11/17/2024

Land Use

• NEW: “Increasing lake flooding near Anchorage airport could damage homes, owners warn.” Infrastructure problems at Delong Lake, reported in the ADN: 

“Local officials say it fits into a larger story of how poorly built infrastructure from Anchorage’s boom years is aging in ways that are proving hard and expensive to fix…Much of that area is low and has drainage problems, Brawley said. The area’s lakes make for scenic homes and easy recreation. But responsible development requires proper water management, which is part of why residential construction today is more expensive than it was decades ago, she said. And prior to 1975, when the city and borough of Anchorage merged, many of the borough’s outlying areas built infrastructure hastily, partially or sloppily. Roads were “strip paved,” she said, without culverts or  systems enabling natural drainage patterns. Those original roads are aging, and many have never been improved or updated. “It’s basically a giant list of deferred maintenance,” Brawley said.

• NEW: “OPINION: School closing plan hurts East Anchorage disproportionately.” In the ADN: 

“I have been told that the need to close or repurpose three of my district’s Title One schools with 77%-84.2% minority enrollment is due to poor planning, with not enough density in those areas. I have the data to prove that is not true. For instance, the part of Anchorage Baxter Elementary draws students from has 15 apartment buildings, 417 condos, 46 duplexes, 164 mobile homes and 1,237 single-family homes. Nunaka Valley has 47 apartment buildings, 531 condos, 104 duplexes, 25 triplexes, two mobile homes and 857 single family homes. These schools’ zones are a textbook example of mixed use…I do question that three schools within two miles of each other, in an area of working families, struggling to get by, would all find themselves on this list, while we watch another area of town win big. Something doesn’t look right.”

• NEW: Planning department recommendations on the Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) and Capital Improvement Project (CIP) list at the 11/18/2024 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. The staff report doesn’t provide much insight or information, unfortunately:

“Projects are proposed throughout the Anchorage Bowl. These projects are located across the Municipality within areas under the purview of an adopted comprehensive, district, or neighborhood plan, including the East Anchorage District Plan, Fairview, Neighborhood Plan, Hillside District Plan, Spenard Corridor Plan, UMED District Plan, and West Anchorage District Plan…The Planning Department encourages that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend approval of the Proposed General Government 2025 Capital Improvement Budget and 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program to the Anchorage Assembly.” 

Anchorage has been talking about focusing reinvestment in targeted areas for years, although based on these materials, it’s not clear that is actually happening or being considered. 

• ONGOING: Ordinance on special limitations zoning for discussion at PZC. Public hearing for AO 2024-99 at the 11/18/2024 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. The ordinance would “prohibit the application for or recommendation of special limitations in approving an amendment to the zoning map”. From the staff report: “In general, the Planning Department does not encourage the use of special limitations (SLs) as they create more complexity and a lack of transparency in regulation, both of which have a dampening effect on development.” Attachment B of the report provides a list of rezones with special limitations, including this example from 1991: 

“An R3-SL in Spenard that limits a 9-acre parcel to 180 dwelling units, requires access on Spenard Road and Northwood Street, a 25-foot setback from Fish Creek, a 35-foot building height, and minimum of 30% “useable open space”. PZC case number 2015-0093 was an attempt to rezone this site from R-3 SL to R-4 in order to build 680 new residential units. The Planning Department recommended approving the rezone with an updated SL, the Planning and Zoning Commission ultimately denied the rezone and the applicant subsequently rescinded their application. The site remains undeveloped in 2024.”

• NEW: Worksession on the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan. Scheduled for 11/22/2024 at 11:50am. Note that according to the map on page 12 of their land use plan chapter, the Girdwood community seems to have allocated most of their future density to the slopes on the edge of town.

• NEW: “Traffic and access concerns loom over gravel pit proposed for a historic Mat-Su dairy site” in Alaska Public Media: “Landowners Bob Havemeister and Ralph Kircher plan to lease the parcels to Central Gravel, according to the application. Central Gravel plans to extract sand and gravel in rolling 10-acre increments over an estimated 30-year period with some rock crushing conducted on site, the application states.” Gravel supplies are often a major need for large road infrastructure projects. 

