10/13/2024

Written By TLUI

Land Use

“The proposed ordinance seeks to make this provision a more viable tool for development by reducing the approval criteria, and loosening the standards imposed on a potential PUD. Further the proposed ordinance would increase the allowable residential density in zones R-1 through R-3, and R-5 as part of a PUD.”

  • ONGOING: Discussion of the Fireweed Lane Rehabilitation Project at the 10/7/2024 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. Around six minutes in, Commissioner Raun asks the project manager/traffic engineer what the nature of the circulation issues are, to which the pm answers that a lot of it has to do with parents driving their kids to school (this reality is, of course, a byproduct of the design and past planning of our city). Around 7:40 one of the Commissioners asks about whether or not AKDOT’s ongoing STIP failures will affect this project; according to the AKDOT representative they will not.  

  • NEW: Worksession for the draft Project Anchorage sales tax.  As currently proposed, 2/3rds of the tax revenue would go to property tax relief and only 1/3rd to community-wide projects. Discussion of proposed projects begins around 5:15, ideas include an indoor market and food hall, a riverwalk in Ship Creek, a nordic aquatic center, park facilities, fixing Town Square Park, and others. At about 20 minutes in, Assembly Member Brawley asks why the cost to administer the tax would be coming out of the project side rather than the property tax side, Assembly member Sulte responds “I would say in my mind that was just prioritizing property tax relief”. 

  • NEW: “A former pro baseball player from Alaska is building an indoor batting facility in Mountain View.” In the ADN: 

“A former minor league outfielder is leading a project to build a $1.5 million community center in Mountain View to give local kids the opportunity to practice baseball year-round…The Municipality of Anchorage plans to demolish two abandoned houses on an adjacent property to support a future phase of the project, Hill said.” 

This project apparently started with a variance for lot size and vehicle access in 2019, followed by a site plan review in 2020 (which was not approved until 2021). Included in that approval: the planning department required a parking reduction agreement before development could proceed (a condition made largely irrelevant by the Assembly's removal of parking mandates in 2022). Three other notable things about this story:

  • The planning department doesn’t appear to have objected to the use of this R-3-zoned lot for non-residential use (recall that planning staff reports in the past have warned that the loss of a single residential lot to non-residential development is “dangerous”). 

  • This case shows how longer development times influence the cost and ultimately the appearance of what gets built: “A design rendering depicts a large blue building with windows, but those windows are no longer part of the project after inflation pushed costs too high, he said.” 

  • The case highlights a need for better access to recreation for people who might not have the means to drive to the other side of town: “Hill said Mountain View baseball players often can’t get across town to practice in The Dome, the largest indoor facility of its kind in Alaska.”

 

  • NEW: Anchorage Community Housing Conversation: Impact Report. From the YWCA of Alaska. A variety of voices on what people want out of housing and transportation. Excerpt: 

“My neighborhood is tri and fourplex homes with a park. I feel multi-unit housing is an important model for our future. Our neighborhood is packed with working young families and you hear kids playing then workers come and go to and from making Alaska strong.”

  • NEW LAST WEEK: “Eklutna tribe clears land on outskirts of Anchorage for anticipated casino.” In the ADN:  

“A tribe near Anchorage has begun clearing land for the possibility that it will soon win federal approval to build a 50,000-square-foot facility with a tribal gaming operation. The casino would be the first of its kind outside Southeast Alaska…As a restricted Native allotment, the potential project site is generally not subject to Anchorage municipal zoning or other municipal approvals, according to tribal officials. But the tribe has chosen to adopt as tribal law the municipality’s building code.”

That tribes, state agencies, and federal agencies do not have to follow zoning code provides an interesting opportunity for development. There’s another recent example of this in British Columbia, where the Squamish Nation has published plans to build 6,000 housing units on 10 acres in Vancouver to the chagrin of a few critics and their local urban planners. Back to the ADN article, it seems there may be some similar sentiment up here:   

“Debbie Ossiander, co-chair of the Birchwood Community Council, said members of the neighborhood council have expressed deep concerns about a gaming hall in the more rural area. “The location is absolutely horrible,” she said. “Having a casino there is ridiculous’…Leggett said the Birchwood area is already home to a saloon, a grocery store and other businesses. ‘People are certainly entitled to their opinion,’ he said. ‘But I think I find it a little offensive that when the original landholders of the area want to work with a Native allotment that has existed before any of the other homes that were in the area, that there’s a negative reaction to it.”

