05/26/2024

Land Use

• NEW: Community Councils Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Surveys close on June 15, 2024: “The annual Community Council Survey is an important tool in assessing proposed capital project needs in Anchorage. Once a community's highest priorities are identified they can be properly considered when developing the proposed CIP. The list is currently composed of projects from departments and the Approved 2024-2029 Capital Improvement Program.” These priority lists get submitted by the executive board of each community council, so if you don’t see yours on here contact your council representatives to provide feedback. So far only Abbott Loop and University area have finalized their priorities and included them on the project page.

• NEW: 4th Avenue Theater Site Downtown: “A project to overhaul nearly an entire block in the heart of downtown Anchorage is moving ahead steadily, though not as fast as some Anchorage residents would like...The project called for a hotel, housing, office and retail space.” In the ADN.

• NEW: Modifications to the Alyeska Master Plan in Girdwood: Case 2024-0061 at the June 3, 2024 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. Updates to this plan include a range of new amenities plus 43 new dormitory sleeping units and 78 new condo dwelling units (see the renderings on page 14-21). What’s the reasoning for requiring a public hearing to modify this master plan? From the staff report: “1,148 public hearing notices were mailed on May 8, 2024. No responses were received from the public. The Girdwood Board of Supervisors did not provide comments.”

• LAST WEEK AT PLANNING & ZONING: The entire HOME zoning reform package was postponed at the 5/20/24 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.Some interesting comments from the recording:

• Around 2:55, Assembly member Brawley provides some context for other actions that have or haven’t been considered rezones over the years, including previous Title 21 zoning code rewrites.  On the massive, multi-year, recently-postponed site access ordinance that included a number of new standards and restrictions she notes: “... the site access ordinance that was referenced earlier created a physical, a geographic boundary on the map where those items applied and it was also not considered an area wide rezone.” 

• The municipal attorney weighs in around 3:06: “I like to think a zone is a suite. It’s a whole group of rules about permitted uses, dimensional standards, design standards.” This interpretation could possibly have some interesting implications for any legal challenges to the “urban neighborhood development context areas" (the "site access" overlays mentioned above) when they come back in 2025. 

• The municipal attorney makes a remarkable comment around 3:07:04 that while changing zoning map lines is a rezone, completely reworking all existing standards within the same zones is not: “I think member Volland is right that you could some ways accomplish the same end by going into the text of our zoning code and changing the permitted uses and some of the standards for dwelling units in all fifteen residential zones, and that would achieve largely the same end of allowing duplexes everywhere, allowing triplexes in more residential zones…” Under this interpretation, everything in zoning could be changed as long as the names and lines on the map stay the same--perhaps for Anchorage zoning the way things appear is more important than the way things function. 

• And finally, the P&Z chair states at 4:27:28: “I would like to see the sponsors and staff get in a room and mend some of this lack of trust. Staff, you’re going to need to put some effort into that relationship...I'm not afraid, they can fire me if they want”.

HOME is scheduled to be back on the agenda for the P&Z meeting on June 10, 2024.

• LAST WEEK AT THE ASSEMBLY: Discussions of legislative authority versus bureaucratic authority at the 5/21/2024 Assembly meeting: Imagine you and your spouse have an empty lot you’d like to build a house on, but there’s an arcane zoning rule which prevents you from doing it legally. You go to the planning department but they can’t help you, so you go to your assembly member for a solution. The result is AO 2024-54, discussion of which (unfortunately for the applicants) ended up touching on some of the larger issues in Anchorage land use lately:

• 1. Which types of changes to code must be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission? Assembly member Volland noted that the planning department agreed P & Z Commission review could be waived for this case in particular, while on other text amendments (see the department's responses to HOME) they insisted it could not (see AO 2024-16 drafted by staff).  At 4:56:43 in the recording Chair Constant observes: “...I think i'm going to rule that it's pertinent in the sense that we have two conditions that we operate under, one condition in which the planning department when it wants an item says it’s ok to waive planning and zoning, and when it doesn’t want an item it says it’s not ok to waive planning and zoning.” 

