8.
City Council Joint Work Session
- Meeting Date:
- 04/28/2021
- From:
- Sara Dechter, AICP, Comprehensive Planning Manager
- Department:
- Planning & Development Services
Co-Submitter:
Melissa Shaw
Information
TITLE:
Discussion on Coordination of the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2045
DESIRED OUTCOME:
-
Create shared expectations on regional public participation
-
Direction to staff to begin public engagement Region-wide in Fall 2021
-
Discussion of the roles of the public, staff, and appointed and elected officials
-
Early discussion of possible endorsement and approval process that meets City and County legal requirements
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 (Regional Plan) was adopted by Coconino County in 2013 and ratified by Flagstaff voters in 2014. According to Arizona Revised Statutes, the City is required to readopt the existing general plan or adopt a new general plan within 10 years. The Flagstaff Regional Plan encompasses the City of Flagstaff and unincorporated areas within the Metroplan for Greater Flagstaff jurisdiction. This intergovernmental approach creates a stronger foundation for land, transportation, water, and natural resources management and planning. The process of updating the Regional Plan requires extensive public engagement, robust and comprehensive data analysis and management across multiple jurisdictions, coordination of government decision-making and endorsements, and a large commitment of staff and resources.
City and County staff is seeking direction from the City Council and Board of Supervisors to jointly work towards an update/readoption of the Regional Plan. The alternative is that the City would need to create its General Plan, covering the City's jurisdictional limits, to remain compliant with State Statutes.
City and County staff is seeking direction from the City Council and Board of Supervisors to jointly work towards an update/readoption of the Regional Plan. The alternative is that the City would need to create its General Plan, covering the City's jurisdictional limits, to remain compliant with State Statutes.
INFORMATION:
The Regional Plan is a policy guide, serving as the general plan for the City of Flagstaff and an amendment to the Coconino County Comprehensive Plan. As mandated by state law, the plan covers a range of topics with information on current conditions and our vision for the future as it relates to the topic at hand. In addition, the plan outlines carefully developed goals and policies to realize the future vision. Strategies to accomplish these goals and policies are located in separate documents, such as neighborhood plans, master plans, and strategic plans, so that they can remain dynamic, and can be updated with City Council and public direction on a more frequent basis
The Flagstaff Regional Plan is: • a collaborative community vision • a collection of goals and policies to achieve that vision • a tool for decision-makers, developers, businesses, and citizens • a framework for general planning.
The Flagstaff Regional Plan is not: • a mandate for or against development • a zoning ordinance • a Capital Improvement Plan • a City budget • an unchangeable plan, or a law.
Analysis and Data Management
The Regional Plan is also a rich and integrated assessment of resources, drivers, and systems that work together to produce and protect the built, social, and natural environment of the Greater Flagstaff area. Completion of a Regional Plan update requires complex data analysis and scenario planning that considers over 150 data sources and requires software and analytical efforts. The Plan provides the analytical foundation for:
Emerging issues
The Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 covered a wide variety of topics that affect the Natural, Built, and Human Environment. However, some issues that were not discussed and have grown in importance and focus for the City include Equity, Climate Change Action, and emerging technologies such as broadband, automated vehicles, electric vehicles, and smart street technology.
Data Management Framework
In order to complete the maps and information required by statute and anticipated information needed by decision-makers, staff anticipates needing to organize, evaluate and analyze over 180 different metrics and geospatial datasets. The list of metrics that are needed has been compiled by staff at the City, County, Metroplan, and Mountain Line based on meetings between November 2020 and February 2021. The Regional Plan's data management team has already been discussing the nature of this work and how we can best organize and maintain access and ensure the quality of this work. It is anticipated that organizing and evaluating these metrics and creating informational material of them could take 9 to 12 months to complete and would be ongoing throughout the Regional Plan update process.
