Open House – May 14, 2025

The City of Flagstaff held a second Open House for the general public, following up on the initial April meeting to gather feedback from property owners. This Open House followed the same format, with stations on the specific plan process, transportation, land use, housing, and services, trails, and open space and wildlife staffed by project team members and topic experts. Feedback from this meeting will inform the plan’s content.

Open House – April 7, 2025

The City of Flagstaff invited property owners throughout the study area to a kick-off meeting on the JWP Area Specific Plan. This Open House featured stations on the specific plan process, transportation, land use, housing, and services, trails, and open space and wildlife staffed by project team members and topic experts. Attendees provided initial feedback on these topics to inform the plan’s content.

Consideration of an Alternative Alignment

From October 5, 2021 to July 7, 2022, City Council held work sessions to discuss whether to authorize additional design work and analysis of an alternative alignment to the JW Powell Blvd, which has the potential to impact fewer property owners. Staff held multiple meetings with property owners to find alternative alignments that could be considered. An alternative alignment was selected and is now the Council-approved alignment, undergoing further study. See the Project Updates page for links to meetings where this was discussed.

One-on-One Property Owner Meeting

During February-May 2021, staff provided one-on-one meeting opportunities with property owners throughout the project area.

Neighborhood Virtual Meeting – Thursday, January 28, 2021

The City of Flagstaff invited property owners in the Souths Fourth Street area to participate in a virtual public meeting for the future extension of JW Powell Boulevard, from Pine Canyon to Butler Avenue. The Project Team held this meeting while very early in the preliminary design process and to seek input of those most effected. The feedback and discussion during the virtual meeting will help shape the development of the future Specific Area Plan for the JW Powell Boulevard Corridor.

This meeting was specifically designed for property owners and area residents, and was held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The meeting will include a presentation of the proposed alignment, discuss the proposed roadway width and configuration, sidewalks, urban trail, and connections to South Fourth Street, East Monroe Street, and Herold Ranch Road. Driveway access and public utilities will also be discussed. You can review the meeting below and download the meeting summary and presentation slides.

City Council Work Session - October 27, 2020

Staff provided a project update to the City Council and asked for endorsement of the work done so far and the public engagement strategies for the next 6-10 months. Get caught up by listening to the City Council presentation from October, 27, 2020. JW Powell Specific Plan is Item 9 on the Agenda.

Below you will find answers to some of the questions that the public has raised during the process of developing a specific plan and engineering designs for the future JW Powell corridor and associated public facilities. Each response may be updated as new information becomes available and will be date stamped.

What development plans have been submitted for the John Wesley Powell area?

The City publishes regular Development Status Reports, which list all of the current projects under review by Planning and Development Services: https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/3474/Development-Status-Reports

Can truck or heavy equipment traffic can be restricted on this new road alignment? Are there criteria for what roads can get this designation?

This new road alignment is an arterial which by definition, set forth by Engineering Standards and the Regional Plan, is a truck route. The City does prohibit through trucks on local streets and collectors on a request and case by case basis, this would not be one of those places. The land use planning for the area and NAU’s future uses for their parcel will heavily influence the use of this route for trucking. Posted 3/23/2021

How is this new road going to affect my property values and taxes?

When assigning an asking price to a property that is for sale, realtors look for comparable sales in the same area or market. A comparable property or “comp” is ideal if the conditions and size of the parcel and condition and size of the building and uses are similar. In general, improved road access and access to water and sewer increase both the amount people are willing to pay for a property and the number of people willing to buy a property, because the new owner has less upfront investment to get services to the land. How much these improvements increase the value is dependent on a number of macroeconomic and local market factors.

Likewise, when a property is assigned a valuation by the Assessor for the purpose of determining property taxes, they look for values of comparable properties sold recently in a similar market or neighborhood. Assessment usually lag behind property sales because they are only updated annually based on recent sales in the neighborhood being assessed. Posted 3/23/2021

My land is Residential but it could be zoned Commercial. How does that affect my property values and taxes?

In Arizona the future land use assigned to a property is not a factor in how the Assessor calculates a property valuation, but a purchaser may consider what they can do with the land with and without a rezoning as part of their offer to purchase. Therefore, future land use only indirectly affects the valuation of property. Posted 3/23/2021

Could the new road alignment be two-lane through the present-day residential portion of South Fourth Street and expanded to a four-lane road in the future?

At this time, there is a good possibility the new JWP roadway would be built as a two-lane road. This means there would be one northbound lane and one southbound lane, separated by a median. If the two-lane option is originally constructed, as the vehicular traffic increases over the years the additional lane in each direction would be constructed.

It should also be mentioned the City will seek to acquire the full Right-of-Way (ROW) cross section before the initial construction. This will ensure, on the front end, that the City has acquired the complete property to build the entire cross section including roadways, FUTS Trail, sidewalks, medians, and parkways, even though it may be years or decades before all of the infrastructure is built out.

Furthermore, the preference by the City is to build the outermost lanes of vehicular traffic and bicycle and pedestrian improvements first and then build new lanes on the inside toward the median. This helps to ensure future construction is less impactful. Posted 3/23/2021

What would the expected speed limit be on the new road alignment through the present-day housed area on South Fourth Street?

The City of Flagstaff Engineering Standards specify a design speed of 40 MPH for this new road alignment. Posted 3/23/2021

What is the expected traffic for the new JWP road alignment?

