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| TITLE: |
| Public Hearing, Consideration and Adoption of Resolution No. 2016-02 and Ordinance No. 2016-07: Public hearing to consider proposed amendments to Flagstaff Zoning Code the Preamble to the Zoning Code, Chapter 10-10 (Title, Purpose and Jurisdiction), Chapter 10-20 (Administration, Procedures and Enforcement), Chapter 10-30 (General to All), Chapter 10-40 (Specific to Zones), Chapter 10-50 (Supplemental to Zones) except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards), Chapter 10-60 (Specific to Thoroughfares), Chapter 10-80 (Definitions) and Chapter 10-90 (Maps); consideration of Resolution No. 2016-02 declaring the proposed amendments as a public record; and adoption of Ordinance No. 2016-07, adopting amendments to Flagstaff Zoning Code Chapter 10-10 (Title, Purpose and Jurisdiction), Chapter 10-20 (Administration, Procedures and Enforcement), Chapter 10-30 (General to All), Chapter 10-40 (Specific to Zones), Chapter 10-50 (Supplemental to Zones) except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards), Chapter 10-60 (Specific to Thoroughfares), Chapter 10-80 (Definitions) and Chapter 10-90 (Maps), by reference. (Zoning Code Amendments except Sign Code) |
| RECOMMENDED ACTION: |
At the Council Meeting of February 2, 2016
(The Council may review and discuss each chapter on its own, and as needed offer a motion(s) regarding any desired amendments within each chapter)
1) Hold public hearing
2) Read Resolution No. 2016-02 by title only
3) City Clerk reads Resolution No. 2016-02 by title only (if approved above)
4) Read Ordinance No. 2016-07 for the first time by title only
5) City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2016-07 for the first time by title only (if approved above)
At the Council Meeting of February 16, 2016
6) Adopt Resolution No. 2016-02 (declaring a public record)
7) Read Ordinance No. 2016-07 for the final time by title only
8) City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2016-07 by title only for the final time (if approved above)
9) Adopt Ordinance No. 2016-07
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| Executive Summary: |
Since the City Council adopted the Flagstaff Zoning Code on November 1, 2011 to replace the former Land Development Code (LDC), staff has compiled suggested amendments from City staff and interested Flagstaff residents and design professionals. The Planning and Zoning Commission at their meeting on June 24, 2015 unanimously recommended that the Council approve the proposed amendments.
The Council held four work sessions in 2015 to discuss the need for, and provide direction on, possible amendments to the Flagstaff Zoning Code. These amendments are now presented to the Council for review and adoption, except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards) which will be presented to the Council at a later date following review by the Planning and Zoning Commission. |
| Financial Impact: |
| Council's possible adoption of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code will not have a financial or budgetary impact on the Comprehensive Planning and Code Administration Program's budget. Later this year a proposal to amend the City's fee schedule will be presented to the Council for review and possible adoption. Proposed amendments to the fee schedule will update the fees for established permits and processes defined within the Zoning Code. |
| Connection to Council Goal and/or Regional Plan: |
COUNCIL GOALS:
7) Continue to implement the Flagstaff Regional Plan and focus efforts on specific plans
8) Improve effectiveness of notification, communication, and engagement with residents, neighborhoods and businesses and about City services, programs, policies, projects and developments
REGIONAL PLAN:
The Flagstaff Regional Plan supports the update and amendment of the Zoning Code with many applicable goals and policies. Only a few are listed here.
Goal E&C.5. Preserve dark skies as an unspoiled natural resource, basis for an important economic sector, and core element of community character.
Goal E&C.7. Give special consideration to environmentally sensitive lands in the development design and review process.
Goal E.1. Increase energy efficiency.
Goal CC.2. Preserve, restore, and rehabilitate heritage resources to better appreciate our culture.
Goal CC.3. Preserve, restore, enhance, and reflect the design traditions of Flagstaff in all public and private development efforts.
Goal CC.4. Design and develop all projects to be contextually sensitive, to enhance a positive image and identity for the region.
Goal LU.3. Continue to enhance the region’s unique sense of place within the urban, suburban, and rural context.
Goal LU.4. Balance housing and employment land uses with the preservation and protection of our unique natural and cultural setting.
Goal LU.5. Encourage compact development principles to achieve efficiencies and open space preservation.
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| Has There Been Previous Council Decision on This: |
| The Council held a work session on June 30, 2015 to define a process for consideration and adoption of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code. Thereafter, the Council also held four work sessions to provide direction to staff on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code – September 15, October 19, November 10, and December 8, 2015. |
| Options and Alternatives: |
| Please refer to the Expanded Options and Alternatives below. |
| Background/History: |
Since the Zoning Code’s adoption in November 2011 the following amendments have been adopted by the Council:
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Division 10-20.50 (Amendments to the Zoning Code Text and the Zoning Map): adopted on November 5, 2013, Ord. No. 2013-21. These amendments established a new process and procedure for zone changes.
