Public Hearing, Consideration, and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2016-08:   An ordinance of the Flagstaff City Council amending the Flagstaff Zoning Map Downtown Regulating Plan designation of approximately 0.29 acres of land generally located west of the southwest corner of Mikes Pike and Phoenix Avenue from the T4 Neighborhood 1 - Open (T4N.1-O) and T5 Main Street (T5) transect zones to the T4 Neighborhood 2 (T4N.2) transect zone and of approximately 1.35 acres located at 17 S Mikes Pike from the T4 Neighborhood 1 - Open (T4N.1-O) transect zone to the T5 Main Street (T5) transect zone, conditional. (The Hub Zoning Map Amendment)

The proposed Development Agreement deal points (attached) address anticipated contributions for traffic, water and sewer to assure proportionality and requested upgrades to existing infrastructure. A draft Development Agreement will be provided to Council for its review prior to the meeting on March 1, 2016.

COUNCIL GOALS:
1) Provide sustainable and equitable public facilities, services, and infrastructure systems in an efficient and effective manner to serve all population areas and demographics
2) Provide a well-managed transportation system
3) Continue to implement the Flagstaff Regional Plan and focus efforts on specific plans

REGIONAL PLAN:
Staff has identified 66 Regional Plan Goals and Policies that could be applied to support or not support the proposed Zoning Map Amendment.  For reference, a list of those policies is attached to this report.

No previous Council action or discussion has occurred regarding this Zoning Map Amendment request or the Subject Property.

1)  Approve the ordinance with the proposed conditions.
2)  Approve the ordinance with no conditions, additional conditions, or modified conditions.
3)  Deny the ordinance based on the required findings in Section 10-20.50.040(F)(1)(a) of the Zoning Code.

Core Campus LLC (the “Developer”) is requesting a direct ordinance Zoning Map Amendment amending the Downtown Regulating Plan as follows: (1) from the existing T4 Neighborhood 1 (T4N.1) transect to the proposed T5 Main Street (T5) transect to allow for ground floor commercial uses and establish a 5-floor maximum building height, located along Mikes Pike and containing approximately 1.35 acres; and, (2) from the existing T4 Neighborhood 1 (T4N.1) and the T5 Main Street (T5) transects to the proposed T4 Neighborhood 2 (T4N.2) transect to allow for ground floor residential uses and establish a 4-floor maximum building height, located along Phoenix Avenue and containing approximately 0.29 acres.  This proposed conditional amendment, combined with two (2) proposed Conditional Use Permit requests and other entitled parcels, will allow for the development of a 99 dwelling unit per acre mixed-use multi-family style student housing building consisting of 236 dwelling units (664 beds) located above and behind approximately 14,096 square feet of commercial uses on approximately 2.39 acres generally located at 17 S Mikes Pike (the “Subject Property”).  The Subject Property is currently developed with a mixture of uses including commercial, contractor office and storage yard, automotive lube shop, and single-family residential.  There are no natural resources (rural floodplain, slope, or forest) on-site.  For additional information regarding the characteristics of the site and reason for the request, please reference the attached Rezone Narrative.
 
Land use north of the Subject Property is light industrial including the City of Flagstaff Phoenix Storage building and the Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (“NAIPTA”) transfer stations.  Land uses to the east of the Subject Property are a mixture of commercial and service including restaurant, retail, and office.  Land uses to the south of the Subject Property are primarily retail/service and a residential duplex.  Land uses to the west of the Subject Property is commercial/service including restaurant, retail, office, and automotive repair.
 
If the proposed Zoning Map Amendment request is approved, including the two (2) proposed Conditional Use Permit requests, the next steps in the development process will be Civil Improvement Plan submittal and Building Plan submittal. A Development Agreement between the City and the Developer, a draft of which will be provided to Council for its review prior to the March 1 meeting, is being drafted to address parking, affordable housing, required off-site infrastructure improvements (i.e. stormwater, traffic, and pedestrian crossing of Butler Avenue), project management, transect zone election, and Prop207 waiver.  The Development Agreement must be approved by the City Council via a resolution prior to the second reading of the Zoning Map Amendment ordinance.  The proposed development encompasses seven (7) separately identified parcels (APN’s 100-39-001C, 00-39-010, 100-39-009, 100-39-008, 100-39-001G, 100-39-002A, and 100-39-011C).  All of parcels 100-39-010, 100-39-003, 100-09-008, and portions of parcel 100-39-001C, 100-39-001G, and 100-39-002A are subject to the proposed Zoning Map Amendment; however, all parcels within the proposed development were analyzed for conformance to existing and proposed development standards.  As a condition of approval, all parcels must be combined into one parcel prior to building permit submittal.

Due to the size of the file, this project's plans may be accessed at Plans. Please allow time for this document to download.

Proposed amendments shall be evaluated based on the following findings: 1) the proposed amendment is consistent with and conforms to the goals of the General Plan and any applicable specific plans; 2) the proposed amendment will not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare of the City of Flagstaff (the “City”) and will add to the public good as described in the General Plan; and, 3) the affected site is physically suitable in terms of design, location, shape, size, operating characteristics and the provision of public and emergency vehicle access, public services, and utilities, to ensure that the requested zone designation and the proposed or anticipated uses and/or development will not endanger, jeopardize, or otherwise constitute a hazard to the property or improvements in the vicinity in which the property is located.  If the application is not consistent with the General Plan and any other applicable specific plan, the applicable plan must be amended in compliance with the procedures established in Chapter 11-10 of the City Code (Title 11: General Plans and Subdivisions) prior to considering the proposed amendment.