In 2012, the last Regional Plan developed the Future Growth Illustration using a scenario modeling-based public engagement process that allowed staff and the public to work with experts and imagine future scenarios for land use and transportation and their potential impacts. This model included greenhouse gas emissions and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) but did not include any measures of equity. This model has been used for creating projected land-use scenarios with adequate detail for water, transportation, and area planning for the last 8 years. The Regional Plan update will require that the model be updated for current technology and for the incorporation of equity and new climate change measures.
Public Participation
The heart of the Regional Plan is the vision of the community for its future. Developing this vision is a process that engages a broad and diverse population of nearly 90,000 to 100,000 residents of Coconino County and the City of Flagstaff. The draft Public Participation Plan attached to this report is designed to reflect on past visioning and design a process that will allow the community to take an active and empowered role in developing the next Regional Plan. The Public Participation Plan is broken into four phases:
Process for Adoption and Endorsement
When the Regional Plan was sent to the Board of Supervisors and City Council for public hearings in 2013, the County adopted the Public Hearing draft and the City worked over 4 months to revise the draft that was eventually adopted and sent to the ballot for ratification. These events meant that the City and County adopted two different but similar plans. In addition, the City uncovered several implementation issues that required refinement of the plan through plan amendments. Examples include an incomplete Circulation map, major and minor plan amendment categories that did not further the goals and policies of the plan, a need to address higher density developments already permitted by the City's Zoning Code, and the need for parcel specific maps of activity centers. As a result, the City has processed 11 Regional Plan amendments in 8 years and adopted 3 specific plans. The County adopted 1 plan amendment and 1 area plan over the same period of time. While regular plan amendments ensure that the Regional Plan can be a nimble and living document, the City and County have ended up on policy paths that diverged over time.
Learning from this experience, staff recommends early and regular dialogue on how to endorse drafts and how to process the plan for adoption that meet the needs of both elected bodies. In the Public Participation Plan attached to this report, staff recommends a process of convening a joint retreat for City and County Planning and Zoning Commissions and Board of Supervisors and City Council (together or separately) to review the final draft plan. Staff would also like the Board and Council to consider the order in which the plan would be adopted. For instance, would the board want to endorse informally the final plan that the City sends ot the ballot and adopt it officially after the election or could the adoption of the plan include a revisionary clause if the City ballot measure is not passed. Feedback on this topic would help in early communication with the public about how City and County decision making is expected to take place.
Through the process of developing the Regional Plan, the Board and Council may also wish to define expectations for how the Regional Plan may evolve over its lifetime and how to ensure that amendments in the City and County are coordinated.
For the complete background and current version of the Flagstaff Regional Plan adopted and amended by the City, visit the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 website.
The Flagstaff Regional Plan is: • a collaborative community vision • a collection of goals and policies to achieve that vision • a tool for decision-makers, developers, businesses, and citizens • a framework for general planning.
The Flagstaff Regional Plan is not: • a mandate for or against development • a zoning ordinance • a Capital Improvement Plan • a City budget • an unchangeable plan, or a law.
Analysis and Data Management
The Regional Plan is also a rich and integrated assessment of resources, drivers, and systems that work together to produce and protect the built, social, and natural environment of the Greater Flagstaff area. Completion of a Regional Plan update requires complex data analysis and scenario planning that considers over 150 data sources and requires software and analytical efforts. The Plan provides the analytical foundation for:
- Development of Area, Neighborhood, and Specific Plans for the City and County
- City and County capital improvement plans,
- MetroPlan's Regional Transportation Plan,
- Mountain Line 5-year Plan
- VISSM regional traffic model which is used in all Traffic Impact Analysis,
- Water Services Master Plan,
- Flagstaff's 100-year water supply certification with the Arizona Department of Water Quality
- Open Space Planning and management
- Economic Development planning and assessments
- Analysis of conformance for Major Plan Amendment
- Conformance of Zoning Code amendments and annexation cases
Emerging issues
The Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 covered a wide variety of topics that affect the Natural, Built, and Human Environment. However, some issues that were not discussed and have grown in importance and focus for the City include Equity, Climate Change Action, and emerging technologies such as broadband, automated vehicles, electric vehicles, and smart street technology.