The expected daily traffic counts have been modeled and are based on projected land use that will access the new road alignment in years 2040 and at full buildout, estimated to be 2090. These models include a set of assumptions and other potential future intersections, for example a traffic interchange on I-40 for Lone Tree Road. The estimated traffic volumes depend on the assumptions for land use and future road connections. No scenario in 2040 or 2090 exceeds the planning level threshold that indicates the need for 4-lanes through the current residential area which is 17,000 +/- vehicles per day. Some volumes approach that figure making the purchase of extra right-of-way advisable.

At this early point in the design and planning process, it is premature to estimate what traffic counts may be as there are a myriad of uncertain variables. As soon as planning and design has progressed into more advanced stages assumptions can be set and estimated numbers will be shared at that time. Posted 3/23/2021

Project Update – Winter 2024

City Staff gave an update presentation to City Council on 8 October 2024. This presentation and discussion can be viewed on this website: Flagstaff City Council Work Session - October 8 2024 (youtube.com). You can skip forward in the video to 1 hour and 15 minutes of the meeting to watch the presentation update. The update included high-level updates on project timeline, sharing of the project map/alignment, project financials, discussions with property owners, trails, wildlife, the crossing of the Rio de Flag, and the JWP Specific Plan.

Project Update – August 31, 2022

The City Council held a follow-up Council meeting on 7 July 2022. This meeting included a staff presentation to answer questions the City Council requested at the 28 June meeting. Furthermore, this meeting allotted more time for public comment from the property owners along the proposed corridor and ultimately the City Council selected the alternative alignment, which avoided crossing smaller properties, as the Council approved alignment. Preliminary engineering on the Council-approved alignment was available for review as part of the meeting. Further design and study of this alignment and initiation of the specific plan are the next steps.

Project Update – July 5, 2022

City Staff gave a presentation to City Council on 28 June 2022. This presentation and discussion can be viewed on this website: Jun 28, 2022 City Council Work Session - Flagstaff, AZ (swagit.com). You can skip to the JW Powell agenda item by clicking on Item 12 on the agenda, or by skipping the video forward to 3 hours and 33 minutes of the meeting.

Project Update – June 16, 2022

Dear Community Members:

Since the last communication City Staff has had several meetings and discussions regarding the timing and design of an alternative alignment. As stated previously, the team was originally planning to go back before City Council sometime this fall; however, under the direction and support of City Leadership, the team will be presenting an update to City Council on 28 June 2022. This meeting will have several objectives but two of paramount nature.

First, City Staff would like to update the Council on the alternative alignment work to date including information from meetings with the large-parcel (≥80 acres) property owners. The last time the team shared an update with City Council was October 2021. At that time the team shared an alternative alignment which was proposed through the middle of the large parcels. At this same meeting, the smaller parcel owners in attendance shared their opinions on the proposed alternative alignment. After many meetings and discussions, City Staff is ready to move forward with a final alternative alignment (see map below). The large-parcel property owners have given their support of the alternative alignment, and to move forward with a 30-percent design.

Secondly, is to ask City Council if they support the alternative alignment. The team had planned to submit an alternative alignment later this fall, but restrictive timing has prompted a final alignment decision to help expedite construction. As previously stated, City Council will ultimately decide the final alignment for the J.W. Powell Boulevard Extension Project.

City Staff would like to encourage you to participate in this Council meeting and share your thoughts and comments on the alternative alignment. Attendance can be either in-person, at City Hall, or virtual via the City’s website: https://www.flagstaff.az.gov/1461/Streaming-City-Council-Meetings

Thank you for your time and participation in this exciting addition to our community.

May 13, 2022 - JW Powell Specific Plan Update

Thank you for your patience while the JWP Specific Plan Study Design Team continues to work on the project design and planning.

For the past six months, the design team has been continuing to make progress in Phase I of the JWP Specific Plan Study. This time has been spent meeting with all the large-parcel (80 acres or more) property owners. These meetings have and continue to take time to schedule and, in some cases, require follow-up meetings.

The design team is working with these large-parcel property owners on an alternative alignment that would cross many of the large parcels. This proposed alignment has required numerous meetings to find a supportive consensus among the large-parcel property owners. Once this support is garnered, the design team will proceed with a 30-percent design of an alternative alignment. The goal of this 30-percent design will be to have an equal comparison between an alternative alignment and the original alignment. Both alignments will be presented to City Council, likely in fall 2022, at which time the City Council will approve the preferred alignment for additional planning and design. The current alternative alignment work is currently scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2022.

It is through the expressed concerns of the small-parcel property owners and new opportunities with the large-parcel property owners, that the team is investigating an alternative alignment through the large-parcel properties. It should also be stated the original alignment, previously presented and discussed with this group back in January 2021, could still be the final roadway alignment. This decision will ultimately be made by City Council through the Regional Plan Amendment (Specific Plan) process.

If you are interested in learning more about the current alternative alignment work, please watch the City Council meeting on 5 October 2021. The meeting is available on the City of Flagstaff website at https://flagstaffaz.new.swagit.com/videos/141192. (Once on the webpage, please click on item number 12, or fast forward the video to the 54-minute mark, to go straight to the agenda item.)

This update has been shared via email and will also be mailed to those without access to email or prefer being contacted via postal mail.