Consideration of Resolution No. 2013-32:  A resolution adopting a Major Amendment to the Flagstaff Regional Plan for Little America Hotels and Resorts, Inc.

At the December 3, 2013 meeting the Council will consider whether the application for this major amendment to the (current) Flagstaff Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan should be approved or denied.

None.

1. Retain, expand, and diversify economic base
2. Effective governance

No. However, a public hearing for this major amendment to the (current) Flagstaff Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan was held on November 19, 2013. 

1.  Approve by resolution the proposed Regional Plan amendment application for Little America Hotels and Resorts, Inc.

2.  Deny the proposed Regional Plan amendment application for Little America Hotels and Resorts, Inc.

Design Workshop on behalf of Little America Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has submitted a Major Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan Amendment Application to the City of Flagstaff, and has submitted all required materials and studies within the legal time frames as established in City Code Title 11 (General Plans and Subdivisions). The proposed development is comprised of 537 acres south of Butler Avenue and east of Interstate 40.  Approximately 42 acres of the property includes the existing Little America hotel which is currently designated as Regional Commercial on the RP Land use Map. The remainder of the property is designated as Planning Reserve Area.
 
The Planning Reserve Areas (PRAs) are generally at the periphery of urbanized areas, are guidelines intended to accommodate a range of densities and other non-residential uses, and are considered suitable for future urban development. Land designated as PRAs do not currently have City services, but are generally close to existing development and available urban services. The Regional Plan also identifies that some of the areas are to be preserved for urban open space.
 
The applicant is proposing to retain the existing Little America Hotel; to add a new 200-room resort hotel associated with a new 18-hole golf course that will be open to the public; a neighborhood commercial center in the vicinity of the existing truck stop with approximately 157,000 sq. ft. of new commercial uses on 9 acres; approximately 1,400 new residential units ranging from low density, through medium density, to high density on approximately 336 acres; and a variety of recreational uses including public parks, the public golf course, FUTS (Flagstaff Urban Trails System) and hiking trails on approximately 148 acres.
 
A detailed explanation of the requested amendment to the Regional Plan Land Use Map (Maps 3 and 4) is included in the attached report to the Planning and Zoning Commission (Page 10 of 15). Note that no text amendments to the existing Flagstaff Regional Plan are proposed.
 
The complete application and all supplementary reports are available for the City Council and the public on-line. All links are provided in the attached staff summary report to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their November 13, 2013 second public hearing.

A major amendment to the Flagstaff Regional Plan is required by state law and City Code Title 11 (General Plans and Subdivisions) to be approved by resolution. Accordingly Resolution No. 2013-32 is attached. The conditions of approval recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission have not been inserted into the resolution because they are more informational markers to the applicant of what will be required at the future zone change and development agreement stage, than conditions of approval per se. For this reason, they are noted below as a reference and as a record of what will be expected of the applicant if the major plan amendment application is approved.

The following shall be addressed by the applicant during the future rezoning/development agreement phase:

1. Water:  Show a complete utility loop system of 20” minimum water main (not just from Butler Ave. to Butler Ave.) and water supply infrastructure in the utilities concept plan.


2. Water:  Show all reclaim water on-site and off-site infrastructure improvements and adequate supply.


3. Stormwater: The final design will be compliant with the findings of the Drainage Impact Analysis.


4. Stormwater:  Watercourse restoration design and intent is required as scoped and approved by the City Stormwater Section.



5. Stormwater:  The golf course encroachment into the rural floodplain must be addressed to the satisfaction of the Stormwater Management Section as part of the Zoning Case. 


6. Traffic: This project must have two remote access points (secondary access) to meet traffic and fire code regulations, and the rezoning proposal must address phasing of the development for secondary access.


7. Traffic: This project needs to analyze JW Powell Boulevard as a secondary access during the rezoning phase of the project.


8. Traffic: All Regional Plan roadway Right of Way (ROW) dedications for all roads of regional significance must be resolved during the rezoning/development agreement process.   This includes, but is not limited to, East Butler Avenue access, Herold Ranch Road, and the internal street network.


9. Traffic:  The applicant must solidify interconnectivity with surrounding properties and land uses with roads and trails during the rezone/development agreement phase.


10. Public Facilities:  Little America will coordinate the need for public facilities and services with various agencies during the rezoning phase of the project.


11. Phasing Plan:  The rezoning application must include a detailed phasing plan for development that is linked to specific infrastructure improvements such as road improvements and full secondary access; water and sewer infrastructure and supply; and reclaim water infrastructure and supply.


12. Reclaimed Water: Reclaimed water shall be used on the golf course and other open space within the project.

The City Council held a public hearing for this application in accordance with the requirements of City Code Title 11 (General Plans and Subdivisions) and applicable state law on November 19, 2013. At the December 3, 2013 meeting the Council may consider whether to approve or deny the application.

