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County planners outline timeline for Flagstaff regional plan and Coconino County comprehensive plan updates
Summary
Community Development staff updated the commission on the Flagstaff Regional Plan and the countywide comprehensive-plan rewrite, including public-review timelines, a May 2 joint retreat with city and county officials and anticipated public hearings later in 2025.
Community Development staff presented the planning and zoning commission with an overview of two long-range planning efforts: the Flagstaff Regional Land Use Plan update and the Coconino County Comprehensive Plan rewrite. Melissa Shaw, the county’s long-range planner, outlined key milestones and public outreach steps for both projects and described a joint retreat scheduled for May 2 that will convene city and county elected and appointed officials.
Shaw said the regional plan closed a 60-day public review period in December with just over 2,400 public comments. City staff are analyzing those comments; staff plans additional public outreach including a survey and open houses in spring 2025 and two required city planning commission hearings in July and August. The tentative schedule calls for city council adoption and a ballot call in September 2025, with the vote by city residents scheduled for March 2026. The county’s planning process would follow, with county planning commission hearings in October 2025 and board of supervisors consideration in December 2025.
On the county comprehensive-plan update, Shaw told the commission an advisory group has been reviewing individual chapters and staff plans a 60-day public review in April–May 2025 with open houses in each county district, revisions in June and tentative planning commission hearings in July and board hearings in August. Shaw reiterated that counties in Arizona do not require a ballot measure for comprehensive-plan adoption, unlike the Flagstaff city plan.
Commissioners asked how “locked down” the regional plan would be after city adoption and whether the county could still request revisions; staff said the city’s adopted version will be the version going to local ballots but noted the county may adopt a slightly different version after its separate hearings, which has precedent in prior plans. Commissioners sought and received clarification that the May 2 retreat is a facilitated, non-decision workshop aimed at clarifying major issues and improving coordination rather than taking formal action.
Commissioners also asked staff to schedule a separate study-session update that walks the commission through the county comprehensive plan draft in more depth well before public hearings. Shaw said staff will present the comprehensive-plan draft to the commission in a future study session prior to public hearings. Staff noted the county’s project website hosts advisory-group materials, draft chapters, agendas and recorded meetings and that staff will post draft chapters during the county’s 60-day review.
