

An annexation request of approximately 77.8 acres currently part of the Picture Canyon Natural Preserve And Archeological Park owned by the City of Flagstaff.

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COUNCIL GOALS:
1) Continue to implement the Flagstaff Regional Plan and focus efforts on specific plans

REGIONAL PLAN:

LU.7.2 - Require unincorporated properties to be annexed prior to the provision of City services, or that a pre-annexation agreement is executed when deemed appropriate.

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1. Approve the ordinance as proposed
2. Approve the ordinance with no conditions, additional conditions or modified conditions
3. Deny the ordinance

The Applicant, the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program, on behalf of the property owner, the City of Flagstaff, is requesting an annexation of 77.8 acres, which is a part of the Picture Canyon Preserve and Archeological Park. With funding from the 2004 voter approved Open Space bond and a 2012 Growing Smarter Grant, the City of Flagstaff acquired Picture Canyon in October 2012 for the express purpose of preserving its unique historical, cultural, archeological, recreational, and educational resources. The canyon is an ecologically diverse riparian corridor and has a variety of native trees and plants. The area has many archeological resources with existing logging railroad features on the property eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

State statutes only allow the City to adopt a zoning classification that permits densities and intensities no greater than those permitted by the County immediately before the annexation. Currently the property is not zoned in the County so the property will come into the City with no zoning designation. A Zoning Map Amendment application to zone the parcel to Public Open Space (POS) zone with the Landmarks Overlay (LO) zone, Resource Protection Overlay (RPO) zone and Rural Floodplain designation is proposed to further the preservation of the property and its resources. The Zoning Map Amendment application will be considered subsequent to review of the annexation application.

On February 24, 2016, the Planning & Zoning Commission concluded their review of the proposed annexation with a recommendation for approval, by a unanimous vote.

Community benefits and considerations related to this Annexation request are addressed in the attached Planning & Zoning Commission staff report dated February 12, 2016.

Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, Empower

Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council are conducted in conjunction with requests for annexation. In accordance with State statute, notice of the public hearing was provided by placing an ad in the Daily Sun, posting notices on the property, and mailing a notice to all property owners within 600 feet of the site. The notices were also provided to the County Recorder, County Assessor, County Community Development Department and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors.

All property owners within 600-feet of this site were notified via mail of the zoning map amendment and annexation and asked to attend the Open Space Commission meeting on October 22, 2015. One individual inquired about these applications affecting the management plans for Picture Canyon.