08/11/2024
Land Use
NEW: Coming up at the August 13, 2024 Assembly Meeting:
Item 14A: Renaming Sand Lake Park to "Sand Lake & Chitose Park" in honor of Anchorage’s sister city of Chitose, Japan. AO 2024-73. From the Assembly Memo: “There is a delegation of Chitose dignitaries visiting Anchorage at the end of August, and having the honor to present to them the officially newly renamed park with their city’s name will strengthen and respect the historical relationship we have with them. Therefore, I’m requesting the Assembly complete this renaming proposal by the August 13 regular meeting, and waive the new Code procedures which are roadblocked for the foreseeable future. It is worth noting that Chitose dedicated Anchorage Park many years ago. The name Sand Lake Park will also remain for historic and community purposes.”
Item 14F: Adopting the 2024 Housing & Community Development Annual Action Plan. AR 2024-231. The Assembly held a work session on this subject on August 9, 2024 (slides here). Strategic direction: "Fewer but larger projects.” Anchorage Health Department staff explains that HUD funding can be used for building utility infrastructure. Discussion of the code-related difficulties with reusing older buildings around 47:42.
Item 14G: Amendments Title 21 subdivision regulations related to tax payments. AO 2024-74. Note this statement in the memo: “The Municipal Attorney’s Office believes that it is appropriate to invoke the recently codified waiver of Planning and Zoning Commission review of Title 21 text amendments for this Title 21 text amendment.” (The codified waiver they are referring to is AO 2024–64, discussed in the Bulletin on 7/21/2024. Recall the grave testimony against this amendment from Anchorage’s suburbs at the 7/16/2024 Assembly meeting).
Item 14.H: AO 2024-75 would expand tax abatements for the Muldoon area. From the AM: “These incentives are intended to ignite residential construction in areas of our Municipality that desperately require new housing.” S version of the AO. There doesn't seem to be extensive information on how many existing tax abatements have been used already, or with what kinds of outcomes.
LAST WEEK: Special limitations zoning for a greenhouse at the 8/5/2024 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. We wrote last week about the public hearing required for Southcentral foundation to build a 522 square foot greenhouse next to a daycare at the Muldoon curve; the site plan was ultimately approved. Around 11:50 in the meeting, the PZC chair noted that this was a particularly burdensome process for such a small change, and asked: 1) if the petitioner had considered going through a rezone process to remove the SL and 2) what the planning department's opinion was in regard to the SL, and whether they thought it was necessary.
Planning department staff's response: “It’s just sort of…an extraordinary circumstance that it happened to be such a small addition to this site where they happen to have to follow that for something minor, but I think it’s still important to maintain the character of the neighborhood with this commercial development mall being so close.”
The petitioner’s representative response: “I was pretty grumpy about it. I feel like it was such a small thing. I’d asked if there was a possibility of us even going through administrative site plan review so that it would have a necessary review by a planning body–could be the planning department–because as you know, site plan review, the cost of it–nevermind my time–but just MOA fees are extensive, and it was such a very small use. So I understand that the rezone process is almost a year. And there’s costs associated with that too, and there are benefits, but–the goal was, they started permitting the greenhouse last fall so that it could be used this year, and now here we are in the fall and we’ve missed another year, having to go through this process to do it, so it was a little frustrating honestly.”
Property owner’s response to the same question, and responding to whether or not they had considered removing the special limitation (which requires a rezone): “We have not considered that, nor were we aware that that could have been a possibility. I’ve been on this project for two years since the start of our idea to put an elder native greenhouse adjacent to a current existing head start nursery school. We thought the two complemented each other–that the elders could watch the little ones if they’re not gardening. And it’s only used in the summertime basically, so we were excited about it, and then as Melissa stated it seemed pretty top heavy on what we had to accomplish to put this simple non-electrical, non-plumbed greenhouse on site.”” [Note: the petitioner’s representative clarified that she had talked with the property owner about the potential to remove the SL. It doesn’t seem surprising that the entire process, and the actual options available, might have caused some confusion, however.]
LAST MONTH: Community and Economic Development Committee meeting on 7/11/2024 (apologies, we didn’t get to the recording in time last week):
July 11: Discussing “Reinvestment Focus Areas” (RFAs), a concept introduced in the 2040 Land Use Plan, the Director of community and economic development explains that Anchorage has several RFAs across the city. Planning staff later explain that Anchorage actually doesn’t have any RFAs at all, as “We haven’t at this point in time gone through the formal process” and “The formalization…has not been done.” After explaining that this tool establishes both flexibility and financial incentives, the staffer admits “We have not had a developer or group of developers come in and exercise the use of that ordinance.”
It has been 7 years since the 2040 Land Use Plan was adopted, and no one appears to have taken advantage of this tool’s reported flexibility. How difficult is the formalization process, and are developers aware it exists? And how does it differ from the tax abatement area that Assemblymember Martinez is seeking to expand to Muldoon?
LAST MONTH: Community and Economic Development Committee meeting on 8/1/2024 (recording now available):
Assembly member Martinez asks if a mobile or manufactured home can be used as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), to which planning staff replies: “I don’t have a great answer for you, but we can certainly look at that”. When it comes to mobile homes, Title 21 is surprisingly clear, as section 21.05.070E.4 states: “Except as allowed by 21.05.080B.3.d., in all zoning districts, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and travel trailers may not be used as an accessory use for a permanent or temporary residence” [emphasis added]. According to 21.05.030A.7, a mobile home outside of a mobile home park can only be used for permanent use as a primary structure in the R-5 district, and according to 21.05.080B.3.d, a mobile home may only be used as a temporary structure in certain situations and while a permanent structure is under construction.
