12.A.
City Council Meeting - FINAL
- Meeting Date:
- 05/06/2025
- Co-Submitter:
- Nicole Antonopoulos
- From:
- Michelle McNulty, Interim Community Development Director
TITLE
LASS + CAP Code Concepts Report Follow-Up
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff seeks direction on the Land Availability and Suitability Study and Code Analysis Project (LASS+CAP) draft Code Concepts Reports to identify the focus of the next phase, which includes refining the core development standards, incentives, and concepts into more detailed, actionable recommendations for either specific code amendments or further analysis.
Executive Summary:
The purpose of the CAP is to analyze and evaluate the City’s development codes and processes to understand and identify ways to overcome barriers to the City’s 10-Year Housing Plan and Carbon Neutrality Plan. Through these plans, the City has committed to achieving the following goals:
The 10-Year Housing Plan aims to reduce the affordable housing need in our community by half over the next ten years through two elements:
The Carbon Neutrality Plan has three primary goals:
The 10-Year Housing Plan aims to reduce the affordable housing need in our community by half over the next ten years through two elements:
1. Impact at least 6,000 low-to-moderate income Flagstaff residents through a combination of unit creation or subsidy provision.
2. Create or preserve 7,976 housing units by 2031 with a minimum of 10% of them being affordable. This will increase the overall supply of market rate, workforce, and affordable housing occupied by local residents.
The Carbon Neutrality Plan has three primary goals:
1. Achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 through a 44% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Prepare Flagstaff’s communities, systems, and resources to be more resilient to climate change impacts.
3. Address climate change in a manner that prioritizes those most impacted and ensures the costs and benefits of climate adaptation and mitigation are equitably distributed.
Information:
The CAP already produced a Code Diagnostic Report, which identified and analyzed barriers to key outcomes in the 10-Year Housing Plan and the Carbon Neutrality Plan. The current phase explores options for code updates to address the most significant barriers. The report is organized into:
Decision Points:
City staff are seeking direction on the questions below. Decisions will inform LASS+CAP Task Five to prepare final recommendations for code, incentive, and policy changes.
A. Code Concepts focus on conceptual updates to address key barriers associated with the following code sections/topics:
1. Sustainable Development Standards and Incentives, including Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
2. Resource Protection Overlay Zone
3. Reduced Street Widths
4. Winter Parking Ordinance and Snow Removal
The Code Concepts are independent of, and intended to complement and inform, the three scenarios for core development standards and incentives.
B. Scenarios for Core Development Standards and Incentives focus on how different combinations and calibrations of interrelated core development standards and incentives impact housing and climate outcomes associated with new development and redevelopment. They are packaged into three conceptual scenarios, each of which explores variations on:
B. Scenarios for Core Development Standards and Incentives focus on how different combinations and calibrations of interrelated core development standards and incentives impact housing and climate outcomes associated with new development and redevelopment. They are packaged into three conceptual scenarios, each of which explores variations on:
1. Use Regulations and Housing Types by Zone District
2. Maximum Density
3. Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
4. Minimum Parking Requirements
5. Affordable Housing Incentives
6. Sustainable Building Incentives
7. Menu of Sustainable Development Standards
Decision Points:
City staff are seeking direction on the questions below. Decisions will inform LASS+CAP Task Five to prepare final recommendations for code, incentive, and policy changes.
1. Which outcomes are preferred to address housing and climate outcomes together?
a. Are there any zoning districts that should be excluded or treated differently?
2. Should by right density increases be limited to areas that have Low Vehicles Miles Traveled or some similar geography? This may require area-wide rezoning, a new overlay zone, or new zoning standards that incentivize transit-oriented projects.
a. Do we want to increase density allowances for affordable housing projects (those that serve a certain Area Median Income—AMI) or all Market Rate Housing?
3. Floor Area Ratio (FAR) caps
a. Do you support managing the intensity of residential land uses with a tool like FAR caps? Density increases will impact the current High Occupancy Housing (HOH) standards, which are intended to address the intensity of residential land uses.
4. Do you support moving forward with substantial reductions in parking minimums?
a. Should parking be left to the developer or market to decide? (No minimum standards). Or should there still be standards? b. Should on-street parking be addressed in conjunction with reducing parking requirements?
5. Sustainability and Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
a. Do you support creating a menu of sustainable design standards for developers to choose from? This would provide flexibility while raising standards. These standards would be accompanied by an increase in density and reduction in parking.
b. Should a wider menu of TDM strategies (such as carpooling, transit-oriented design, bicycle facilities, transit passes, site design, etc.) be included as part of this menu, in addition to standards focused reductions in energy, water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions?
b. Should a wider menu of TDM strategies (such as carpooling, transit-oriented design, bicycle facilities, transit passes, site design, etc.) be included as part of this menu, in addition to standards focused reductions in energy, water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions?
6. Reduced Street Width:
a. Do you support developing a strategy and outlining a process for creating a narrower local street design option??
7. Winter Parking Ordinance:
a. Do you support developing a strategy and outlining a process for replacing the current Winter Parking Ordinance