03/31/2024
Land Use
NEW: Scenic Foothills Community Council supporting new neighbors by considering a resolution on gentle density at their 4/4/2024 meeting: “...we desperately need a "change a little bit of everything" approach to addressing our housing shortage by encouraging gentle density and making it easier and more economical to build every type of housing”.
NEW: HOME initiative: more materials available on the MOA portal, including the Assembly Sponsors’ presentation and response to the Planning & Zoning Commission at their 3/18/2024 meeting. The materials include a response to disputed points from the staff report, including one on existing “protections”: “The current Title 21 standards were intended to “influence” site design in certain ways, but it is not clear that they have been successful. Feedback from the development community, homeowners, and small developers suggest that many of these standards have in fact added substantial time and cost to projects without clear benefits. This is one [of] the many reasons HOME was initiated as a grassroots effort. Removing some of these standards also addresses some of the problems that many older zoning codes have in relation to exclusionary zoning practices. HOME preserves the most important dimensional standards related to life, safety, and welfare.”
NEW: New Site Access Design Standards Overlay Map now available on the Muni’s mapping page. Open the map and check the “Title 21 Urban Neighborhood Development Context Area” layer to see where these new rules do or don’t apply. For reference, these standards came originally from AO 2023-50, which established a new set of standards for a new set of “urban context” overlays in different parts of the Bowl (and a floor edit by the Assembly simplified the overlays into existing zoning districts), which then got walked back by AO 2024-23. According to 21.03.160H, overlays can “Require new development or attributes of new development to conform to a specific architectural or design theme” and “The assembly may, through the rezoning process, establish overlay districts that supplement the requirements of the underlying base zoning districts, in order to address special land use needs, to meet an objective of the comprehensive plan or neighborhood plan, or other specific planning objective". Based on a quick search of the MOA portal, however, it isn't clear that these standards ever went through the rezone process.
Transportation
NEW LAST WEEK: The Assembly held a work session on AKDOT’s PEL (Fairview/Airport Heights/Greenbelt Highway Expansion) on 3/29/2024.. AKDOT staff mentioned that so far they’ve heard that people are concerned about “the quantity of housing that may be lost…people question the need [for] the project overall due to the congestion not being an issue… [and] definitely heard that people want more information.” (around 1:05:00). Assembly Member Brawley commented: “I’m baffled by the idea that there would be preliminary alternatives released before any kind of cost study...” While there was no direct answer about the final price tag, AKDOT's representative did offer that the historical estimates for the costs of taking property, demolishing housing, and then potentially relocating/rebuilding housing elsewhere could be “hundreds of millions of dollars”.
Balancing AKDOT’s perennial claims of perpetually increasing traffic, consider this perspective from Transportation for America:
“You’ve seen it before. A state DOT claims they must widen a highway through your community to reduce congestion and accommodate future traffic. The transportation agency points to traffic projections that we all take at face value. They might even claim that widening the highway will improve traffic flow thereby reducing emissions. You don’t want the highway widening in your community, but what can you do in the face of experts saying it is necessary and pointing to data that “proves” their case?
Transportation agencies use transportation models to predict future traffic and plan the roadway system accordingly. But the underlying algorithm for these models was developed in the 1980s when the computers in use were less powerful than today’s smartphones. Due to this past limitation in computing power, travel demand models use a simplified approach that doesn’t accurately represent how people make travel decisions.”
Also note studies on traffic evaporation, and examples of travel behavior changing without issue when infrastructure gets downsized in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or Seattle, or Atlanta, or Minneapolis, or Portland.
NEW: It’s road infrastructure maintenance season: “According to Street Maintenance Manager Paul Vanlandingham, the city has filled over 600 potholes this spring around Anchorage, but the work is only beginning. He says the city averages 5,000 potholes this time of year.” Alaska’s News Source.
NEW: AMATS Technical Advisory meeting April 4, 2024:
Comments from the Community Advisory Committee: “Two goals of the Seward Glenn PEL are in direct conflict with each other: it is impossible to achieve higher vehicle traffic mobility and increase livability/quality of life in and around a facility at the same time. Livability should be a higher priority, with mobility a secondary concern: The project team should address what is the minimum realistic flow that can be achieved in compatibility with the most livable design.”
Comments from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee: “Only the “interim” alternative (also called the “2050 MTP (No Highway Connection) Alternative”) meets the overall purpose and need for the PEL and is feasible”
ONGOING: Municipality of Anchorage Transportation Priorities Survey: Share your perspective on the future of transportation infrastructure investments in Anchorage.
ONGOING: Seward/Glenn PEL Comments close on April 7th, 2024. Open House here.
Election
ONGOING: Mayoral Candidate Comparison Guide. A few mentions of getting more housing, and at least one mention of Title 21. The election is April 2, 2024.
ONGOING: Bond Items:
Public Safety and Traffic Improvements, including an increase in funding for traffic calming and safety improvements.
Roads and Drainage, including a good lump of funding for upgrades to 42nd Ave
Events
LAST WEEK: Nerd Nite on Money Money Money was Thursday, March 28th, 2024 at King Street Brewing from 6pm-8pm. Short presentations on the municipal budget, funding for education, which neighborhoods are subsidizing which (“sugar daddy subdivisions”), solar power and energy storage, the tax cap, consolidated service areas, paid parental leave, and the Muni as a good (or bad) business partner.
LAST WEEK: The Anchorage Transportation Fair was held on March 28th at UAA. AKDOT was apparently handing out Seward Highway-branded Cotopaxi fanny packs–kind of a bad look for the use of federal dollars; on the other hand it’s great to see the agency providing the public with something that’s actually popular.