Flagstaff's 10-Year Housing Plan

Flagstaff’s 10-Year Housing Plan was presented to the Housing Commission on January 27, 2022. The Plan was approved unanimously by Housing Commissioners and then unanimously adopted by the Flagstaff City Council on February 15, 2022. 

Although the City has several Housing planning documents, when declaring the Housing Emergency, Flagstaff City Council directed staff to create a single, comprehensive community-facing document to summarize the city's immediate and long-term needs and strategies to improve housing affordability.  

The current Housing Emergency in Flagstaff has deep roots, with no single root cause. There is no single solution to addressing the Housing Emergency, but rather multiple strategies that will work together in providing residents with additional housing stability. Flagstaff residents’ responses to the Housing survey illustrated that the Housing Emergency is causing residents to leave our community. A little over 58% of Flagstaff residents stated that they were either “nearly certain” to “somewhat likely” going to relocate due to housing costs. The question we must ask ourselves is what would Flagstaff become if 58% of our population moved? 

The intent of this Plan is to help individuals and families achieve housing affordability for those who want to continue to call Flagstaff their home. 

This Plan defines the Housing Emergency in Flagstaff and provides policy initiatives and strategies that the City will implement to address the Housing Emergency.  As the City implements the 10-Year Housing Plan, the goal is to substantially increase housing subsidies for our neighbors who are unable to afford housing in Flagstaff and to increase the number of available and affordable housing options for Flagstaff residents at all income levels.

10-Year Housing Plan Public Participation

Extensive and inclusive public participation has occurred from the beginning to the completion of the Plan. Community involvement starting with informal working group meetings, four Housing Commission meetings, three Council Meetings and the City of Flagstaff's Housing Survey. These interactions have resulted in the creation of Flagstaff's 10-Year Housing Plan.

Informal working groups convened on the topics of housing and health, neighborhood and equity, housing and sustainability, and zoning and land use. Informal working groups were composed of City staff, Housing Commissioners, and community experts. . The working groups grew into more than 80 volunteers and 1,000 volunteer housing. The informal working groups discussed how mutually connected housing is to all the above topics. The groups defined housing barriers and challenges for residents and created policies initiatives and strategies to address the Housing Emergency and advance housing opportunities for all.

The 10-Year Housing Plan Survey collected data from Flagstaff residents on local living conditions, the cost of housing, and household goals. The survey was shared with Flagstaff businesses, multifamily developments, community members, and the service provider network known as the Continuum of Care. The City shared the survey via social media, Housing Authority program participant newsletters, Flagstaff’s Community Forum, and clients of emergency shelters and transitional housing. The survey was available online via Survey Monkey and in print at local libraries and with various service providers. Both English and Spanish surveys were available. 2,949 responses were collected.

In September the draft 10-Year Housing Plan went into a 30-day public comment period. The draft Plan was shared via public meetings, stakeholder meetings and the Community Forum Survey. During the 30-day comment period, staff received over 400 comments from over 400 individuals and organizations. The virtual community forum garnered 327 responses with an estimated 16.4 hours of public comment. Each comment was then read and split into multiple rows based on distinct and differentiable content within the comment, resulting in over 600 rows of content. Refer to the "Response to Public Comment" for details on how public comments were incorporated into the final Plan. Provided below is a timeline of the Plan's Public Participation Plan.

•  January 28, 2021 - Housing Commission Meeting, Consideration of Informal Working Groups, Public Participation Plan and Project Timeline
• January - April - Informal Working Group Meetings
• May 27, 2021 - Housing Commission Meeting, Discussion and Input: Update regarding Plan
• June 8, 2021 - City Council Meeting, Discussion and Input: Update regarding Plan
• May - August, 2021 - Creation of Draft Plan
• August 26, 2021 - Housing Commission Meeting, Consideration and Approval of Draft Policy Initiatives and Strategies
• September 23, 2021 - Housing Commission Meeting, Establish Goal and Approve draft 10-Year Housing Plan
• September 28, 2021 - City Council Meeting, Update and Review of Flagstaff's Draft 10-Year Housing Plan
• Sept. 29 – Nov. 2, 2021 – Public Comment Period & Community Forum Survey
• October 5, 2021 – Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona
• October 7, 2021 – Northern Arizona Association of Realtors
• October 7, 2021 – Virtual Public Outreach – City of Flagstaff Commissioners
• October 19, 2021 – Friend of Flagstaff’s Future
• October 21, 2021 – Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce
• October 27, 2021 – Virtual Public Outreach
• November 2, 2021– Continuum of Care
• November 9, 2021 - Coconino County
• November 2021 - January, 2022 - Reviewed Public Comment and incorporated Plan Updates
• January 27, 2022 – Housing Commission Meeting for consideration of approval of Final Plan
• February 15, 2022 – City Council Consideration of adoption of Final 10 Year Housing Plan                    

Public Participation Plan & Timeline

The purpose of public participation is to ensure a proactive process affording the opportunity for the public to be involved in all phases of the creation of Flagstaff’s 2021 Housing Plan. Click here to view the 10 Year Housing Plan's Public Participation Plan and Timeline.

Important Links to Flagstaff's 10 Year Housing Plan

• City of Flagstaff's Resolution Declaring a Housing Emergency
• Flagstaff's 10-Year Housing Plan - Final
• Response to Public Comment and Community Forum Survey
• 10-Year Housing Plan - Survey Results, Methodology & Appendices
• Public Participation Plan and Project Timeline
• Flagstaff's 10-Year Housing Plan - Draft
• A Virtual Walkthrough of the Draft 10-Year Housing Plan