Chamber Business Advocacy

BUSINESS ADVOCACY

Coconino County & City of Flagstaff Simultaneously Review Zoning CodeBy: Joe Galli

The question of what will Flagstaff look like in coming years has loomed over the community for recent decades. As a smaller community, relative to larger cities in Arizona, typical development and redevelopment often draw a keen eye from the public, which can result in changes to existing zoning guidelines.

Both the County and the City of Flagstaff are considering changes to the local zoning codes governing future development, and it's important you weigh-in during the public comment section of the process. First, the City of Flagstaff Zoning Code Administrator, Daniel Symer, brought forth City zoning code changes related to accessory dwelling units or ADUs, and presented those changes to the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission in late June. Those changes seem to be acceptable, including clearly defining an ADU, and will move forward to the Mayor and Council with an approval recommendation.

Additionally, the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed proposed changes to mixed-use zoning in Flagstaff. While the changes are quite technical, they are designed to bring uniformity to future mixed-use projects, so they jive with what mixed-use development currently exists. The problem with this idea is some of the changes proposed could infringe on a property owners current property rights, causing a Prop 207 issue to arise, and subjecting the City of Flagstaff to lawsuits for a future restriction of property rights. The City Community Development staff, including Mr. Symer, are currently reviewing the proposed mixed-use changes for Flagstaff’s Zoning Code, and we should see the changes before the Mayor and Council before year’s end.

At the direction of the County Board of Supervisors, Coconino County Planning staff are also considering zoning code changes in an effort to:

• Modernize the six-chapter code by reviewing land uses for those that are obsolete or unused, introduce new land uses to reflect changing trends and update the definitions.

• Review land uses that currently require conditional use permits for those that may be administratively permitted instead, meaning that these land uses may be permitted either with an administrative or a building permit.

• Clarify and improve performance standards to guide design and standards for many new and updated uses.

• Streamline and clarify administrative processes, such as expanding waiver criteria for administrative adjustments.

Public hearings will be scheduled later in the year. For questions and to view the draft chapters, visit the County’s Planning and Zoning webpage at http://www.coconino.az.gov/1948/Long-Range-Planning.

We Want You!

The City is looking for individuals to join the Planning and Zoning Commission. For more information, contact the Chamber at (928) 774-4505!

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@7000ft | AUGUST 2019 | VOL 5, ISSUE 8 | GREATER FLAGSTAFF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE