Flagstaff Historic District UpdateThis past Tuesday, the proposal to declare the residential area between Thorpe Park and downtown an historic district hit the City Council - again. This was the third time before the City Council as those of you following this thread know. The ordinance would establish certain height restrictions on new development in the neighborhood.The ordinance to establish the district was given preliminary approval by a vote of 4-2. A significant majority of residents in the area supported the ordinance by signing a petition to start the process earlier this year. A vocal minority was most of who were heard from Tuesday night. The final City Council vote is scheduled for June 19. Ann Heitland, Flagstaff real estate 06/08/2007

Thorpe Park in Flagstaff, AZ Thorpe Park is one of the City of Flagstaff's three regional parks. At 219 acres, Thorpe is the largest of the city parks (beating Buffalo Park by 4 acres). It is located on the west of downtown at the base of Observatory Mesa.                                              Thorpe Park's amenities include two playgrounds, four lighted tennis courts plus two unlighted courts, a sand volleyball court, a basketball court, two soccer fields, three youth baseball fields, four lighted adult softball fields, a picnic ramada, two racquetball courts, horseshoe courts, a disc golf course, dog park (known affectionately as the "bark park") and some portable and permanent restrooms. It is also the location of the recently remodeled and expanded adult recreation center.   ... 06/03/2007

Pictures for the Flagstaff Townsite NeighborhoodHere are some pictures from the neighborhood between Thorpe Park and downtown, at the base of Observatory Hill in Flagstaff, AZ. This is the neighbor that is on the national historic registry and for which the City is proposing a designated historic district that would create certain building restrictions.View east from Thorpe Road down Aspen St.:View east down Birch Street from Thorpe Park:Typical home style in the neighborhood: Ann Heitland, Flagstaff AZ Real EstateLike this post? Subscribe to the feed for future posts: 05/29/2007

May 22 at City Hall, the Planning and Zoning Commission will hold its hearing on the proposed designation of the west downtown residential district as an official "historic district." Readers of this thread will recall that the City approved the district earlier this year and then found they had made a procedural mistake in only having a hearing before the Historic Commission and not the Planning and Zoning Commission. So now we are in "re-do" phase. The City Council will consider the commissions' recommendations in June. This Tuesday's meeting begins at 4 p.m. in City Council Chambers. 05/19/2007

For those of you following this thread, the second hearing on the "Re-Do" of the historic district between Thorpe Park and Downtown is scheduled for hearing tomorrow night before the Flagstaff Historic Commission. This pertains to a new Historic Overlay District zoning overlay that roughly covers the National Register of Historic Places Townsite Historic District. Here is the scoop on tomorrow night:Time: 5:00 PM - Tuesday, April 24, 2007Place: Flagstaff City Hall, Council Conference Room, 211 W. Aspen Avenue Subsequent meetings scheduled as follows:Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, May 22City Council meeting (1st Reading) Work Session, June 4City Council meeting (2nd Reading) July 19 04/23/2007

Oops, the City Council forgot to run the historic district for the Townsite through public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission. (They did it only through the historic commission and the city council.)  So now it has to be redone through all three bodies (P&Z, historic commission, council). The city attorneys caught it after the last city council vote to approve. Wake up city attorneys! -- This is all too reminiscent of the 4th St. bridge fiasco. (Remember when the city figured out that they didn't own the land they were trying to deed to the railroad? Our bridge was delayed for months.) In my opinion, the city management needs to do a remedial course on working with their lawyers. 04/14/2007

The Flagstaff City Council voted last night to approve the proposal to designate the Old Town area of Flagstaff (generally between Thorpe and Wheeler Parks) as an historic district.  The "second reading" and likely final approval will happen at the Flagstaff City Council meeting on February 20.   The designation will place certain height and other restrictions on buildings in the area.  If you want to comment about this, contact a city council member in the next 13 days! 02/07/2007