WORK SESSION AGENDA
ATTENTION IN-PERSON AUDIENCES AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE The meetings will continue to be live streamed on the city's website (https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/1461/Streaming-City-Council-Meetings) PUBLIC COMMENT PROTOCOL The process for submitting a public comment has changed and public comments will no longer be read by staff during the Council Meetings. All public comments will be taken either telephonically or accepted as a written comment. Public comments may be submitted to publiccomment@flagstaffaz.gov If you wish to address the City Council with a public comment by phone you must submit the following information: First and Last Name Phone Number Agenda Item number you wish to speak on If any of this information is missing, you will not be called. We will attempt to call you only one time. We are unable to provide a time when you may be called. All comments submitted otherwise will be considered written comments and will be documented into the record as such. If you wish to email Mayor and Council directly you may do so at council@flagstaffaz.gov. AGENDA |
1. | Call to Order
NOTICE OF OPTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the City Council and to the general public that, at this work session, the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice and discussion with the City’s attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda, pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3).
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2. | Pledge of Allegiance and Mission Statement MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the City of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all.
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3. | ROLL CALL
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4. | Public Participation Public Participation enables the public to address the council about items that are not on the prepared agenda. Public Participation appears on the agenda twice, at the beginning and at the end of the work session. You may speak at one or the other, but not both. Anyone wishing to comment at the meeting is asked to fill out a speaker card and submit it to the recording clerk. When the item comes up on the agenda, your name will be called. You may address the Council up to three times throughout the meeting, including comments made during Public Participation. Please limit your remarks to three minutes per item to allow everyone to have an opportunity to speak. At the discretion of the Chair, ten or more persons present at the meeting and wishing to speak may appoint a representative who may have no more than fifteen minutes to speak. |
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5. | Review of Draft Agenda for the May 4, 2021 City Council Meeting
Citizens wishing to speak on agenda items not specifically called out by the City Council may submit a speaker card for their items of interest to the recording clerk.
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6. | Proclamation: Municipal Clerk's Week | ||||||||
7. | Management Services Division Overview | ||||||||
8. | City Manager Office Division Update | ||||||||
9. | COVID-19 Update | ||||||||
10. | Consideration of creating the proposed Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone with a maximum building height of 45 feet and the recommended process for the City Council to consider initiating applications to rezone certain areas of the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods to the zone if approved | ||||||||
11. | Requests for Abandonment of Public Right-of-Way on Hoskins Ave. - FUTS and Parking Discussion | ||||||||
12. | Public Participation | ||||||||
13. | Informational Items To/From Mayor, Council, and City Manager; future agenda item requests |
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14. | Adjournment | ||||||||
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7.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||||
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TITLE | |||||
Management Services Division Overview | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
This presentation is for informational purposes only. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
The Management Services Division serves as financial stewards for the entire organization and the citizens of Flagstaff. We do this by providing many services such as financial reporting, budgeting, accounts payable, payroll, procurement, grants, contracts, billing, collections, cashiering, revenue management, meter services, debt management, and investment management. The Division's budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 was $4,595,843 with staffing of 46.5 full-time equivalent positions. | |||||
INFORMATION: | |||||
The Management Services Division team will go over each of our programs within our three sections of the division, namely Purchasing, Finance and Revenue. Staff will share information about our division including the organization chart, budget and staffing, what we do, and highlights of our programs. | |||||
Attachments: | Management Services Presentation |
8.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE | |||||
City Manager Office Division Update | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
This presentation is for informational purposes only. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
The City Manager's Office is responsible for day-to-day administrative operations of the city based on Council's recommendations. | |||||
INFORMATION: | |||||
The division update from the City Manager Office will include an overview of the organizational structure, updates from each section (i.e. City Clerk, Public Affairs, Risk Management and Sustainability) and a review of other efforts. Each section will provide staff introductions, budget allocations, information about their work program and what's to come. | |||||
Attachments: | Presentation |
9.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE: | |||||
COVID-19 Update | |||||
DESIRED OUTCOME: | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
INFORMATION: | |||||
Attachments: | Presentation |
10.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||
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TITLE | |||||
Consideration of creating the proposed Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone with a maximum building height of 45 feet and the recommended process for the City Council to consider initiating applications to rezone certain areas of the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods to the zone if approved | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
Hold a work session to allow the City Council and the public to ask questions, seek clarification, have discussions, offer comments, and to provide direction on the proposed Zoning Code Text Amendment and the recommended process for the City Council to consider initiating applications to rezone certain areas of the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods to the zone if approved. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
To achieve the intent of the High Occupancy Housing (HOH) Plan’s implementation strategies (see Chapters 4 and 5 of the HOH Plan) to lower the Community Commercial (CC) zone’s allowed building height from 60 feet to 45 feet (Strategies to be implemented by 2019, bullet 5, page 102) and limit the building height in the Southside to 45 feet (Policies SMS 1.2. and SLW 1.2., pages 43 and 44), staff is proposing a Zoning Code Text Amendment to create a new zone called Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) (Case No. PZ-19-00123). This new zone would be identical to the Community Commercial (CC) zone, but it would have a maximum building height of 45 feet. It should be noted that the Community Commercial (CC) zone is primarily located in the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods. To effectuate the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone and achieve the above-referenced strategies and policies, staff recommends conducting separate public outreach efforts after the effective date of the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone and returning to the City Council to initiate separate rezoning applications for each neighborhood. This approach will allow for the neighborhood’s public outreach to be tailored specifically to the needs of each area and to provide more finite neighborhood information so that the City Council could evaluate whether, or what parts of a neighborhood, to initiate a rezoning application and any specific alternative neighborhood approaches. Furthermore, staff is recommending that the associated public outreach and corresponding applications be processed systematically in the following order: Southside, North End, and Sunnyside. |
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INFORMATION: | |||||
I. City Council Questions For your reference, below is the question on which staff is seeking the City Council’s comments and direction.
In February 2018, the City Council adopted the citywide High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan. The High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan was developed in response to the community’s dialogue about the previously proposed high-intensity mid-rise developments near historic neighborhoods that primarily catered to college students. The High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan is intended to provide direction in the form of goals, policies, and strategies to accommodate various housing options in areas of the city that can support infill, redevelopment, and mixed-use activities. The High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan's goals, policies, and implementation strategies address a broad spectrum of topics (see Chapters 4 and 5 of the High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan). Specific to this discussion topic, the High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan’s implementation strategies include lowering the building height in the Community Commercial (CC) zone from 60 feet to 45 feet (Strategies to be implemented by 2019, bullet 5, page 102). In addition to the High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan, City Council adopted the Southside Community Plan on September 1, 2020, which contains policies that building heights in the Southside should not exceed 45 feet in this neighborhood (Policies SMS 1.2. and SLW 1.2.). As a result of the comments received at the public open house meetings and Planning and Zoning Commission’s Work Session that took place in August 2019 and the City Council's Work Session that occurred in October 2019 related to changing the building height of the Community Commercial (CC) zone from 60 feet to 45 feet, a new zone is being proposed to implement the High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan strategies. The new zone, Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC), is proposed to be identical to the Community Commercial (CC) zone, except that the maximum building height allowed would be 45 feet (Attachment 1). This approach is being proposed to enable the City Council the flexibility to determine which areas of the city with the Community Commercial (CC) zone should maintain the currently allowed maximum building height of 60 feet, such as certain properties adjacent to commercial corridor streets, and which areas should have a maximum building height of 45 feet. The three primary areas of the City affected by the proposed zone are the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods. Attachment 2 indicates the location in each neighborhood that