• ONGOING: Project Anchorage Sales Tax. Work session on 11/14/2024, video here. Presentation. From an article in the ADN:

“A list of the estimated tax savings for the municipality’s top ten property owners shows that those organizations could see a combined total of $3.4 million in tax relief. Weidner Apartments tops the list, with taxes dropping by $670,153 to $829,714. The list was complied by the city tax assessor office at the request of Assembly members. Some of the organizations own other Anchorage properties via subsidiary companies which are not included in the estimate, the tax assessor said. That means some organizations could likely see much larger total tax breaks. Others who would save the most in taxes include Doyon Utilities; Providence; UPS; Calais Co.; Fred Meyer;  Alaska Regional Hospital; Alaska Airlines; Enstar Natural Gas; and the heads of JL Properties, Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde, who own or control the ConocoPhillips Towers and several other large properties, including the Calais buildings.”

• ONGOING: Budget items at the 11/19/2024 Assembly meeting: 

• AO 2024-92 adopts the general operating budget, 

• AO 2024-93 adopts the general government capital improvement program

• AO 2024-94 adopts the Municipal enterprise/operating budgets

• AO 2024-95 adopts and appropriates the operating and capital budgets for the Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACDA). The ACDA Budget includes almost $12 million for property acquisition for development. 

• AR 2024–306 adopts the capital improvement program

• AR 2024-307 adopts the six year fiscal program

• NEW: “Anchorage Petition Seeks Support to Complete Fish Creek Trail Project”In Your Alaska Link: 

“To date, over $1 million has been spent on planning, design, and outreach, with MOA Parks contributing a 9% match. The project is slated to receive $15 million in federal construction funding by 2026, along with a proposed $1.3 million in local funding for the 2025 capital budget to match the federal contributions.For nearly 30 years, various organizations have been advocating for the trail, which would provide an accessible route to the ocean.” 

A link to the petition can be found here.

Transportation

• NEW: “Alaska DOT&PF Wins AASHTO Skills Award for Public Involvement in STIP Development” Press release. Yes, this is the same STIP that switched engagement platforms halfway through, had incorrect and misleading information throughout the document, saw months of delays, and ultimately resulted in millions of dollars of lost funding to the state. Embarrassing for AASHTO, really.

• LAST WEEK: AKDOT Functional Classification Public Meeting held last Wednesday, 11/13/2024. From the website: 

“Functional classification is a way of categorizing public roads based on how they are used, or what function they serve. Alaska DOT&PF is responsible for making sure all public roads in the state, regardless of who owns them, are properly classified using guidance from the federal government PDF File icon and input from communities, tribes, and agencies. We are required to review statewide functional classifications every ten years and we're in the middle of that process now.”

Project details here. Public review of road classifications and proposed changes will continue in 2025.

• NEW: AKDOT Snow Summit online Thursday, November 21, 10:00-11:30 AM: “This virtual event offers winter maintenance stakeholders from Anchorage and across the state an opportunity to explore the latest in snow management strategies and gain valuable insights for the season ahead.”

• NEW: Planners weigh major overhaul of Fireweed Lane, including roundabouts, wider sidewalks and bike paths” In the ADN: 

“Kristina Busch, project manager for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said planners are looking at options that include reducing the number of lanes to improve traffic flow. That could  create much more space for features like wider sidewalks, bike lanes and, potentially, street parking.”

Interesting insight into one property owner’s perception versus what the data shows:

“ Average traffic numbers on Fireweed have dropped over two decades, project materials show. About 6,500 vehicles daily travel the road’s busiest section. That’s down from more than 10,000. JR Wilcox, co-owner of Quantum Laundry Lounge along Fireweed, said he believes the road is extremely busy with vehicles. He said planners should prioritize vehicle safety issues.  “It’s an old road that probably needs some love for the amount of cars using it,” he said. “Helping traffic flow and improving turning and parking is what they should be focused on,” he said.”

• NEW: Recreational Trails Plan Public Workshops: November 20 and 21. “Share your ideas and discuss opportunities to improve local trails over the next 10+ years at a workshop near you, hosted by AMATS and MOA Parks and Recreation.”  In Chugiak/Eagle River on Wednesday, November 20, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Beach Lake Chalet (17300 S Birchwood Loop Rd), in Anchorage on Thursday, November 21, from 5:30 - 8 p.m. at the Spenard Recreation Center (2020 W 48th Ave). Website here.

• NEW: AMATS Policy Committee. 11/21/2024.1:00-3:00pm. This meeting seems likely to cover a decision on whether or how to proceed with amending the Metropolitan Transportation Plan to accommodate the nearly 3x cost increase for the Seward Highway widening project (Rabbit Creek to Bird). Memo.