Not applicable.

A summary of the benefits that the Flagstaff community may realize is included in the attached staff summary for the Planning and Zoning Commission's public hearing #2, held on November 13, 2013 at the Flagstaff Aquaplex.

Inform and Consult: Representatives for the applicant - Design Workshop - and their team hosted a required neighborhood public meeting at Little America on September 10, 2013 that was attended by 58 community members. The attached staff summary for the Planning and Zoning Commission's public hearing #2, on November 13, 2013 includes a summary of the principle issues and concerns discussed at this meeting, as well as a link to all of the comments that were submitted. The Planning and Zoning Commission has also held a work session on the Little America Regional Plan Major Amendment application on October 9, 2013, as well as required public hearings on October 23, 2013 and November 13, 2013. All materials submitted in support of the application have been posted to the City web page since early summer, 2013.
 
On November 13, 2013 the Planning and Zoning Commission held a second public hearing on the requested major amendment application as required by state law. Approximately 25 - 30 residents attended the hearing, of which only four chose to speak to the Commission. Two of the speakers spoke in support of the project, acknowledging the many community benefits it would bring to Flagstaff and encouraging the Planning Commission to recommend its approval. The two other speakers opposed the project and urged the Commission to not recommend its approval, noting that while it was "a good proposal except for the golf course, this project sends the wrong message to Flagstaff residents about water use." Both speakers expressed concern with the proposed use of City reclaim water on the golf course, and suggested that the golf course component of the project should be removed from the proposed plan.
 
The Commission debated the merits of the project, expressed their concerns, and asked numerous questions of staff and the applicant's representative. The Commission's two greatest concerns were with regard to the use of reclaim water on the golf course, and with the residential density proposed in the project being too low. By a 5-2 vote the Commission eventually moved to approve case number PSPR20130013, the request for a major Regional Land Use and Transportation Plan Amendment for Little America Hotels and Resorts, Inc. subject to the 11 conditions as listed in the staff report (Page 14 of 15) with the addition of a new condition that would "require the use of reclaimed water on the golf courses and other open space within the project."
 
On November 19, 2013 at the Council's public hearing for this major Regional Plan amendment application, 11 Flagstaff residents addressed the Council, six of whom encouraged the Council to support and approve the application, while the remainder expressed concerns with various aspects of the proposal.

After the public hearing on November 19, 2013, some members of the Council requested additional information on a variety of topics. This information is presented below.
 
Better understanding of impact fees specific to the project: Staff has completed a preliminary analysis of total fire and police impact fees that will be generated from the proposed project assuming complete build-out of the development. The impact fees used in the calculation below are the current impact fees adopted by Council - these may be revised up or down in the future. 
   
The second attachment includes a response from the City Utilities Division with additional information on specific questions asked by Vice Mayor Evans at the November 19th public hearing on impact and capacity fees, and reclaimed contracts.
 
Additional general information on the amount of traffic that may connect south from the Little America project to the future J.W. Powell Boulevard extension: The traffic study evaluated the traffic impacts for year 2020, 2025 and 2030 scenarios. The J.W. Powell extension was included only in the year 2030 scenario since this was the build out scenario for Little America and because the J.W. Powell extension is considered a long-term transportation improvement. In the 2030 scenario,  it was assumed that Herold Ranch Road would extend south where a connection would be provided between Herold Ranch Road and the J.W. Powell/4^th Street extension. With this connection and at build out of the Little America site, it was estimated that about 20 percent of new traffic generated by Little America would utilize the connection to J.W. Powell/4^th Street extension for a total of approximate 3,900 daily trips.  Of this traffic, it was assumed that about 2,300 or 60 percent would travel north, 1,250 or 32 percent would travel south and 350 or nine percent would travel east. In 2030 it is anticipated that J.W. Powell Boulevard will carry approximately 11,000 vehicles per day.

Provide additional information on stormwater management and flooding concerns, with specific reference to the proposed Juniper Point and Canyon del Rio projects:  Little America has performed a comprehensive Drainage Impact Analysis that quantifies increases in stormwater runoff for both peak flows and volume increases. Little America has identified mitigations that will occur on-site to address these increases. Primarily, stormwater will be captured and used to supplement watering of the golf course. With these mitigations in place, stormwater runoff received by the Rio De Flag is equivalent to runoff generated under natural, forested conditions.
 
Both Juniper Point and Canyon Del Rio also require that a Drainage Impact Analysis be performed to address increases in peak flows and volume increases. Although their methods may vary from that chosen by Little America, the end result will be no increase in stormwater runoff to the Rio De Flag.
 
In summary, all three developments require identification of mitigation measures to ensure control of increases in both peak flow and volume, resulting in natural, undeveloped runoff quantities to the Rio de Flag.

Refer to options on Page 1.