Public Hearing, Consideration and Possible Adoption of Ordinance No. 2019-014:  Canyon del Rio Investors, LLC requests a Concept Zoning Map Amendment of approximately 83.88 acres at 3200 East Butler Avenue from the RD, Research and Development Zone, to MR, Medium Density Residential Zone (27.9 acres), HR, High Density Residential Zone (30.0 acres), and HC, Highway Commercial Zone (25.9 acres).  The area proposed for the Concept Zoning Map Amendment is a portion of a 262-acre development known as Canyon del Rio. (Canyon del Rio Investors, LLC Concept Zoning Map Amendment request for property located at 3200 East Butler Avenue.)

Canyon del Rio Investors, LLC is requesting a Concept Zoning Map Amendment to permit development consisting of 180 attached residential units on 27.9 acres of Medium Density Residential (MR) Zone, 670 apartment units on 30-acres of High Density Residential (HR) Zone and 225,000 square feet of commercial development on 25.9-acres of Highway Commercial (HC) Zone.  The area to be rezoned is located at the southwest corner of Butler Avenue and Fourth Street and totals 83.88 acres.  The Canyon del Rio development, in total, is 262 acres in size.

The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing to consider the Concept Zoning Map Amendment on April 10 and April 24, 2019.  The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted 5-0 in favor of forwarding a recommendation of approval of the Concept Zoning Map Amendment, subject to conditions, to the City Council.

***Ordinance updated and an additional PowerPoint presentation has been attached***

Canyon del Rio Investors, LLC will provide proportional share payments for the Butler Avenue and Fourth Street frontage and off-site traffic improvements in the amount of:
$2,461,730.
To the secondary water source:
$1,300,000.
Off-site, Zone B water storage:
$667,943.
The City of Flagstaff will provide additional funding for the off-site traffic improvements along the Butler Avenue and Fourth Street corridors as part of the approval of Proposition 419 (November 2018).   The City will also provide funding for upgrading the size of the secondary source water line from 8-inch to 12-inch diameter.  The City will also provide additional funding for the 1-million-gallon water storage tank, Canyon del Rio's share is equal to the cost for 428,000 gallons.

Council Goals:
Economic Development: Grow and strengthen a more equitable and resilient economy.
Affordable Housing: Support the development and increase the inventory of public and private affordable housing for renters and home-owners.
 
Team Flagstaff Goals:
Strategic Priority #3: Foster a resilient and economically prosperous city.
 
Regional Plan:
A complete analysis of the Regional Plan goals and policies can be found in the attached applicant narrative and in the staff report to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

A Settlement Agreement as approved by City Council was executed on May 13, 2013, and amended on January 29, 2015, which outlines how the Zoning Map Amendment will be processed, sets specific development density and intensities, and settles the two pending lawsuits.  If the Zoning Map Amendment is approved, the pending lawsuits will be resolved.  In response to the Settlement Agreement, Canyon del Rio Investors made an application for a Concept Zoning Map Amendment in November of 2014.
 

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

Canyon del Rio is a 1,426 unit residential and 225,000 square foot commercial development.  The proposed development will provide a mixture of high density, medium density, and single-family residential units combined with commercial service, retail, and open space land uses on 262 acres, in accordance with the development plan.  A Concept Zoning Map Amendment is proposed for 83 acres located in the northeast corner of the site at the intersection of Butler Avenue and South Fourth Street.  The remainder of the property (179-acres) is currently zoned Single-Family Residential (R1) and Medium-Density Residential (MR) Zone.
 
The area to be amended and the entire Canyon del Rio development are located south of Butler Avenue. The site is heavily treed and is located within the Resource Protection Overlay Zone (RPO). The site has a varied topography, including many slopes and small valleys; the most significant is the Rio de Flag drainage that runs across the southeast corner of the development and continues downstream to Foxglenn Park.  The proposed Fourth Street alignment that will ultimately connect Butler Avenue and John Wesley Powell Boulevard runs along the eastern boundary of Canyon del Rio.  An existing aboveground 69 KV transmission line crosses the site in an east-west direction at the south end of Canyon del Rio, outside of the area to be rezoned.
 
In addition to this Concept Zoning Map Amendment case, the applicant has also submitted a Preliminary Block Plat application. This Preliminary Block Plat will divide the property into 22 separate blocks with an internal minor collector roadway and will be done in two phases.  Each block will then be either subdivided further or will be subject to the Site Plan Review process, which is anticipated for the commercial and multi-family rental uses.  A draft Development Agreement has also been attached for the Council's review.  The Development Agreement will be reviewed by the Council via a separate resolution at the June 4th regular Council meeting.

This application is a Concept Zoning Map Amendment which requires the applicant to provide only conceptual drawings of the development.  The concept zone plan provided by CDRI shows a mix of high density, medium density and single-family residential development across the site.  The attached booklet includes a community masterplan that shows potential development of the Zoning Map Amendment area as well as potential lot layout for the rest of Canyon del Rio.  The booklet further breaks out the three proposed new zones and provides concept photos or drawings for the commercial development, the attached housing, and the apartment buildings.  Final lot layout design, actual elevations, and floor plans for individual units have not yet been provided and will be worked on through the final platting of individual subdivisions and/or site plan reviews.  The high-density development areas have been strategically placed in relationship to the suburban activity center located at the intersections of Butler Avenue and Fourth Street as well as buffering between the commercial uses and single-family neighborhoods. 
 
Sheet CP2 of the concept zone plan depicts Canyon del Rio's connectivity via a community trail system and Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS) running east/west across the property. Fifty-eight acres of open space has also been provided and is shown on the concept zone plan connecting with the individual blocks and trails.  A large open space tract, the Rio de Flag channel, traverses the southeastern portion of the property which provides a portion of the FUTS and serves as a drainage feature for the property. 
 
The applicants have proposed through the Settlement Agreement (paragraph “h”) and the draft Development Agreement (paragraph 4.7.a) (both attached), that Canyon del Rio Investors will donate parcel Q3, located at the southwest corner of the development to the City for affordable housing and will supply water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure at the same time parcel R-4 is developed.  Parcel Q3 is recognized as having a density equal to approximately 5% (80 units) of the total units within Canyon del Rio.   Future developments wishing to provide additional affordable housing will be given a 5% credit toward the 10% threshold needed to qualify for affordable housing incentives allowed by the Zoning Code.

None

Community benefits and considerations related to this request are addressed in more detail in the attached "Findings for Reviewing Proposed Zoning Map Amendments and Text Amendments" document.
 

Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council are conducted in conjunction with requests for Concept Zoning Map Amendments.  In accordance with State Statute, a notice of the public hearing was provided by placing an ad in the Arizona Daily Sun, posting notices on the property, and mailing a notice to all property owners within 1,000 feet (exceeding the minimum of 300-feet).
 
The applicant held two citizen participation meetings. The first meeting was held on August 28, 2013, (report dated December 20, 2013), and the second was a series of meetings held more recently on July 26 and 28, 2018, which focused on the current application.  The earlier report includes a synopsis of the public comments received at the meeting.  The 2018 report also includes minutes from the meeting and a summary of the comments the applicant received at the meeting. Staff has also attached to this report the comments received from the public regarding this development request.  The meetings included an open house period followed by presentations from the applicant and a question and answer session.   Comments on the project included the following topics: traffic impacts, building heights, high-density housing, noise from the commercial development, and affordability.
 
There were several speakers at each of the two Planning and Zoning Commission meetings.  They also expressed concerns on traffic, road capacity, building heights, noise, and high-density housing.