Zoning Code Home Page
Introducing Flagstaff's Zoning Code
This website provides information on the City of Flagstaff's new Zoning Code, as well as City Code, Title 11 (General Plans and Subdivisions).
On November 1, 2011, in a unanimous vote of approval, the Flagstaff City Council adopted the City's new Zoning Code with an effective date of December 5, 2011 . This action by the Council concluded over three years of work by City staff and the consultant team hired to assist with the Code rewrite.
A hallmark of the project was the commitment to inform, involve, and engage Flagstaff residents in the process to create a new Zoning Code, and earlier this year the City won the 2011 Arizona Planning Association's Public Participation Award for its outreach efforts. Credit though must be given to Flagstaff's many passionate residents who cared deeply about the new Zoning Code, and who through their participation, helped to shape and form its contents. The new Zoning Code is a better document because of the comments, suggestions, and critique provided by the City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, and citizens who were engaged in the project. Thank you for your contributions!
Why was a new Zoning Code adopted?
The former 1991 Land Development Code (LDC) is a complex document that, over the past few years, has added numerous zoning methodologies to its original Euclidean-based zoning system. It has also been amended numerous times resulting in conflicts and inconsistencies that often make the document dificult to interpret and use. At the direction of the City Council, in response to a Request for Proposals issued in July 2008 and a comprehensive review and interview process of nine firms, in January 2009 the City Council awarded a contract to Opticos Design Inc. and their supporting team of consultants (Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc., Sherwood Design Engineers, and Hall Planning and Engineering) to rewrite and update the City's existing zoning regulations.
The intent of a new Zoning Code was to not only update and modernize the Code, but also to create regulations that reinforce the community's desires as expressed in the Regional Plan to promote sustainable development practices and Smart Growth principles. It also ensures the protection of resources and open space, and allows for more compact development, and it has been written to support local businesses and development interests in Flagstaff. As a result, review procedures and processes have been streamlined and improved as much as possible, a new zone change process will be implemented, unnecessary and contradictory standards have been removed, and more opportunities for creative development consistent with Regional Plan goals and policies will be facilitated.
Downloading the Flagstaff Zoning Code
Zoning Code Interpretations
From time to time the Zoning Code Administrator will make interpretations of how the Zoning Code should be applied or interpreted. Please view a current list of
Zoning Code interpretations .
Future Updates to the Zoning Code
Despite staff and the consultant's best efforts, we know that errors and omissions are likely in the new Zoning Code. As a result, staff will be conducting a careful review of the Code as it is implemented, and it is likely that in about six months or so, various amendments will be brought forward to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council for their consideration.
If you notice a provision in the new Code that you think may be incorrect or that requires amendment, please send an e-mail to
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Zoning Code Overview Class
A video of the October 27, 2011 Zoning Code Overview Class may be
viewed . This class provides an overview of the Flagstaff Zoning Code and how it may be applied to various projects.
City Code Title 11, General Plans and Subdivisions
The Flagstaff City Council approved amendments to the City's subdivision regulations and the procedures for the adoption and amendment of General Plans in November 2010, with an effective date to be coordinated with the adoption of the new Zoning Code. For this reason, links to the new Title 11, General Plans and Subdivisions of the City Code have been included below.