10/20/2024

Written By TLUI

Land Use

“...the Municipality should immediately end the practice of placing special limitations on properties during a rezone process, and instead use other tools that already exist [in] our code, to achieve the same community objectives. Not only is this current practice outside the scope of standard planning and land use regulatory tools that communities use to restrict property rights (entitlements), but also the widespread use of SLs over decades has had significant negative impacts on several property owners’ ability to build projects, and the continued use of this practice is directly contrary to our goals to facilitate more housing development in the city.”

SLs seem to be a unique creation of generations of Anchorage planners, although it’s not totally clear why they need to exist when there is an entire suite of regulatory processes that provide the means to achieve similar ends. 

“The proposed ordinance is intended to increase the flexibility of one of the Municipality’s most versatile zoning districts: the B-3 Commercial district. Despite its name, this zone allows for mixed-use, and much of Anchorage’s recent multifamily residential development is being built in this zone. The ordinance accomplishes this goal by removing B-3 district from some of the more limiting design requirements of Title 21, such as the private open space requirements of section 21.07.030, as well as the residential design standards of section 21.07.110.” 

One recent example of new multifamily housing built in B-3 are the apartments at 36th and Spenard.

“This proposed ordinance places a moratorium on Title 21 residential design standards that apply to multifamily (5 or more dwelling units) housing developments as defined in portions of AMC section 21.07.110, for a limited time (2 years). The objective is to catalyze development and construction of new multifamily housing projects, as well as renovation of existing multifamily properties, so the market and property owners can more quickly and easily respond to the community’s acute need for housing.”

Residential design standards can include things like buildings being required to have parts that jut out and parts that jut in (“articulation”), jagged roof shapes (“roofline modulation”), “sun traps”, and others. Residential design standards in 21.07 are generally about aesthetics–real issues related to safety are still regulated by the building code (which is unaffected by this ordinance). Speaking to the history of Title 21, the memo continues:

“....The community’s priorities were, both through selective implementation of the plan’s policies and a focus on placing additional restrictions on multifamily development, to spend more time and energy on making development more difficult, rather than proactively allowing denser and more compact housing by right, without additional design requirements that are based on aesthetic preferences.”

  • NEW: Ghostly warnings from the past: the costs of Title 21. Related to the above, informational item 10.F.5. at the 10/22/2024 Assembly meeting is a reprint of the “Mayor’s Real Estate Advisory Task Force” from 2005.  Some quick excerpts from 20 years ago:

    • “The new Title 21 requirements will also have an economic impact, resulting in higher development costs that must be shared by the whole community.”

    • And on site-testing conducted at the time: “In each case, application of the proposed code would have had severe impact on the project. Nearly all of the projects would have had a difficult time complying with the proposed code. The result would have been substantially increased costs to the developer and eventual occupant or they simply would not have been built because of the economics of the project.”

  • ONGOING:  Holding the line against AKDOT’s highway expansion in Midtown. AO 2024-86(S)  at the 10/22/2024 Assembly meeting. AM 716-2024. Dedicating the strip of land along the Seward Highway as a park for the long-term.

  • ONGOING: Stalking from the shadows: More suburban activism against tall buildings downtown at the Bayshore Klatt Community Council on 10/17/2024. Some of Anchorage’s most dedicated sprawl enthusiasts have also made recent appearances at the Downtown, Fairview, and Turnagain community council meetings trying to drum up support for restricting building heights around Town Square Park.

  • NEW: Anchorage Areawide Public Restroom Project report available here. 

  • NEW: Dominoes falling at the Abbott “Town Center”.  Case 2024-0017 is a rezone of a residential lot from R-5 to B-3. The concurrent land use plan map amendment 2024-0016 would upgrade the land use designation from “Compact Mixed Residential” to “Town Center”. Another lot was rezoned in a similar way 7 months ago with case 2023–0097, in which the staff report claimed: 

    • “This rezone to the B-3 (general business) district is not in the best interest of the community. The rezone is likely to exacerbate the housing shortage in Anchorage because Anchorage 2040 identifies this site to be zoned for multifamily residential development.”

    • “This rezone trades future housing for commercial uses, like a new gas station”

    • “Flipping this site from residential to commercial will impact all of the surrounding residential lots on Elim Street…Also, there is no off-street parking requirement anymore.”

    • “Converting these three lots containing 0.64 acres to general business is likely to result in the loss of affordable housing at this small site, but it will set off a domino effect of rezoning to B-3 from Abbot Road to East 88th Avenue…”

Although it’s hard to tell from the Planning department’s colorful warnings, all of these lots exist in the neighborhood context of a Carl’s Junior and Xpress Lube across the street, an express DMV shop next door, and a section of Abbott Road that has 6 lanes and is about 75 feet wide. That property owners are willing to pay nearly $4,000 to apply for changes to the land use plan; that policy makers are approving these changes might suggest that the plan isn’t accurately reflecting market realities or community needs. 

