Flagstaff Indigenous Commission presses staff to clarify how regional land use plan will use Indigenous knowledge

Flagstaff Indigenous Commission members on April 3 pressed planning staff to clarify how the Flagstaff Regional Land Use Plan draft would recognize Indigenous knowledge and how those policies would be implemented.

Staff member Sarah said the team is accepting revisions through April 16 and will send a revised draft to the City Council, the Board of Supervisors and city and county Planning and Zoning Commissions ahead of a May 2 retreat. “We’re doing revisions right now through April 16,” Sarah said. After the retreat staff will do another round of edits and the plan will then proceed to legal review and public hearings over the summer.

Why it matters: commissioners said they want wording that both honors Indigenous cultural contributions and gives concrete guidance that can be used by staff, attorneys and decision-makers. Several commissioners emphasized the plan should avoid vague or purely aspirational language that would be difficult to apply in legal or technical land-use processes.

Discussion and details

Commissioners and staff focused on two draft policies, RS 7 and RS 10, that address Indigenous knowledge and…