Flagstaff City Council Candidate Drew Stanley
Drew Stanley’s Responses to the Flagstaff City Council Candidate Questionnaire 2026
Regulatory Relief: Flagstaff’s building codes and zoning processes can add significant time and expense to commercial projects. What specific zoning reforms or streamlining measures will you champion to reduce these burdens for local businesses?
DS: I think the city has done a decent job in making the process and initial start-up of a business simple enough. I do think that in certain zoning areas, issues like parking minimums have cropped up, particularly in housing developments, that drive up costs for private developers. In the next code analysis project that the city carries out, a greater emphasis should be placed on how similar rezonings can be carried out for commercial properties.
Regional Plan Realities: With the city implementing the voter-approved Flagstaff Regional Land Use Plan, how will you balance strict environmental and smart-growth goals with the pressing need for affordable workforce housing and commercial expansion?
DS: I believe that the City of Flagstaff has a duty to balance those concerns as best it can. While many of the city's environmental protections serve a role in maintaining the character and natural beauty of Flagstaff, such as our dark skies, I also believe that Flagstaff should be as accessible as it reasonably can be to middle and lower income residents. At times, some of our regulations unnecessarily hinder potential development, which is part of the reason why Flagstaff struggles to attract outside business that would bring long term, high paying jobs to the city. Nonetheless, environmental preservation is a top priority for me as a City Council Candidate and serves a role in attracting both residents and business to the area. Therefore I do believe a happy medium can be found.
Employer-Assisted Housing: Would you support city incentives or public-private partnerships that make it easier for local employers to develop or subsidize housing for their own workforce?
DS: I do believe that there are areas where partnerships can be made in Flagstaff to build up affordable housing. In particular, I think that partnering with NAH or FUSD would be good areas to start, as they are two entities in Flagstaff that have large enough resources and an employee count to make such a partnership worthwhile.
Minimum Wage Trajectory: Flagstaff's local minimum wage significantly exceeds the state standard, impacting low-margin industries like retail, hospitality, and dining. How do you plan to support small businesses navigating these high labor costs?
DS: I am a supporter of the current minimum wage law as it stands, though I do acknowledge the difficulties that it causes to local businesses in particular, especially with the annual wage increase. I think that finding ways to ultimately reduce the cost of living for all Flagstaff Residents would be the best way to go forward. In particular, I think that the city can do more to tackle landlords in the city who charge exorbitant rents or fail to maintain their properties in a satisfactory way, including those who lease commercial properties. There are areas for example that hold both commercial and student residential properties in the same building, and oftentimes the property manager does very little to curtail negative behavior from tenants (such as noise complaints, vandalism, etc), thus making the management of a business difficult. The City should crack down on behavior such as this with steeper fines, and more frequent inspections to ensure tenants are treated fairly.
Tourism & Economic Diversity: While tourism initiatives drive significant revenue, economic volatility remains a concern. What concrete strategies will you pursue to attract high-wage, non-tourism industries (e.g., biotech, clean energy) to the region?
DS: It is difficult to attract these sorts of high wage industries to Flagstaff in large part due to the high cost of living in Flagstaff. I do think that a greater emphasis on employee housing (as mentioned earlier in the questionnaire) could help to alleviate this concern, as well as potential property tax rebates and liens to help reduce set-up costs for businesses. Besides that, the natural beauty of Flagstaff is another appeal that can and should be maintained. It is after all what attracted the owners of companies like Gore here once upon a time.
Commercial Property Tax & Utilities: High commercial utility rates and property valuations strain local operations. What is your strategy for keeping city-controlled fees and taxes predictable for business owners?
DS: I think ultimately the city should be satisfied with the system it has in place, and not try and constantly adjust it in order to incentivize some particular form of behavior from business. I also think that the city needs to strengthen portions of its power grid, particularly outside of downtown, to minimize some of the unexpected fluctuations in cost and occasional blackouts that occur. Hopefully in the near future, state and federal projects will become possible for the city to lobby for, to create more in the way of renewable and sustainable power generation.
Public Safety Ballot Measures: Local businesses rely heavily on a safe, accessible environment for both customers and staff. What is your position on upcoming public safety infrastructure bonds, and how will you ensure transparent use of tax funds?
DS: I oppose both of the public safety measures on the ballot this year. I believe they both raise the cost of living for the most vulnerable in the city, in order to fund a section of operations that have ranked near the bottom of resident concerns. I particularly oppose the upcoming bond increase, especially a segment building a new fire station in the JW Powell area, a location with minimal development currently, and slated largely for higher income and luxury housing developments. If the future developers and residents of that area want a fire station the funding should come from them.
Transportation & Logistics: : Traffic congestion and winter road maintenance directly affect commercial logistics and customer access. How will you prioritize infrastructure spending to optimize traffic flow along major business corridors like Route 66 and Milton Road?
DS: I am a big believer in a fare free mountain bus system, and that more priority should be given to our public transportation system. I think it has underutilized utility in boosting tourism travel particularly along high commercial routes. More options for commuting downtown, and improved bus stops and routes along 4th Street and the Sunnyside area in general should be a priority.