• 2. Who has the power to amend code? When asked who has the power to amend code, at 5:00:02 the Assembly attorneys explain that the Assembly has this power to amend with or without PZC review, while at 5:02:20 the municipal attorneys suggest it isn’t good policy to waive PZC review and they do not recommend it (even, apparently, if the planning department allows it).

• 3. How does the MOA act in relation to quick fixes versus more durable long-term solutions? This case was an ordinance to fix a deeper zoning issue affecting a single property. A larger issue might be the MOA’s ability to respond to emergency zoning fixes one at a time (at 4:55:20 staff states “In the interest of getting this particular project as quickly as possible, we are not going to object to that”), but inability to respond to larger zoning fixes that apply more broadly to the system (see the Site Access Saga). 

• 4. How the planning department does or doesn’t use discretion: Assembly members and planning staff went back and forth about who said this item could waive P&Z commission review. At 5:08:20 Planning staff stated: “When we prepared the ordinance we left out language waiving P&Z review. That was intentional. It was…assembly legal counsel that added the language and asked me if I was ok with that and it was not my…position that we waive P&Z review, and thus I decided not to respond…to the question as to whether we you know use discretion when deciding when to waive P&Z review, we don’t do that. We don’t add language. That typically comes from Assembly counsel. And on a number of ordinances they have done that.” Have any readers observed the Planning Department exercising this type of discretion?

• 5. How the public finds solutions: Assembly member Zaletel at 5:12:20: “These folks started at the planning counter trying to find a solution, and we only found a solution when they came to their elected representatives”

All in all, a wild ride for the applicants trying to build a single unit on existing residential property. After a failed motion to refer the issue back to the Planning & Zoning Commission, the ordinance to fix the issue in code ultimately passed unanimously.

• ONGOING: Op-eds on zoning reform in the ADN:

1. OPINION: You want to reinvigorate Anchorage? Fix the labor problem (5/22/2024)

   “What can we do to increase housing? I think whatever options are available, the answer needs to be all of the above. If people can’t afford to buy a home here, how can we expect them to stay?”

2. Letter: Why oppose the zoning effort? (5/21/2024)

   “In fact, when one takes the time to actually look at the difference in the existing zoning map and the proposed map, one can only wonder where the outrage is coming from. Nearly the entire Hillside stays at one unit per acre. South Addition, one of the neighborhoods well represented in this letter, stays at 5-15 units per acre, the very same it is now. In light of the outsized reaction to so little a change, one is left with two reactions. The first is, “Why the fearmongering?” The second is, “Why isn’t the Assembly pushing for more?””

3. OPINION: Anchorage needs all types of housing. We need to get out of our own way (5/21/2024)

   “Meanwhile, housing construction activity dropped off in 2015 and reached new lows in 2023. It is more expensive and challenging than ever to build housing in Anchorage. By and large, the people and organizations that build housing in this town also live in this town. We are small- to mid-sized local businesses and nonprofits. We are employers, just like local restaurants and retailers. And yes, our livelihoods are linked to cycles of development and re-development. In a market economy, this is how housing gets built at scale — by experts, with safety and quality at the forefront. Anchorage’s future relies on investment and growth. We need more housing, of all types.

   Other efforts are afoot to boost housing supply by simplifying zoning rules. We think the design barriers described here deserve crucial and immediate attention. We look forward to working with the mayor and Assembly on this issue.”

4. OPINION: Let Anchorage’s finest neighborhoods grow (5/20/2024)

   “Fellow single-family homeowners, look beyond your desire for predictability. We are using zoning to extend our influence too far beyond our own property lines and even beyond our own lifespans…Republicans, you should object to continuing this technocratic control and red tape — a constriction of landowner freedom and an impediment to our ability to address our housing needs through private action. Democrats should recognize the obvious ways in which “haves” use municipal zoning code as a giant homeowners’ association to secure investments at the expense of the “have-nots” and the common good….