  • ONGOING: 2025 Municipal Budget: The Assembly held its second worksession on the Mayor's proposed 2025 Municipal budget, including street maintenance, traffic calming, and a proposed Neighborhood Greenways network (formalizing bike routes on neighborhood streets that connect to the greenbelts).  A word of warning, this work session was nearly 5 hours. The budget timeline for the rest of this process is outlined here, with nothing scheduled for the upcoming week.

Transportation

  • NEW: Multi-agency report: Taking Action to Prevent Roadway Deaths. This report was a laid-on-the-table item at the 10/8/2024 Assembly meeting. See page 41 for the full report. Highlights:

    • Reduce speed limits now or next year on Tudor, Muldoon, Elmore, and Spenard; and 20mph in business districts. In 2026, holistic speed limit changes across MOA.

    • Road diet pilots next summer that will remove a lane: N Lights (~all), I & L, Dimond, Old Seward (south of O'Malley)

    • Add lighting to several arterial corridors in 2025 and more later

    • Default red light overnight in all directions on ~all major arterials 12-6am; change to green upon sensing vehicle, or walk signal immediately upon pressing button (next month)

    • Implement no-right-on-red with construction projects, Downtown, ped priority corridors, high-crash intersections (next year) 

    • Crosswalk signal phases: add or extend automatic "walk" phases in some places where currently lacking (next year) and develop a policy for giving the crosswalk a head start (2026)

    • Improve sidewalk winter maintenance (2026) 

    • Some shocking stats: of 51 ped fatalities 2018-2023, 29% were hit-and-run. Of those that were not hit-and-run, 31% of drivers were unlicensed and 31% were suspected of DUI. Only 6% of victims were suspected of being under the influence.

  • NEW: “Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and DUI Cases Are Being Dismissed en Masse in Anchorage.”A clear example of why relying on traffic enforcement to mitigate the risks of a transportation system which is dangerous by design might be an unreliable strategy. In ProPublica: 

“And, at a time when Anchorage drivers are killing pedestrians at a record pace, the city has dismissed hundreds of drunken driving charges. A charging document described police finding one woman slumped over the wheel after her SUV crashed into another car. Two whiskey bottles lay on the floorboards, according to the charges. Although prosecutors said that the woman’s blood alcohol level tested at 4.6 times the limit and that she was on probation for a prior DUI when the crash happened, the city dropped the case. The 120-day speedy-trial deadline had expired the day before.”

“The primary goals of this project are as follows:

  • Replace and upgrade street lighting and add pedestrian lighting in locations per the Design Framework.

  • Replace and upgrade traffic signals and electrical load center infrastructure.

  • Replace pedestrian facilities such as sidewalks and curb ramps and bring them to ADA compliance, if impacted by the electrical improvements.”

  • NEW: Alaska’s 20-year ferry plan nears completion”in Alaska Public Media: “As for what ferries are used for, most of the McKinley survey’s respondents said that they use the ferry service to connect to the Lower 48, to the road system, for medical care, and for shopping. Other forms of transportation are most limited due to the cost and weather. Survey results have been broken down by community and are available online at DOT’s website.” 

  • ONGOING: People Mover service cuts coming in October 2024. “Significant workforce shortages and challenges are affecting attendance and availability to perform the work and impacting the ability to maintain current service levels. This situation is affecting not only riders but also the expectations of the Administration and the Assembly.” Read about the dilemma and provide feedback here.

Events

  • NEW: AKDOT Minnesota Drive mobile workshop. The event will cover updates on the Minnesota Drive and I/L Corridor Plan. Wednesday, October 23,2024 from 5:00pm-7:00pm at the Spenard Recreation Center at 2020 W. 48th Avenue. 5:45 PM Trolley Tour of the Corridor, 7:00pm Return to Rec Center.

  • ONGOING: Fireweed Lane Rehabilitation Project Open House. “The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, in cooperation with the Municipality of Anchorage, is hosting an open house for the Fireweed Lane Rehabilitation project.” DATE: Wednesday, October 30,2024, 5:00pm-7:00pm at Stellar Secondary School Multipurpose Room (2508 Blueberry Road). The purpose of this project is to "rehabilitate Fireweed Lane from Spenard Road to the Seward Highway and include a road diet, changing Firewed from 4 lanes to a maximum of 3 lanes."

  • ONGOING: AKDOT Safety Survey available here. “This survey is being conducted by the Alaska Dept. of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF). This survey is focused on the Anchorage community. We will be developing campaigns in other communities across the state in the coming months.”

  • ONGOING: Chugiak-Eagle River Transportation Strategy Survey “The Municipality of Anchorage is looking for feedback on long range transportation values and priorities as part of the Municipality’s Long Range Transportation Strategy.”

TLUI
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