is zoned Community Commercial (CC). It should be noted that in accordance with the City Council’s October 2019 direction, staff conducted additional public outreach in the summer of 2020 on these concepts. In August 2020, the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed staff’s recommended approaches and it supported creating the new Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone and rezoning the majority of the properties with the Community Commercial (CC) to the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone. In addition, the Commission supported retaining the Community Commercial (CC) zone with the allowed maximum building height of 60 feet on properties adjacent to certain commercial corridor streets – such as properties adjacent to Fourth Street, Route 66, and Cedar Avenue. The City Council also reviewed staff’s recommended approach to create the new Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone and to rezone a majority of the properties with the Community Commercial (CC) zone to the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone in August 2020. In summary, the City Council was supportive of creating the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone. However, it was desired to postpone moving forward with creating the new zone and rezoning the above-referenced neighborhoods until additional public outreach is conducted, most notably in the Sunnyside neighborhood. It should be noted that the City Council adopted the Southside Community Plan and associated policies (SMS 1.2. and SLW 1.2.) on September 1, 2020; and, it was acknowledged that considerable public outreach was done with the plan pertaining to lowering the building height in the Southside neighborhood. III. Discussion Based on the City Council’s August direction and the subsequent adoption of the Southside Community Plan, staff has evaluated and has discussed with community members different outreach methodologies and implementation strategies to effectuate the High Occupancy Housing Specific Plan and the Southside Community Plan as it pertains to lowering the building height of these neighborhoods. Throughout these discussions, it became apparent that the most significant immediate neighborhood desire to move forward with was to implement the building height change is in the Southside. However, there is broad citywide community support to implement the building height changes in the North End and Sunnyside neighborhoods. To implement the neighborhood’s and community’s desires and to execute an appropriate outreach methodology for each area, staff is proposing to separate the applications for each neighborhood. To effectuate this approach, it is necessary first to adopt the Zoning Code Text Amendment Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone with a maximum building height of 45 feet. After the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone's effective date, staff would return to the City Council upon completing the initial public outreach for each neighborhood to initiate separate rezoning applications for each area. Staff recommends conducting the public outreach and processing of each application one at a time in the following order: Southside, North End, and Sunnyside. This approach will allow staff to respond to the public outreach that has already been conducted regarding this topic and the neighborhood-specific outreach conducted for the Southside plan. In addition, it would allow for the neighborhood’s public outreach to be tailored to the needs of each area. The objective is to obtain finite neighborhood information so that the City Council could evaluate whether or what parts of a neighborhood to initiate a rezoning application and any specific alternative neighborhood approaches. IV. Community Involvement The public outreach was conducted in August 2019 and July 2020 as it pertains to modifying the Community Commercial (CC) zone building height from 60 feet to 45 feet, the creation of the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone with a building height of 45 feet, and rezoning the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods to the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone. A total of 210 people, including emails, letters, meetings, and visits to the Flagstaff Community Forum topic web page, have participated. The public comments on the Community Forum web page were split up by general public comments and property owner comments. In summary, approximately 83% of the general public that responded to the Community Forum topic supported applying the 45-foot building height in all of the above-referenced neighborhoods. Also, about 68% of the general public comments received did not support keeping the Community Commercial (CC) zone with the 60-foot building height adjacent to the commercial corridor streets. A detailed summary of the public outreach is included in Attachment 3. V. Conclusion As indicated above, the purpose of the work session is to allow the City Council and the public to ask questions, seek clarification, have discussions, offer comments, and for Council to provide direction on the proposed Zoning Code Text Amendment to create the Neighborhood Community Commercial (NCC) zone with a maximum building height of 45 feet and the recommended process for the City Council to consider initiating applications to rezone certain areas of the Southside, North End, and Sunnyside neighborhoods to the zone, if approved. No formal recommendation or action is to occur at the work session. Additional opportunities for discussion, public comment, and action by the City Council will occur at a future public hearing. |
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Attachments: | 1. Draft NCC Draft Zoning Code | ||
2. Southside, North End, and Sunnyside Neighborhoods | |||
3. NCC Public Outreach | |||
Staff Presentation |
11.