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Section 10-50.100.080.E (Flagstaff Mall and Marketplace District): adopted on November 5, 2013, Ord. No. 2013-22. These amendments allowed for the installation of a new monument sign for the Flagstaff Mall and Marketplace District.
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Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards): adopted on November 18, 2014, Ord. No. 2014-27. These amendments to the City's sign standards addressed concerns from the City Council and local residents with the complexity of the former sign standards, especially for building mounted signs, and for the proliferation of temporary signs within the City.
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Division 10-20.100 (Assurance of Performance for Construction): adopted on March 4, 2015, Ord. No. 2015-01. These amendments updated the standards and procedures regarding assurances for construction.
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Section 10-40.30.050 (Industrial Uses) and Sections 10-80.20.060 (Definitions, “F.”) and 10-80.20.200 (Definitions, “T.”): expected to be adopted on May 5, 2015, Ord. No. 2015-03. These amendments to the industrial zones, Table B, Allowed Uses and in the definitions clarify that freight and trucking facilities are a permitted use in the RD (Research and Development Zone.
Over the past four years, planning staff, as well as staff that work with the Zoning Code on a regular basis (i.e. from the engineering, traffic, stormwater, housing, or legal sections/divisions), have documented sections of the Code where possible amendments would be required. Ideas for amendments submitted by Flagstaff residents and design professionals have also been received and were compiled with staff’s suggested revisions into a comprehensive document of suggested revisions to the Code.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held three work sessions on the proposed amendments – April 29, 2015 (the required citizen review session), May 13, 2015 and May 27, 2015 – to review, discuss and provide comment and feedback to staff on the proposed amendments. On June 10, 2015 the Commission held a public hearing in which they heard from some residents and continued their review and discussion. Finally, on June 24, 2015 the Commission unanimously moved to recommend that the Council approve the proposed amendments as presented by staff together with additional changes recommended by the Commission.
Generally, the amendments proposed to the Zoning Code fall into three distinct categories:
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Minor Amendments
As the majority of the proposed amendments, these include clarification of language, insertion of appropriate cross-references, rearranging of text so that it is more logically organized in the Code (without substantive amendment to intent), or correction of a standard that was incorrectly stated.
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Major or Substantive Amendments
These include a revision to a development standard, addition of a new land use in the land use tables of Chapter 10-40 (Specific to Zones), addition of a new standard (typically more restrictive than the current Code), addition of a new or changed process/procedure, or addition of a development standard from the former Land Development Code that was not brought forward into the current Zoning Code. Some of these amendments may involve a policy decision by the Council after consideration of the staff’s, Commission’s, and public’s recommendations and ideas on the subject.
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Non-substantive clerical and grammatical amendments
Staff has developed an ongoing list of non-substantive clerical and grammatical edits that do not change the intent of a Code provision, but which do correct cross-references, incorrect word use, and grammatical errors.
The Planning and Zoning Commission's final recommendation on the proposed chapter was presented to the Council in a series of work sessions held throughout the late summer and fall. The amendments were organized in the following manner to make it easier for the Council's review and discussion of key policy issues:
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The amendments were organized and arranged by chapter;
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The first page or two of each amendment document included a table that summarized the substantive amendments proposed within each chapter and on what page it may be found.
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A separate document provided a summary of policy issues within each chapter organized by division and section. Within each section the policy issue was framed as a question, and a summary of the text in the existing Zoning Code was compared to the new language proposed in the amendments;
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The amendments themselves were detailed in a document that showed the amendments within the context of the division, section or subsection in which they were located. All amendments were shown in Track Changes format, i.e. new inserted text is shown as underline and text proposed to be deleted is shown in
strikeout. An explanation of the why the amendment is proposed is included beneath the amendment written in italic font so that it may be easily identified. As the formatting and reorganization changes in Division 10-30.30 (Heritage Preservation) were extensive, this division is also inserted with all the proposed amendments within it accepted; and
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Finally, a narrative explaining any discussion and/or recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission is also included.
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| Key Considerations: |
Finalizing the amendments to the Zoning Code following it's adoption in November 2011 have been a staff priority for some years in order to make some important corrections to standards and to refine and improve various processes. The amendments included in the attached documents reflect deficiencies identified by staff, professional users of the Zoning Code (engineers, architects, etc.), as well as interested Flagstaff residents.
The amendments proposed to the Zoning Code attached to Resolution 2016-02 are based on the recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the direction provided by the Council at the policy review work sessions held in the last quarter of 2015 which resulted in additional amendments to the text being made. These may be easily identified because the text of the amendments and the narrative explaining the reason for the amendment based on the Council's policy review, are highlighted in yellow, and the word "COUNCIL" is included to highlight where the amendment has been made. Similarly, staff has highlighted some additional minor amendments, and these are also highlighted in yellow but with the word "STAFF" inserted. All of these additional amendments are also provided in a table on the first page of each amendment document.