  • ONGOING: Mixed use allowed in more zoning in Girdwood: We mentioned case 2024-110 in the 9/22/2024 bulletin for public hearing at PZC in November. This change would allow mixed use development (residential and commercial on the same lot) in two existing Girdwood commercial districts. A staff report is now available supporting the change:

“This change makes the regulations more flexible and opens up housing opportunities. The change is desirable because the cost and availability [of] housing is a major problem in Girdwood.” 

  • ONGOING: 2025 Municipal Budget: Worksession on 10/25/2024 from 11am-4pm. The budget timeline for the rest of this process is outlined here, and the budget materials are available here. Some departments seem to copy/paste the same goal language year after year, even through different sets of priorities for each mayoral administration. 

  • NEW: “ASD to recommend school closures, repurposing or boundary adjustments” In Alaska’s News Source: “In two weeks, the Anchorage School District plans to announce a list of schools it recommends closing, repurposing or adjusting boundaries. It’s a process the district is calling rightsizing.” On the theme of historical documents, here’s what the 2020 Comprehensive Plan said in 2001: “The Anchorage School District manages 46 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, and 5 senior high schools in the Anchorage Bowl. The District estimates that it will have 67,500 students (K-12) by 2025”. 2022-2023 enrollment: 43,763.


Transportation

  • NEW: AKDOT STIP Fiasco: We’re Not Wrong, You Are: In his 10/15/2024 response to the Federal Highway Administration’s most recent determination on the STIP failures, the AKDOT Commissioner seems to be doubling down:

    • “Out of the fourteen corrective actions identified in the March 27, 2024 Tier 2 Federal Planning Findings,(FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) (hereinafter referred to collectively as "the Federal Agencies") DOT&PF considers ten resolved. DOT&PF believes the remaining four corrective actions outlined below have been resolved and disagrees with their characterization.”

    • “DOT&PF contests all five findings, six of the eight corrective actions, all ten recommendations, and seven narrative statements.[emphasis theirs] In general, we dispute the narrative sections, which contain unsubstantiated claims that are vague and lack sufficient evidence or support.”

    • “To foster transparency and maintain a spirit of collaboration, we request that all in-person or virtual meetings be well-documented, with meeting notes or recordings made available to the public to ensure accountability and clarity.”

See another write-up on the same issue in Reporting from Alaska.

  • NEW:  Resolution recognizing October as Pedestrian Safety Month. AR 2024-317S: At the 10/22/2024 Assembly meeting.

  • LAST WEEK: Transportation Committee Meeting agenda from 10/16/2024. Discussion of the recent inter-agency report on safer streets starts around 53:56. Presentation here. All meeting materials here.

  • NEW: AKDOT “Report a Safety Concern” tool available here: “We want to hear where you have a safety concern in Alaska. This data will be used to help us make decisions that affect Alaska’s transportation system.”

  • ONGOING: Minnesota Corridor Plan: “The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is using a special planning method called corridor planning for Minnesota Drive and I/L Streets.” Find more information here.

  • NEW: “For some teenagers from rural Alaska, learning to drive in Anchorage is a rite of passage”in the ADN: 

“The 16-year-old is among dozens of teenagers from rural Alaska who come to Anchorage every year for a rite of passage: learning to drive in the big city….Driver’s education fits squarely within the school’s goal of preparing students for life after high school. There’s no DMV and not much opportunity for a formal driver’s education in many communities, she said.  And private driver’s ed in Anchorage can cost hundreds of dollars.  “We want to provide life skills,” Burgoon said. “And a driver’s license is one of those big things kids and adults need in order to have a job.”

  • ONGOING: Last week in traffic violence: “Anchorage teen on house arrest facing manslaughter and DUI charges after fatal rollover” In Alaska’s News Source: “Police who responded to the scene on Bluebell Drive early Monday confirmed all three inside the vehicle were minors...”  And also: “Vehicle VS. Pedestrian Investigation: 4th and H Street.” From APD: 

“The preliminary investigation found that a silver sedan was traveling northbound on H Street when it struck the adult male who was in the road between 3rd and 4th Avenue.  The vehicle fled the scene. The driver was later determined to be a 28-year-old adult female who has been arrested for Assault 1, Failure to Render Assistance, Driving Under the Influence, and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.”

Events

  • ONGOING: AKDOT Minnesota Drive mobile workshop. The event is part of the Minnesota Drive and I/L Corridor Plan. Wednesday, 10/23/2024 from 5-7pm 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.” 10/30/2024 5-7pm 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 Fireweed from 4 lanes to a maximum of 3 lanes."

TLUI
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