Around 13:10, Assembly Member Martinez asks about this Anchorage taxable value per acre graphic, a local version of a type of financial modeling popularized over 10 years ago by the Urban3 firm out of North Carolina. Staff are unable to provide any information about what the graphic might mean or where it came from, but our brief research (googling the title of the graphic, "anchorage taxable value per acre by parcel") provided a first result which appears to be the very same image–apparently done by a former employee of MOA planning.
NEW: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the demolition of abandoned properties. From Assemblymember George Martinez: “With $500,000 in ARPA funding from AR 2022-178(S), this initiative aims to address blight in our community and uplift the overall quality of our neighborhoods. There are over 170 properties on the vacant and abandoned registry.” From Alaska’s News Source: “The teardowns come with the property owner’s consent. Once the lots are clear the owners will be able to sell the land or redevelop it and hopefully create new housing opportunities in Anchorage.” It’s not clear if the property owner retains ownership or pays back the cost after demolition.
NEW:“Mat-Su Assembly passes ordinance that essentially bans new mobile home park developments.” Reported in Alaska’s News Source. From Mat Su Borough Planning Commission Resolution No. 24-13 that preceded the ordinance: “...mobile home parks present unique risk [sic] to public safety based on the risk factors associated with fire entrapments and higher crime rates.” In the words of the sponsor: "The intent of this ordinance
is to make developing a mobile home park more difficult." Including this for ANCLUB because the housing market is regional; plus Anchorage has done its own part to marginalize mobile home dwellers over the years as well.NEW: 8/8/2024 Rules Committee Meeting discussion on carrying the burden of reform: Assemblymember Volland states: “I actually want to be taken off as a lead for anything housing related for the foreseeable future and the reason for that is because I feel like I have been on the lead of a lot of substantial legislation–removal of parking minimums, Triplex 4plex reform, the HOME initiative, and y'all I'm very tired—I feel like I've been busting my butt on some of this stuff and it takes a lot of community conversation. There's criticism from both sides. People who feel like we haven't gone far enough on some of these reforms, people who feel like we're going much too far and that we're disrespecting the public process, and all of these allegations being made despite the fact that we've done multiple Community meetings. And so I think I really want to create space for some of my other colleagues, particularly my newer colleagues, to lead on these issues and to step out and put your neck out there and move these issues forward…with this new Administration I'm pivoting my focus a little bit. I want to work more in the area of transportation and infrastructure…”
NEW: Anchorage Economic Development Corporation 2024 Business Confidence Report: “As in 2023, barriers related to the availability and cost of labor remained among the top ten significant barriers for business growth. A higher percentage of respondents noted “availability and affordability of quality housing” as a significant barrier in 2024 (42%) compared to 2023 (28%).”
LAST MONTH: New emergency room/hospital coming to South Anchorage? From this Alaska Regional press release: “In response to the growing demand for emergency care, Alaska Regional Hospital (ARH) is proposing to expand its life-saving health care services into South Anchorage. The hospital announced it is seeking state approval to build a full-service emergency room facility…This proposed South Anchorage ER, located at 11841 Old Seward Highway, will bring emergency services to a part of the community that currently lacks easy access to emergency care from board-certified ER physicians.”
NEW: Editorial in the ADN: “With Alaska’s population forecast to decline, can we avoid economic disaster?” “We need more options for affordable housing, a situation that can be aided by the Anchorage Assembly’s recently passed (though unfortunately watered-down) zoning reform measure. The Assembly and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance should keep monitoring the housing situation closely — no one measure is enough to turn the tide, and it will likely take a multi-pronged approach (such as the municipality’s earlier approval of accessory dwelling units and various private and public-private initiatives to develop more downtown housing) to see success. The new mayor should also make it a priority to reduce overly burdensome regulations to make it easier to build in Anchorage, so that we can regain the momentum that has been lost to the Mat-Su.”
NEW: An online dashboard of permits issued for residential construction now available to the public. See the dashboard with permit info going back to 2011 here. Send questions or comments to wwmasls@anchorageak.gov.
Transportation
NEW: Turnagain Pass Masterplan: A bit outside of Anchorage, but possibly of interest: ”The State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), with the support of the Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFLHD), are currently developing conceptual designs and cost estimates for a prioritized list of projects in Turnagain Pass, including parking areas, trails and pathways, and programs, expected in the 20 years following plan completion.” Project page. There will be a public meeting on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 from 5:00-7:00 PM at the Girdwood Community Room at 250 Egloff Drive.
NEW: The Director of People Mover is leaving the Municipality: posted on Linkedin. The director seemed to be an enthusiastic supporter of transit and we wish her the best in her future endeavors. Hear her talk about the recent bus upgrades on the August 7th Transit Unplugged podcast.
NEW: AMATS Policy Committee on 8/15/2024 from 1-3pm. Agenda. On the item related to AKDOT & PF’s Safety Plan, note that the “Safer Seward” project corridor is not listed in the table of the state’s highest risk corridors.
ONGOING: AMATS Trails Survey open for comment until 8/18/2024. “The Trails Plan guides decision-making on the protection, development, and management of trails.” Take the survey here.