The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission voted to forward the proposed comprehensive update of the Flagstaff Regional Plan to the city council and recommended the plan be submitted to voters for ratification at a May 2026 special election.

The commission’s motion, made during its Sept. 29 meeting, asked staff to update the draft per the attached errata and to make the changes listed in the conditions of approval that were prepared and reviewed during the hearing. Commissioner CJ Lukey moved the motion; Commissioner Ian Sharp seconded. Chair Carol Mandino called for the vote; commissioners responded “Aye” and the motion carried.

Why it matters: forwarding the plan starts the formal decision path to council adoption and a public, voter-level ratification step. The recommended May 2026 special election would put the comprehensive plan before voters, making the outcome binding at the ballot-box level if council follows the commission’s recommendation.

Most important details: The motion text recorded in the hearing said, “I move that the proposed comprehensive update of the general plan be forwarded to the city council for adoption, and we submit the proposed update to the voters for ratification at a May 2026 special election.” The motion also included two staff-requested items: (1) apply the errata list discussed in the hearing and (2) incorporate the conditions of approval the commission developed during the meeting.

Discussion and context: Commissioners and staff spent the meeting reviewing dozens of public comments and proposed edits to the draft regional plan. Staff assembled an errata list and tabled a small number of items for later refinement (see related article on the five-acre exemption). At the end of the hearing, the commission thanked staff for the extensive work and agreed the plan, as revised by the errata and conditions, should go to council.

What happens next: The commission’s vote forwards the plan to the City Council. Council may accept the recommendations, modify them, or direct further changes; council will decide whether to place the matter on the May 2026 special election ballot.

Source: Motion and vote recorded Sept. 29, 2025, Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.