Flagstaff Planning and Zoning to take up La Plaza Vieja and a major plan amendment on Sept. 23

City of FlagstaffFLAGSTAFF — The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold public hearings on the La Plaza Vieja Neighborhood Specific Plan and on a major plan amendment to the Road Network Illustration in the Flagstaff Regional Plan, the City of Flagstaff reported this week in a media release.

The hearings will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23 at the Flagstaff Aquaplex, 1702 N. 4th Street, Flagstaff, AZ 86004. Neighborhood residents, businesses and interested members of the Flagstaff community are encouraged to attend.

The La Plaza Vieja neighborhood is the oldest settled neighborhood in the City of Flagstaff. The Specific Plan will promote historic preservation, address compatible redevelopment, and address transportation concerns in and around the neighborhood. Specific plans are strategic and aspirational documents that can influence design, layout and character of new construction. However, they do not change existing property rights.

Neighborhood residents began work on the plan in 2008 and have worked closely with City staff over the past year to reinvigorate the public involvement and update the document. The Planning and Zoning Commission will decide on Wednesday whether or not to make a recommendation to the City Council to approve the plan.

The major plan amendment proposed by city staff will be the first amendment to the Flagstaff Regional Plan, since it was ratified by voters in May 2014.  The plan amendment updates the Road Network Illustration (Map 25) to include all collector and arterial roads in the City and to clarify language about roads and transportation planning in the document. This amendment is not expected to have an impact on city roads or land uses, because it primarily addresses existing roads and conceptual connections in undeveloped areas.

Information about the upcoming meeting is available on the City’s Comprehensive Planning website, www.flagstaff.az.gov/comprehensiveplanning. For more information, contact Sara Dechter at sdechter@flagstaffaz.gov or (928) 213-2631.