An amendment to the Planning Commission staff report was made during the Planning Commission meeting.  The Zoning Code interpretation mentioned in the report regarding maximum parking allowances was reviewed by the City Attorney's office, at the request of the Developer, and it was determined that the 5% cap of parking currently found within the Zoning Code applies to both surface and structured parking.  The applicant objected to staff's interpretation that they could provide more parking than 5% above the minimum requirement as long as it was within a structure.

On February 3, 2016, the Planning Commission concluded their review of the proposed Zoning Map Amendment with a recommendation for Approval, by a vote of 6-1, subject to the following conditions, which have been incorporated into Ordinance No. 2016-08:

1. Unless modified to comply with these conditions, the site shall be developed in substantial conformance to the Site Plan as approved by the Inter-Division Staff (IDS) on December 11, 2015, and as presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission with this Zoning Map Amendment request.
2. The proposed structure located along Mikes Pike shall be limited to 4-stories/52-feet in height adjacent to the street frontage.  A fifth story, if desired, shall have all residential units setback at least 40-feet from the property line.  Elevators, stairwells, and other utilities may encroach into the 40-foot setback as necessary.
3. Development shall be limited to two hundred thirty-six (236) units and six hundred sixty-four (664) beds.  Any increase to either the number of units or beds must be approved by the City Council through the review of a Zoning Map Amendment application.
4. At the time of building permit submittal, the easternmost and westernmost residential entrances along Phoenix Avenue shall be modified to incorporate a covered porch element, or other similar feature, at the first floor entry to emphasize the pedestrian scale and residential character.
5. Prior to building permit submittal, the Developer shall combine Coconino County Assessor parcel numbers 100-39-001C, 00-39-010, 100-39-009, 100-39-008, 100-39-001G, 100-39-002A, and 100-39-011C.
6. The Developer shall provide one hundred (100) additional parking spaces either on-site, off-site in a private structure, or off-site in a joint public/private structure with the City.  Off-site parking shall be located within 600-feet of the Property.  In-lieu of providing the parking spaces, the Development may elect to pay a fee of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) per space to the City for use in construction of an off-site public parking structure.

Community benefits and considerations related to this Zoning Map Amendment request are addressed in the attached Planning and Zoning Commission staff report dated January 6, 2016

Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, Empower

Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council are conducted in conjunction with any Zoning Map amendment request.  In accordance with Arizona Revised Statute and City Code, notice of the public hearing must be provided by placing an ad in a newspaper of general circulation within the City, posting a notice on the property subject to the proposed amendment, and mailing a notice to all property owners within 300-feet of the property subject to the proposed amendment.  All notifications must be completed at least 15-days prior to the first schedule public hearing.  In order to notice as many people as possible, staff ensured that a notice was: published in the Sunday edition of the Arizona Daily Sun; 3 public hearing notice signs were posted on the site (1 on Mikes Pike, 1 on Milton Road, and 1 on Phoenix Avenue); and, a notice was mailed to all property owners within 1000-feet of the site, all tenants within 1,000 feet of the site, all parties on the Registry of Persons or Groups, and anyone who signed-in at any of the Developer’s previously held neighborhood meetings.  A copy of the publication notice, pictures of the postings, a mailing list, and a copy of the mailing notice are attached to this report.
 
As of this writing, staff received 16 letters and 45 e-mails from interested parties, which can be divided into three (3) categories: opposed, neutral, and support.  Those comments in opposition (56 total) expressed concerns over compatibility, sociological impacts, infrastructure, student behavior, neighborhood character, traffic, unsupportable retail, parking, aesthetics, location, views, shadow cast, building massing, design, impact on tourism, Northern Arizona University’s problem to address, neighborhood history, student housing, undesirable part of town for students, density, availability of other housing types, human congestion, density, zone change only benefits developer, security, demise of the neighborhood, complexity of transect zoning, bicycle ridership, not designed for families, student conduct, fire safety, ruin of Downtown, student housing belongs on campus, aesthetic value, visual pollutant, architecture, use and type of retail, impacts on rent, scale, property values, size, increased crime, and becoming a "for profit college town."  The neutral comments (2 total) requested additional information and the count of comments in support and nonsupport of the project.  Those comments in support (3 total)  expressed the need for student housing, location, pedestrian environment, land use, relief for students, and support for NAU.  A summary of all comments received is attached to this report for review.  Any additional comments received after the date of this report will be compiled, summarized, and transmitted to the Council at the meeting.

Section 10-20.30.060 of the Zoning Code (Page 20.30-5) requires the Developer to conduct a neighborhood meeting prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing in accordance with an approved neighborhood meeting plan.  After completion of the neighborhood meeting, the Developer must prepare a Record of Proceedings in accordance with Section 10-20.30.060.F of the Zoning Code (Page 20.30-7).  That record is then presented as part of the report to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.  The Neighborhood Meeting Plan, a copy of which is attached to this report, was approved by staff on December 3, 2015 and revised on December 29, 2015.
 
The required neighborhood meeting was conducted on December 21, 2015 at the Pine Forest Charter School located at 1120 W Kaibab Lane.  The meeting was noticed in accordance with established City standards.  The meeting was conducted in a more traditional speaker/audience format with a presentation given by the applicant followed by a question and answer (Q&A) session.  The results of the meeting were submitted on December 30, 2015 in a Neighborhood Meeting Report, a copy of which is attached to this report.  The meeting was attended by 47 people who signed-in.  Additional people may have attended but were not accounted for in the report.  Based on the submitted meeting minutes (Neighborhood Meeting Summary Tab F), comments during the Q&A session generally revolved around gaining a better understanding of the specifics of proposed development (i.e. number of beds, units, and parking spaces), impacts on the existing infrastructure (including traffic and transit), benefits of the project to the neighborhood and city, and plans for the property if the Zoning Map Amendment is denied.