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Flagstaff staff outline large code rewrite effort to unlock housing and advance climate goals
Summary
City staff and consultants described the Land Availability & Suitability Study plus code analysis (LASTCAP) project, which identifies 50 opportunity sites and proposes code concept options to increase housing capacity and support carbon‑neutrality targets; public outreach and council work sessions are planned.
Housing and sustainability staff updated the Commission on Diversity Awareness on a multi‑year project to identify land available for housing and propose zoning and code changes intended to increase housing production and support Flagstaff’s climate goals.
Jen Michelson, housing planning manager, and Genevieve Parathree of sustainability summarized the Land Availability and Suitability Study and the code diagnostic and concept phases of the project, known as LASTCAP. “We wanted to understand how our city’s codes may have some barriers to preventing a lot of our housing and climate goals,” Michelson said, describing an assessment that identified roughly 50 “opportunity sites,” including some city‑owned parcels.
Staff said the project responds to the city’s 10‑year housing plan and the Carbon Neutrality Plan and is intended to align housing, infrastructure and climate priorities. Consultants completed a code diagnostic that interviewed development stakeholders and modeled prototype developments; the diagnostic found that Flagstaff’s current rules — including low density maximums, parking and open‑space requirements, landscape/tree protections and slope rules — limit how many units can be built on typical parcels and push developers toward larger, more expensive units.
Draft code concepts explore choices such as reducing parking minimums, adjusting density and floor‑area rules, and prioritizing infill versus greenfield sites. Staff said the consultants used prototype modeling to show how specific code changes would affect unit counts and housing affordability. Michelson noted a 10% city target for affordable units in new development is part of the project’s policy context.
The project timeline includes extensive public outreach: work sessions with City Council, recorded commission briefings, and a large “community conversation” planned for summer 2025. Staff asked commissioners to review the posted reports and to identify community groups for additional outreach; targeted follow‑ups and one‑on‑one briefings are available for commissioners who want deeper technical detail.
Commissioners asked for a concise list of the code diagnostic’s main barriers and for clarity on how code changes would affect small businesses, transportation projects and neighborhoods. Staff said zoning code amendments can be prioritized and implemented in phases once the community lands on key decision points; final code amendments would return for formal adoption steps later in the process.
No formal vote was taken. Michelson and Parathree offered to meet with commissioners one‑on‑one to review technical materials and invited the commission to the council work session scheduled for May 6.