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CITY OF FLAGSTAFF | |||||||||||||
STAFF SUMMARY REPORT | |||||||||||||
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Requests for Abandonment of Public Right-of-Way on Hoskins Ave. - FUTS and Parking Discussion | |||||
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION: | |||||
The information is presented to inform about the abandonment process and to discuss conditions on Hoskins Avenue. The request to abandon right-of-way adjacent to 709 S. O'Leary will be heard at the May 4, 2021, regular City Council meeting. | |||||
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: | |||||
The City has received requests from three (3) property owners to abandon public right-of-way (ROW) along Hoskins Avenue. The property owners desire to acquire the abandoned ROW and combine it with their existing lots. There are several properties along Hoskins Avenue. If a roadway is no longer necessary for public use as a roadway, it may be abandoned per state law A.R.S. Section 28-7201 et seq and City Code Section 11-20.160. While the City Code does not include standards to consider a request, typical considerations are if the right-of-way is needed for a public purpose or if the right-of-way provides access to the property. If the right-of-way is needed for public improvements or uses, or if it provides access to a property owner, the jurisdiction will want to retain the right-of-way and not abandon it for private use. This prompted City Traffic Engineering Staff to analyze and determine if there are any future, potential City uses for the full width of Hoskins Avenue. Staff has identified a potential future use that would require retaining the full width of the current right-of-way. This future use would require denying abandonment requests in whole or in part. Staff brings this item before Council tonight to discuss the policy implications when considering upcoming public right-of-way abandonment requests along Hoskins Avenue. |
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INFORMATION: | |||||
General considerations Planning for city traffic needs is necessarily on a long-time horizon. In projecting for future needs, we must make the best decision with the information available at the time. City Staff is reluctant to recommend abandoning right-of-way because there are multiple cases in the past where the City had to re-purchase right-of-way that had been abandoned to allow planned street improvements. Abandoning right-of-way does not prevent the City from re-purchasing it at a later date, but re-purchasing at a later date may be cumbersome and likely more expensive. That said, abandoning public-right-of-way can be a net positive also: abandonment reduces potential City maintenance costs and would return the land to the tax rolls for better and higher uses. But these benefits come at the expense of introducing a degree of greater path dependency for City traffic and infrastructure needs. Public Roadway Use Along the north side of Hoskins Avenue, the City owns a public right-of-way that is currently not improved, and it is being used by more than one adjacent property owner. The Regional Plan shows a planned pedestrian/bikeway trail from the NAU campus, ending at the west end of Hoskins Avenue, and then reconnecting on the east end of Hoskins Avenue, and continuing to Lone Tree Road. The Regional Plan does not identify how to connect the two trails, but Hoskins Avenue is an obvious link. The draft Active Transportation Master Plan shows a planned pedestrian/bikeway connection on Hoskins Avenue. City Staff has identified a potential future use for Hoskins Avenue which includes on-street parking, a parkway or furnishing strip, and a cycletrack/bikeway along the south edge of the roadway. This configuration: (a) Precludes abandoning any public right-of-way, (b) Requires removing existing private encroachments on public right-of-way, and (c) involves capital improvements to replace the existing sidewalk line, to extend the road-base (paving) north seven (7) feet, and to install a cycletrack and furnishing strip along the south side of Hoskins Avenue. If the public right-of-way is abandoned, the City will need to either forfeit the cycletrack or on-street parking. Currently, the street provides over 20 on-street parking spaces for the neighborhood. Staff does not recommend forfeiting either amenity. Funding and Timing:
If the City Council determines the full width of Hoskins Avenue is no longer needed for public use, then the City Council may abandon such roadway. After abandonment, the adjacent property owner is given the opportunity to purchase the abandoned property. The current pending requests will be considered at an upcoming council meeting, and are previewed as follows:
Staff is bringing this item before Council tonight to discuss the policy implications when considering aforementioned public right-of-way abandonment requests. Staff will formally bring each abandonment request to Council, at the direction of the applicant. The request adjacent to 709 S. O'Leary is scheduled for May 4, 2021. As required by City Code the Planning & Zoning Commission heard the request to abandon adjacent to 709 S. O'Leary in February 2021. |
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Attachments: | Presentation |