Draft Flagstaff regional plan 2045 presented to airport commission; comment period closes Dec. 19

Elsa Erling, associate planner in comprehensive planning for the city, presented the draft Flagstaff regional plan 2045 and asked the commission to provide comments before the public review closes Dec. 19. Erling said the plan has been two years in development, includes a parcel‑level future growth illustration and introduces implementation guidelines and action items intended to make the plan more concise and more implementable than the 2014 version.

“The Flagstaff regional plan, there is a full draft now, and we've been in a 60 day public review that started in October,” Erling told commissioners, and she encouraged commissioners to comment via the Conveio project site, by email, or at an upcoming office hour session.

Erling highlighted airport‑related content: the plan includes a goal to “strengthen and expand the role of Flagstaff Pulliam Airport as the dominant hub for air passenger, air freight, public safety and general aviation in Northern Arizona,” supported by two policies: provide safe, efficient, reliable and sustainable facilities and plan and manage nearby development to discourage incompatible land uses. The transportation chapter also lists six implementation guidelines for the airport including multimodal access, facility improvements to support increased destinations and frequencies, evaluations of energy/water/air‑quality impacts, and dark‑sky protections.

Commissioners asked practical questions about zoning and timing. A commissioner noted a portion of airport property is currently zoned research and development while the master plan anticipates hangar development, and asked whether adoption of the regional plan would automatically resolve that discrepancy. Erling explained the plan includes a crosswalk showing which zones align with each future‑growth category and said rezoning decisions remain a separate process: conformity with the regional plan is one element that council will evaluate in rezoning cases.

A commissioner asked whether a newly announced tribal facility at Old Horseman's Lodge would affect zoning; Erling said that announcement post‑dated the public review and staff did not yet have sufficient details to assess whether the plan or rezoning would influence that site.

Erling outlined next steps: staff will analyze comments, make edits as needed, and may reconvene the regional plan committee to resolve complex issues before legal review, a March retreat with council and board leadership, public hearings and eventual council votes; the final document is expected to appear on a ballot for adoption after that process.