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Flagstaff staff outlines Regional Plan 2045 and voter timeline ahead of May special election
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Summary
City neighborhood planning manager Sarah Dector briefed the Commission on Diversity Awareness on the Flagstaff Regional Land Use Plan (2045), explaining it is a policy document—not zoning—and detailing ballot, mailing and deadline dates for the mail-only May special election.
Sarah Dector, the city’s neighborhood planning manager, told the Commission on Diversity Awareness that the Flagstaff Regional Land Use Plan update on the May special election ballot replaces the city’s 2030 plan with a single comprehensive document and will be decided by a single yes-or-no question.
“The ballots are coming out for the May 20 special election,” Dector said. She explained ballots are mailed to registered city voters in mid-April, drop boxes will be available across the city and drop-box returns will be accepted until 7 p.m. on May 19. Voters who do not receive a ballot are advised to request a replacement by May 8 or contact the county recorder’s office, she added.
Dector emphasized the new plan is a policy guide rather than zoning, a budget or a binding capital-improvement program. “It is not the zoning code. It is not the budget,” she said, adding the plan is intended as a high-level guide for land use, transportation and water issues. The 2045 plan narrows and prioritizes action items and introduces a parcel-specific future-growth map, which replaces the older “bubble map” style.
Commissioners asked whether the plan addresses short-term rentals. Dector said Arizona law currently restricts cities’ ability to regulate short-term rentals absent a health-and-safety emergency, and that the plan groups emerging uses (including short-term rentals) under a policy meant to trigger local action if state law changes.
On neighborhood commercial uses, Dector said the 2045 plan encourages more neighborhood-serving commercial options in residential areas to reduce driving and improve access for residents without vehicles. The plan includes fewer, higher-priority action items intended to be achievable within a 10-year horizon, she said.
Dector outlined public engagement and information resources: a plan website with FAQs and past meeting videos, “regional plan chats” for deeper question-and-answer sessions (including a virtual session on April 30), and on-the-ground outreach such as banners near schools. She encouraged residents to contact planning staff directly for help navigating the 200-page document.
The commission did not take a formal vote on the plan itself at this meeting. The presentation closed with staff urging commissioners to help spread factual voting and timeline information to city residents.
