Friends of Flagstaff’s Future update for Oct. 18 — The Candidates Discuss Student Housing

What additional solutions do you have to the challenges related to dormitory-style (high-occupancy) housing developments such as the Hub?
Paul Deasy: High occupancy housing is necessary for students and our working class alike, but we need to make sure these developments are placed in locations that don’t detract from our historic neighborhoods and in accordance with the public’s will. Our Regional Plan voted on in 2014 allowed for the Hub and should be amended with the knowledge we have from recent experiences. We had a low voter turnout in the spring 2014 election. We should consider placing an amended version on the 2020 ballot when we’ll have a higher voter turnout and greater public participation to craft the Plan.

Alex Martinez: The city of Flagstaff needs to follow the building codes that are currently on the books and work with developers to mitigate negative effects on our community. Changing zoning laws that cause devaluation of property puts the City of Flagstaff in legal jeopardy. The elected leadership needs to be cautious about what it promises to the citizens of Flagstaff and what it can rationally do.

Dennis K Lavin:  My concern is what happens in the next 10 to 15 year time horizon, if students decide to tele-commute or what happens when due to economic conditions in their countries, the level of our international student enrollment trails off? I revisited “The Flagstaff Regional Plan 2030” – I must have missed the sustainable part of building student housing stock off Campus. I would like to find out the exact locations of future approved off-campus housing and share this information with the Community. Our City and County leaders should be accessing real estate taxes for such housing stock at the appropriate levels.

Adam Shimoni: I’d like to work cooperatively with the Regents, NAU, the city and the community to collaborate on solutions for NAU’s projected growth and expanding student accommodation needs. Together we can best identify locations for student housing. Developments such as The HUB, The Standard, The Grove, and many others have mobilized community involvement and I hope as a future council member to continue to facilitate this useful community collaboration. Additionally, I support NAU in extending campus policies to off-campus high occupancy housing. If elected, I plan to bring attention to the gaps in the Regional Plan and the current zoning code.

Austin Aslan: If I could, for now, I’d place a moratorium on further high occupancy housing developments. We suddenly have plenty. Yet Flagstaff has neither the transportation, parking, or public safety resources to support these developments. I will push NAU to house more of their students on campus. NAU only houses 40% of their enrolled population! Meanwhile, some 13,000 students are off campus. That puts a lot of pressure on local affordable housing! It’s aggravated when traditional student houses are more profitable in the VRBO or Airbnb markets. NAU needs to be using their land and resources to house these temporary residents.

Mayor Coral Evans: Working within the constraints of AZ Prop 207 the Flagstaff City Council has implemented solutions designed to address the challenges related to high-occupancy housing developments; this includes changes to the city’s transect zoning code designed to help balance Flagstaff’s need for this kind of housing with respect for historical neighborhoods and our city character. Council has also insisted (as allowed with rezoning cases) the inclusion of affordable housing units within such housing developments and multi-modal options (such as bus passes for all residents) for these kinds of complexes.

Regina Salas: Recent high-occupancy housing development have been built as they were found to be in accordance to the 2014 voter-approved Flagstaff Regional Plan and Building Code. To comprehensively address the need for student and workforce housing, the Regional Plan, Building Code and other related City policies need to be revisited. This process must include data-driven studies, experts in rural and regional planning and public input from Flagstaff citizens.