Pine Valley is a planned residential community of approximately 201 acres in Flagstaff, Arizona. It sits at the foot of the San Francisco Peaks, in the ponderosa zone at roughly 7,000 feet, and it was planned the way you would hope land like this would be planned: slowly, by walking it first.
The idea
Most communities begin with a plat map. Pine Valley began with the trees. The oldest ponderosa were mapped, the meadows noted, and the sight lines to the north recorded before a single road was drawn. Homesites were placed where the forest already opened, and the rest of the land was simply left alone.
The result is a community that holds a small number of homes and a great deal of open space. There is a pond, a meadow, miles of trail, and a quiet loop road that ties it together. Two entrances keep the community to itself, and some ground is deliberately held back for future phases.
Why this journal
This journal will follow the community as it grows: the first homesites released, the first homes designed, the seasons turning on the meadow. It is written by Mike Konefal, who has lived and worked in Flagstaff for 26 years and guides every tour of Pine Valley personally.
If the land itself is the most honest introduction, the journal is the record of it. Come walk it sometime. The Peaks look different from inside the community than they do from anywhere else.