11/26/23
Anchorage Land Use Bulletin: 11/26/2023
Budget
NEW: The Assembly passed a budget. Some notable items: $750,000 for snow plow operators, $500,000 for a housing fund, $150,000 to fund housing action in alignment with the Assembly’s Housing Strategic Plan, funded parks & rec projects, and pedestrian wayfinding downtown [Sorry, we didn’t listen to the whole thing, but here’s the meeting page, packet and video].
Land Use
ONGOING: Short Term Rentals will be going to public hearing at the 12/5/2023 Assembly meeting (according to the assembly housing action page). AO 2023-110 is the new ordinance which proposes to establish an annual $400 fee (unless the property is the owner’s primary residence, the owner is in the military, or the unit is rented to the same person for 180 days or more) among other regulations. For anyone interested in the nuances of this issue, the most frequently cited (and mis-cited) articles on the topic are probably:
“At the median owner-occupancy rate zipcode, we find that a 1% increase in Airbnb listings leads to a 0.018% increase in rents and a 0.026% increase in house prices. Considering the median annual Airbnb growth in each zipcode, these results translate to an annual increase of $9 in monthly rent and $1,800 in house prices for the median zipcode in our data...Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that, while the total supply of housing is not affected by the entry of Airbnb, Airbnb listings increase the supply of short-term rental units and decrease the supply of long-term rental units.”
“We find that over the first 12 months following the start of the regulation, STR regulations reduce Airbnb listings by 9.0% and residential permits by 11.0%....Our results imply that STRs incentivize residential investment, and especially so for housing units that are well suited for short-term renting.”
ONGOING: The Assembly’s 3/4 Plex Ordinance Going to the Planning & Zoning Commission presumably at the 12/4/2023 regular meeting. This item was supposed to go to PZC two weeks ago, but the meeting was canceled due to snow. As of sending time for this bulletin, the Planning & Zoning Commission agenda was not yet posted.
RECAP: Anchorage Housing Week–There’s still time to provide your feedback:
Video with bookmarks here.
Draft strategic plan here. Send comments to wwmas@anchorageak.gov by December 4, 2023.
Transportation
NEW: More sloppy weather on the way. Many non-motorized facilities across the city remain unplowed.
ONGOING: AKDOT’s Seward Highway Expansion Project will be holding in-person public meetings in December(12/21/2021: “Dunleavy has instructed the department to find solutions with the ultimate goal of making a four-lane divided highway between Potter Marsh and Bird.”)
Anchorage: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at the Anchorage Public Library, 3600 Denali Street
Girdwood: Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at the Girdwood Community Center
Indian: Thursday, December 7, 2023, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at the Valley Bible Chalet
Online option: December 5, 2023- January 4, 2024