Data Management Framework
In order to complete the maps and information required by statute and anticipated information needed by decision-makers, staff anticipates needing to organize, evaluate and analyze over 180 different metrics and geospatial datasets. The list of metrics that are needed has been compiled by staff at the City, County, Metroplan, and Mountain Line based on meetings between November 2020 and February 2021. The Regional Plan's data management team has already been discussing the nature of this work and how we can best organize and maintain access and ensure the quality of this work. It is anticipated that organizing and evaluating these metrics and creating informational material of them could take 9 to 12 months to complete and would be ongoing throughout the Regional Plan update process.
In 2012, the last Regional Plan developed the Future Growth Illustration using a scenario modeling-based public engagement process that allowed staff and the public to work with experts and imagine future scenarios for land use and transportation and their potential impacts. This model included greenhouse gas emissions and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) but did not include any measures of equity. This model has been used for creating projected land-use scenarios with adequate detail for water, transportation, and area planning for the last 8 years. The Regional Plan update will require that the model be updated for current technology and for the incorporation of equity and new climate change measures.
Public Participation
The heart of the Regional Plan is the vision of the community for its future. Developing this vision is a process that engages a broad and diverse population of nearly 90,000 to 100,000 residents of Coconino County and the City of Flagstaff. The draft Public Participation Plan attached to this report is designed to reflect on past visioning and design a process that will allow the community to take an active and empowered role in developing the next Regional Plan. The Public Participation Plan is broken into four phases:
- Get Curious and Gain Understanding - focuses on sharing information, generating excitement, and listening to feedback
- What's Possible/What's the Vision - focuses on the art of what is possible and how the community's shared values and concerns for the future can guide the process
- Plan Creation - focuses on writing, reviewing and revising the Plan
- Plan Adoption - focuses on approval of the plan through public hearings and required ballot initiative
Process for Adoption and Endorsement
When the Regional Plan was sent to the Board of Supervisors and City Council for public hearings in 2013, the County adopted the Public Hearing draft and the City worked over 4 months to revise the draft that was eventually adopted and sent to the ballot for ratification. These events meant that the City and County adopted two different but similar plans. In addition, the City uncovered several implementation issues that required refinement of the plan through plan amendments. Examples include an incomplete Circulation map, major and minor plan amendment categories that did not further the goals and policies of the plan, a need to address higher density developments already permitted by the City's Zoning Code, and the need for parcel specific maps of activity centers. As a result, the City has processed 11 Regional Plan amendments in 8 years and adopted 3 specific plans. The County adopted 1 plan amendment and 1 area plan over the same period of time. While regular plan amendments ensure that the Regional Plan can be a nimble and living document, the City and County have ended up on policy paths that diverged over time.
Learning from this experience, staff recommends early and regular dialogue on how to endorse drafts and how to process the plan for adoption that meet the needs of both elected bodies. In the Public Participation Plan attached to this report, staff recommends a process of convening a joint retreat for City and County Planning and Zoning Commissions and Board of Supervisors and City Council (together or separately) to review the final draft plan. Staff would also like the Board and Council to consider the order in which the plan would be adopted. For instance, would the board want to endorse informally the final plan that the City sends ot the ballot and adopt it officially after the election or could the adoption of the plan include a revisionary clause if the City ballot measure is not passed. Feedback on this topic would help in early communication with the public about how City and County decision making is expected to take place.
Through the process of developing the Regional Plan, the Board and Council may also wish to define expectations for how the Regional Plan may evolve over its lifetime and how to ensure that amendments in the City and County are coordinated.
For the complete background and current version of the Flagstaff Regional Plan adopted and amended by the City, visit the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 website.