Public Hearing and Consideration of Annexation Ordinance No. 2015-20: An annexation ordinance extending and increasing the corporate limits of the City of Flagstaff by annexing certain land totaling approximately 44.01 acres located at 3200 W. Route 66, and establishing city zoning for said land as Rural Residential, RR. (Annexation of property for the new McAllister Ranch public works yard located on West Route 66).

Annexation of an existing city-owned parcel into the City limit will provide for the logical extension of City infrastructure within the Urban Growth Boundary defined in the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 as areas which can be efficiently and effectively provided facilities and services by the City.  The location at 3200 W. Route 66 has been identified by the City as an ideal location for the development of a new public works facility to replace the undersized and outdated current public works facility.

All substantive issues are addressed in the attached Planning & Zoning Commission report.  At the conclusion of the public hearing on October 28, 2015, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 7-0 to forward the request to the City Council with a recommendation of approval.

The money resources for the Facility are $14,000,000 bonding authority, landfill fees, both debt and one time money, totaling $5,500,000 and the appraised values for McAllister Ranch at $2,178,000 and the Mogollon property at $2,256,000.  Total resources:  $23,934,000 available for the Facility.
 

 

COUNCIL GOALS:
3) Provide sustainable and equitable public facilities, services, and infrastructure systems in an efficient and effective manner to serve all population areas and demographics
11) Ensure that we are as prepared as possible for extreme weather events

REGIONAL PLAN:
The Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 provides the following goal and policy guidance with respect to annexation:
LU.7.2 (page IX-32) - Require unincorporated properties to be annexed prior to the provision of City services, or that a pre-annexation agreement is executed when deemed appropriate.
Policy WR.4.3 (page VI-13) - Development requiring public utility services will be located within the Urban Growth Boundary.

On 7/15/14 the Council rejected a total of nine proposals for alternative sites for the McAllister Ranch public works facility (core services).

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

A request by the City of Flagstaff to annex approximately 44.01 acres generally located north of East Route 66 and west of Woody Mountain Road.  The area subject to the annexation is Coconino County Assessor’s Parcel Number 112-01-001D.  The majority of this city-owned parcel is vacant, forested land.  The west portion includes the McAllister Ranch Complex which consists of several buildings and structures built in the 1930s, some newer building additions, and numerous corrals and fencing.  The complex has been determined eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.  These buildings will not be disturbed by the proposed development.  The east portion of the parcel includes an unpaved access drive to the Clay Avenue Wash Detention Basin which is incorporated into the proposed development. If the property is rezoned to the Public Facility (PF) Zone, the City’s Resource Protection Overlay (RPO) Zone will also be applied and the parcel will be required to meet resource protection standards. The parcel is located within the Urban Growth Boundary.  The 5-acre parcel adjacent to and south of the subject parcel is city-owned and within the City corporate boundary and will be combined with the 40.01-acre parcel if the annexation is approved.
 
The annexation request is to allow for the development of a new public works facility consisting of 87,280 square feet of buildings, associated parking and outdoor storage. The developed public works site will cover approximately 24 acres. A comprehensive discussion related to public facilities and service impact analysis can be found in the Annexation Report (P&Z Commission Staff Report attached).
 
The current application is being reviewed against the policies of the Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030 (FRP 2030). The FRP 2030 (Maps 21 and 22 on pages IX-27 through 29) designates the portion of this parcel closest to Woody Mountain Rd. as Future Urban within an Urban Activity Center, designates a portion west of the activity center as Future Suburban, and designates the northern portion of this parcel as Area in White.  The proposed public works facility fits the Suburban description which encourages parks and associated service facilities in a campus setting, thus the minor regional plan amendment seeks to change the three existing area types to Existing Suburban.  
 
This annexation is the first of a three-step process.  The second step is a proposed minor amendment to the Flagstaff Regional Plan and the last step is a request for a Direct Ordinance Zoning Map Amendment to rezone the annexed parcel (44.01 acres) and the parcel to the south (5.00 acres) from Rural Residential (RR) to the Public Facility (PF) Zone. The Regional Plan and Zoning Map amendment applications are being processed concurrently with this application but will not become effective until after the annexation has been completed. A full Zoning Map Amendment policy analysis can be found attached in that staff report.

Annexations are adopted by the City Council via ordinance.  Ordinance No. 2015-20 annexes 40.01 acres located at 3200 W. Route 66 into the City of Flagstaff.  A development agreement is not required for this city-owned development.  Requirements of the development are included in the zoning ordinance and include improvements to W. Route 66, a proportional-share contribution by the City to a future traffic signal at the intersection of Route 66 and Woody Mountain Road, and an off-site sewer extension that  will be required to be extended along the northern portion of the property and ending at Route 66 (see attached letter : Waiver of Water and Sewer Impact Analysis, dated 10/21/15). 

Inform/Consult

The City hired Shephard-Wesnitzer, Inc. (SWI) as the landowner agent/applicant to annex and rezone the property as well as compile and submit concept and site plan packages. The applicant held a neighborhood meeting on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 5:00 pm to discuss the annexation, general plan amendment, and rezoning of the properties. Meeting notification letters were sent to all property owners and homeowner’s associations (HOA) within a 1,200 foot radius. Letters were also sent to the City’s “Registry of Persons and Groups” as provided by the City.  The Citizen Participation Report (CPR), dated May 5, 2015, is attached to the rezoning packet.  The applicant received three letters in response to the neighborhood meeting notice requesting information about the project.  Fifteen people attended the meeting according to the sign-in sheet and had questions in regards to the case.  Some of the attendees expressed concerns regarding the Annexation or Zoning Map Amendment about traffic, cost, noise and lighting.  All of the questions and concerns are addressed in Table 1 of the CPR. 
 
Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council will be 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 1200 feet of the site (exceeding the required 300-feet distance).  The notices were also provided to the County Recorder, County Assessor, County Community Development Department and the Chair of the Board of Supervisors.  Staff has not received any other comments in regards to this annexation.

The Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on October 28, 2015 at 4 pm.  There was no public testimony at this hearing.

• (Recommended Action):  The City Council may approve the Annexation as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff by reading and adopting Ordinance No. 2015-20.
• The City Council may approve the Annexation with additional conditions of approval.
• The City Council may deny the Annexation.