By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
Lincoln Avenue Communities is requesting a rezoning of 8.51 acres at the NEC of Lone Tree Road and Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff to enable the development of Lone Tree Ranch, a 168-unit affordable housing multifamily community.
The property consists of three parcels. Two are currently zoned High-Density Residential with a Resource Protection Overlay. The third is zoned Suburban Commercial with the RPO. LAC has asked that all three carry the high-density zoning.
The Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to forward the request to City Council with a recommendation for approval in its Feb. 11 meeting.
According to the submitted project documents and the meeting presentation, the community will be made up of four residential buildings with split heights of three and four stories. The proposed unit mix is 56 two-bedroom, 88 three-bedroom and 24 four-bedroom apartments. The four-bedroom units will be reserved for families.
A 6.6KSF clubhouse is included in the plan. Other amenities include a fitness center, a barbecue area, open space, a playground and a “tot lot.” Since the infill site bridges urban and less developed areas, the owner plans to preserve more than 90% of the required steep slope area and more than 25% of the trees already on the site.
According to the submitted narrative, “As a suburban infill development, Lone Tree Ranch reduces the cost and environmental impact of providing services in comparison to peripheral expansion. We are also providing a Natural Resource Protection Area in-line with the city fire code to preserve the natural environment as much as possible. As an affordable multifamily project in its suburban context, it also represents compact development that provides a variety of housing types to the Flagstaff community. This is especially impactful considering the Property’s proximity to Mountain Line Routes 4 and 14 providing public transit access in a suburban area. Furthermore, the Project is highly amenitized, thereby providing social and recreational opportunities to its residents.”
Four people attended a neighborhood meeting in November to discuss the proposal. Questions included a request for specifics on the community’s access and egress, how the community will be operated following construction and whether the woods on the property will be retained. Since the questions asked in the meeting were substantive in nature and addressed by project representatives, a second neighborhood meeting was waived.
One question from the neighborhood meeting, which was also addressed during the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, focused on the makeup of Lone Tree Ranch’s planned population. Since the community will be developed using Low-Income Property Tax Credits and governed by Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, the property is prohibited from use as student housing.
The community will target area residents and families earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income. LAC has pledged ownership/management will remain involved for a minimum of 15 years, and the community’s affordable status will remain in place for at least 30 years.
Flagstaff City Council approved a 10-year affordable housing plan in 2022. Since 2020, 22% of housing units built in the city have been in the affordable-designated pricing range, exceeding the City’s goal of 10%. A Sept. 2025 update on the housing plan reported 1,962 market-rate units had been created or preserved in Flagstaff, along with 430 affordable units, since Feb. 2022. Another 405 affordable units are in process but not yet built.
Under the plan, Flagstaff wants to create or preserve at least 7,178 total housing units by 2031, with a target of at least 798 being affordable.
Lincoln Avenue Communities is the project owner. The design firm is Kaas Wilson Architects. The WLB Group is the civil engineer and landscape design firm.