   Whatever your politics, preserving the character of chintzy, light-framed suburbs in the middle of this nascent city is foolish. Anchorage will likely carry on for centuries from now, and It doesn’t make sense for the first comers to set the options for all time, especially in the most convenient and central neighborhoods. Let’s use the Assembly’s HOME initiative to help identify the best ways for density to transpire in the neighborhoods we love.”

And from the naysayers (many of whom actively participated in the development of the plans and code the Assembly and a growing number of residents are seeking to change):

• OPINION: Assembly rezoning plan needs more public input (5/17/2024)

  “Anchorage 2020′s “vision” still works, even though politics have prevented its implementation…Their proposals just create random growth with less sunshine and more traffic”:

• Letter: Against hurried zoning changes (5/7/2024)

“Even if zoning is changed, it will not produce more housing quickly, so why not give the public what is required — time…. Zoning is complex. Few of us understand it.”

• Letter: Slow down on zoning changes (3/29/2024)

“Thoughtful zoning — with lots of public input — is what makes neighborhoods good places to live”

Transportation

• NEW: AMATS Technical Advisory Committee on 6/6/2024. As noted by AMATS staff at the May 16th Policy Committee meeting, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory and Community Advisory Committee meetings have been canceled for the remainder of the year due to a lack of staff capacity and vacancies at AMATS.

• LAST WEEK: AO 2024-14, the ordinance to prohibit no turn on red downtown failed at the 5/21/2024 Assembly meeting. Despite the majority of testimony in favor of the ordinance, Assembly members voting no indicated that this AO wasn’t necessary because pedestrians have not yet been killed this way in Downtown specifically. (Note: this sentiment is often reflected throughout the planning and transportation professions nationwide. From Transportation For America: “...the standards that DOTs use to determine when and where they put safety infrastructure actually require people to either risk their bodies or experience harm before any paint or concrete are poured.”) 

Election

• NEW: Anchorage is getting a new mayor. A few relevant policy items from the LaFrance for mayor website:

Housing

• “More Housing At More Price Points: Bolster efforts to add more housing that’s affordable to more people, including supportive housing and housing for very low income households (see “Housing” below).

• Bring a pro-housing culture to City Hall and work closely with MOA Planning and the Assembly to remove red tape and simplify code to encourage new housing.

• Build on work with ADUs, triplex/four-plex reform, and parking minimums to allow for gentle density.

• Expand tax abatement to incentivize new housing development in Anchorage.

• Identify reasonable policies to limit the growth of short-term rentals that negatively impact the availability of housing, while protecting the economic opportunity available to local hosts.

• Empower existing entities including the Anchorage Community Development Authority to develop public-private partnerships to add new housing units in Anchorage.

• Leverage Municipality-owned land for public-private partnerships."

Transportation

• "Work closely with the State DOT to develop plans for coordinated snow response. Review respective road maintenance responsibilities and consider transferring responsibility for some roads to the Municipality, as Anchorage has changed since road responsibilities were determined.

• Develop and communicate a Coordinated Snow Response Plan well in advance of the first snowfall.

• Invest in neighborhood cores with a focus on walkability and traffic calming, including decoupling 5th and 6th Avenues downtown and creating a more walkable boulevard on 4th.

• Improve bike safety and infrastructure. Identify grants to build on bike safety  and accessibility pilot projects.

• Increase access to outdoor amenities through infrastructure improvements.

• Identify partnerships to improve transportation to outdoor amenities, such as buses that take residents and visitors to commonly used trailheads, to reduce vehicle traffic and wear and tear on roads.”

Events

• UPCOMING: Protected Bike Lane Ribbon Cutting: May 30, 2024 from 4:45pm–5:30pm PAC Plaza: W 6th Ave & F St. On-the-street investigation suggested that installation was already beginning last week. See the project page for more information.

• UPCOMING: City Nerd Nite: Transportation will be May 30, 2024 at Akela Space downtown. 6-8pm.