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6.B.
Heritage Preservation Commission
Meeting Date:
05/20/2026
From:
Lauren Clementino, Senior Planner/Heritage Preservation Officer

TITLE:

19 W. Birch Ave. Phase 2 Cultural Resource Study

PROPERTY INFORMATION:

Address:  19 W. Birch Ave.
Assessor's Parcel Number:  100-19-004A
Property Owner:  Capri Flagstaff LLC
Applicant:  Capri Flagstaff LLC
City Staff:  Lauren Clementino, HPO

REQUESTED ACTION:

Approve the Phase 2 Cultural Resource Study including archival grade photography, as-built drawings, and elevation drawings for 19 W. Birch Ave. 

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Approve the Phase 2 Cultural Resource Study for 19 W. Birch Ave. as meeting the previous Phase 1 condition of approval requiring architectural documentation to include archival grade photography, as-built drawings, and elevation drawings, and carry forward the previous condition requiring archiving both studies in a place where they will be publicly accessible.

ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:

  • The Commission can approve the Phase 2 Cultural Resource Study with additional conditions.
  • The Commission can request additional information or documentation and continue to a date certain.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Cornerstone Environmental Consulting, LLC, was contracted by Capri Flagstaff LCC to conduct a Phase 1 Cultural Resource Study for the existing building at 19 W. Birch Ave. This building had not been previously studied. It is located within the Downtown Historic Overlay Zone, but outside of the Railroad Addition Historic District. The Phase 1 Cultural Resource Study found that the building is significant under City of Flagstaff Criterion B and NRHP Criterion A for its associations with the areas of Social History and Government and under City of Flagstaff Criterion D for its architectural qualities.
 
The Phase 1 has been revised to include the Phase 2 archival grade photography, as-built drawings, and elevation drawings as appendices. The revised Phase 1 with Phase 2 appendix, as-built floor plans, and elevation drawings are attached to the agenda. Due to the large file sizes and format, the archival photographs are not attached to the agenda and are instead available by request from the Heritage Preservation Officer. A photograph log for the archival photographs is available as Table 1 in Appendix A. 

HAS THERE BEEN PREVIOUS COMMISSION DECISION ON THIS: 

At the May 21, 2025 meeting, the Heritage Preservation Commission reviewed a first submittal of the Phase 1 study and moved "to not accept the report and ask for revisions with a further re-evaluation of Flagstaff Criteria B and D and do further research into courts or the role of the courts in the building, social movements, construction methods and processes, and the post-WWII boom in Flagstaff, through documents such as oral histories, historic photos, architectural and City records and NAU newspapers, and to reduce the focus on interior integrity in their assessment."

At the July 16, 2025 meeting, the Commission reviewed the revised submittal of the Phase 1 Cultural Resource Study and selected measures to mitigate the proposed major impact of demolition of the property. The Commission found and determined that the facts exist as required by Section 10-30.30 of the Zoning Code to approve the study (by a vote of 7-0) with the following conditions:
  1. The grammatical corrections noted by Commissioner Westheimer (including correct spelling of the names Robert W. Prochnow and Paul Babbitt Jr. and inclusion of Pat Madden as a source in the References) be incorporated into the Phase 1 to be approved by the Heritage Preservation Officer 
  2. Completion of a Phase 2 Cultural Resource Study to focus on architectural documentation to include archival grade photography, as-built drawings, and elevation drawings to be reviewed by the Heritage Preservation Commission 
  3. Interpretive mitigation for the National Register of Historic Places Criteria A significance be developed in conjunction with the Indigenous Commission and reviewed by the Heritage Preservation Commission 
  4. Malpais rocks be incorporated into the new building, preferably on the exterior, preferably salvaged, to be reviewed by the Heritage Preservation Commission during the Certificate of Appropriateness review 
  5. Archiving both Cultural Resource Studies, Phases 1 and 2, in a place where they will be publicly accessible, preferably the City of Flagstaff library and/or website
The first condition (addressing grammatical corrections in the Phase 1 study) has been met and the revisions approved by the Heritage Preservation Officer on July 21, 2025. The Phase 1 has been revised to include the Phase 2 archival grade photography, as-built drawings, and elevation drawings as appendices. The final study will be archived per the fifth condition after approval. 

 

Attachments