Flagstaff staff outline three zoning-code scenarios to boost housing and lower emissions

Michelle McNulty, Flagstaff planning director, and Tiffany Antold, zoning code manager, presented conceptual zoning-code changes and modeling the city could use to increase housing supply and advance sustainability goals.

The presentation laid out three high-level strategies: (1) optimize existing incentives for sustainability and affordable housing, (2) make sustainability standards part of the base code while increasing by-right density and adding a floor-area-ratio (FAR) intensity cap, and (3) maximize housing production by raising base density and reducing parking without requiring additional sustainability standards. Genevieve from the sustainability team summarized the consultant carbon modeling, which found scenario 2 (sustainability-by-right with offsets) produced the lowest projected emissions over a 30-year timeframe.

The proposals were presented as concept-level options rather than adopted policy. McNulty described the project as a step in a multi-phase process: a land-availability and suitability study, a code diagnosis report identifying barriers, and the current code-concepts phase that will feed into a final draft of code language for public review and eventual council consideration.

Why it matters: Flagstaff staff said zoning and subdivision rules can increase housing capacity and influence transportation-related emissions. The city is balancing goals for housing production, affordability and carbon reduction while navigating state law limits and legal risks such as voter-approved Proposition 207, which the presenters said can require compensation when code changes reduce property value.

Key details from the presentation:

- Scenarios and levers: The team tested three strategy packages that change combinations of permitted housing types, maximum density, FAR, parking minimums and sustainability incentives or requirements.

- Missing-middle and accessory dwelling units (ADUs): Staff noted recent Arizona state law changes require jurisdictions to allow two ADUs and to permit missing-middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes) in areas that allow single-family housing, with a statutory amendment deadline staff said falls in January 2026. For the study, staff modeled citywide application rather than the statute’s narrower one-mile-from-downtown option.

- Floor-area ratio (FAR): Staff explained FAR measures building floor area relative to lot size and would be used in scenario 2 to control intensity (total building area) in addition to unit density, to avoid large multi-bedroom buildings on small lots that produce higher intensity impacts.

- Parking and winter-street rules: The presentation emphasized that lowering parking minimums is key to making higher-density prototypes feasible, but Flagstaff’s winter overnight parking prohibitions and expectations for on-street parking create trade-offs the city must address if it reduces required on-site parking.

- Resource Protection Overlay: The presentation said the city’s resource protection overlay (tree, slope and floodplain protections) overlaps other standards and can substantially reduce achievable density on a site; staff suggested narrowing the overlay to prioritize certain resources rather than applying broad percentage-preservation rules that can reduce net housing capacity.

- Modeling results: Spatial and prototype modeling showed scenario 3 (density-focused) produced the most raw housing units; scenario 2 generated the lowest lifetime carbon emissions in the consultant’s building- and site-level carbon assessment. Staff cautioned modeling does not guarantee market outcomes and that other costs (construction, land, labor) are outside city control.

Commissioner and public exchanges: Commissioners asked for clarification on terms and trade-offs (what counts as a dwelling unit; how bonuses apply; where FAR would be applied). Commissioner Carlson asked how the resource protection overlay changes would work; staff said overlay rules historically preserve a fixed percent of resources and that combining multiple protections on the same site can reduce net housing capacity (staff cited examples of 30–40% of gross area becoming restricted). Several commissioners recommended targeting higher density along transit corridors and using overlays or proximity-based rules rather than a single new zoning district.

Process and next steps: Staff said they will bring the concepts to the Housing Commission and City Council (staff announced a Council presentation scheduled for February 4) and will continue outreach with commissions, developers and community groups. Staff asked commissioners to submit written feedback via Tia (staff liaison) before the council presentation; they also said the code concepts will inform a later document with draft code language and that any final code adoption would follow regular ordinance and council review processes.

Ending: Staff framed the package as options for public input rather than final policy and invited commissioners to identify preferred outcome mixes and specific decision points for future meetings.