The amendments included in the "2015/2016 Amendments to City Code Title 10, Zoning Code, Except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards)" attached to Resolution 2016-02 have been organized as listed below based on the number and complexity of the proposed changes to each chapter. This will make it easier to track any changes offered by motion and approved by the Council.
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DOCUMENT A: Preamble to the Zoning Code, Chapter 10-10 (Title, Purpose and Jurisdiction), Chapter 10-20 (Administration, Procedures and Enforcement), and Chapter 10-30 (General to All);
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DOCUMENT B:Chapter 10-40 (Specific to Zones);
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DOCUMENT C: Chapter 10-50 (Supplemental to Zones) except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards); and
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DOCUMENT D: Chapter 10-60 (Specific to Thoroughfares), Chapter 10-80 (Definitions) and Chapter 10-90 (Maps)
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| Expanded Financial Considerations: |
None.
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| Community Benefits and Considerations: |
With a document as complex as the Zoning Code, and despite staff’s best efforts and attention to detail, it was realized that some standards or issues would be incomplete or incorrect. Over the past few years, City planning staff, as well as staff that work with the Zoning Code on a regular basis (i.e. from the engineering, traffic, stormwater, housing or legal sections/divisions), have documented sections of the Code where possible amendments would be required. Also, ideas for amendments have been submitted by interested Flagstaff residents and design professionals, and these have been compiled with staff’s revisions into a comprehensive document of suggested revisions to the Code.
Flagstaff residents, professional users of the Zoning Code, and City staff will benefit from the adoption of these proposed amendments as they will fix known deficiencies in the Code, improve processes, provide improved opportunities for participation by Flagstaff residents in meetings on new projects, clarify and simplify standards and procedures, and in some instances, will make the Code easier to read, understand and apply.
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| Community Involvement: |
INFORM, CONSULT, and INVOLVE
Following the Council’s adoption of proposed amendments to the Sign Standards in October 2014, it was agreed that staff would commence work on a comprehensive package of amendments to the Zoning Code early in 2015.
Over the course of the year, staff has engaged with members of such local organizations as Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, Northern Arizona Builders Association, Northern Arizona Association of Realtors, and the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee to solicit their ideas for potential amendments to the Code. This was also accomplished by a number of articles published in the Flagstaff Business News and Cityscape, as well as frequent interviews on KAFF Radio.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held three work sessions on the proposed amendments – April 29, 2015 (the required citizen review session), May 13, 2015 and May 27, 2015 – to review, discuss and provide comment and feedback to staff on the proposed amendments. Some residents attended these meetings and provided comments to the Commission. On June 10, 2015 the Commission held a public hearing in which they heard from some residents and continued their review and discussion. Finally, on June 24, 2015 the Commission unanimously moved to recommend that the Council approve the proposed amendments as presented by staff together with additional changes recommended by the Commission.
The Council held a work session on June 30, 2015 to define a process for consideration and adoption of the proposed amendments to the Zoning Code. Thereafter, the Council also held four work sessions to provide direction to staff on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code – September 15, October 19, November 10, and December 8, 2015 – which were attended by residents, some of whom provided the Council with their ideas and comments on the amendments.
In advance of all Council work sessions, staff has sent out an email to local stakeholder organizations such as Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, Northern Arizona Builders Association, Northern Arizona Association of Realtors, and the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee. These groups were requested to forward the email to their members. Interviews with KAFF radio have also been scheduled regularly, and posts to the City’s Facebook accounts have been posted.
Consistent with state law and the Zoning Code’s noticing requirements, a ¼ page display advertisement was printed in the Arizona Daily Sun in advance of all public hearings of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council.
Finally, copies of the proposed amendments, and information on meeting dates and times, has been posted to the Zoning Code webpage - www.flagstaff.az.gov/zoningcode. This link was also included in all email correspondence and outreach.
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| Expanded Options and Alternatives: |
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Adopt Resolution No. 2017-02 declaring that the document entitled “2015/2016 Amendments to City Code Title 10, Zoning Code, Except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards),” to be a public record.
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Do not adopt Resolution No. 2017-02 and, therefore, do not declare the proposed amendments to be a public record.
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Adopt Ordinance No. 2016-07 to amend the Zoning Code, Title 11 of the Flagstaff City Code (except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards).
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Modify and adopt Ordinance No. 2016-07 to amend the Zoning Code, Title 11 of the Flagstaff City Code (except for Division 10-50.100 (Sign Standards).
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Do not adopt Ordinance No. 2016-07 and, therefore, make no changes to the existing text in the Zoning Code.
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