09/15/2024
Land Use
NEW: Assembly Rules Committee: report from the Planning & Zoning Commission on the state of the zoning code and the Planning Department on 9/12/2024. Some interesting discussion and general encouragement by Assembly members for the Planning & Zoning Commission take a more active role in problem-solving identified issues with Title 21. Andre Spinelli, chair of the PZC, begins his report around 18:33, and gets into the interesting stuff around 20:03:
“The last year was a little bit…kinda wild and chaotic and that was mainly due to the HOME initiative and just kind of being a different style than what the planning and zoning commission is used to–having the Assembly sponsor a code change in that way…[continuing at 21:33]...I’m hoping for future code changes–which we need, immediately–that there could be some sort of more collaborative effort to where the planning department is involved with the direction, or at least in the day-to-day work of writing the code....”
Assembly Member Volland responds at 21:45:
“I think it’s tough–your preference to have everything kind of channeled through the planning department in the documentation that you’re used to–it’s tough to get that from a department who’s resistant to the policy directive, right, so I don’t know if it will always turn out that way. And I will say one thing that it really revealed to me that was interesting was that in your process, the planning department has nearly unlimited ability to give you information and recommendations, where the assembly cosponsors did not. And even when we–what we thought was a collaborative effort where we were going to pass on jointly-drafted resolutions, even that process brokedown, so it was a bit frustrating and I think there is food for thought for the future of how that process could be improved.”
After noting that he was now speaking in his capacity as a homebuilder, rather than the PZC chair, Spinelli adds:
“Currently I need to obtain a letter from the director of planning to waive code in order to pull a permit to build a single family house…It’s a pain in the butt for me, I mean the last one…maybe six hours of my time maybe rigamarolling to get to that point? I’m not your average homebuilder- if we want to make housing easier to build, I mean most people probably wouldn’t even know to get to that point. I do know a designer who was up against the same code section and just designed around the code. Basically adding cost and making the building less attractive to get around this code that I don’t think anybody really wants. It doesn’t make sense but it’s still there…We need to get that ball rolling.”
[It’s not clear what code section Spinelli is referring to specifically.] Around 34 minutes in, the mayor chimes in to emphasize: “I want to continue work with you Andre, and the Commission, to get to a place where we are making it easy to build here and to address the crisis in housing in particular…”
NEW: Hundreds of acres of new residential development potentially coming to Eagle River. See this presentation at the 9/12/2024 Eagle River Community Council showing a proposal for at least 370 acres of CE-R-3 zoning off Eklutna Park Drive.
NEW: Fire Island Bakery expanding in Airport Heights. From their website: “Airport Heights will be under construction to build a beautiful, world-class bakery and community space. While we are sad to temporarily close our doors, we are beyond excited to create our dream bakery.” It seems likely that this addition is yet another opportunity made possible by Anchorage’s 2022 parking reform. See the permit info for some square footage numbers.
NEW: Preempting future development hassles: subdivision case S12800 is a request to remove a plat note which reads: "Prior to development of Tracts A1-1 & A1-2, site plan approval shall be obtained from the Urban Design Commission to ensure conformance with Anchorage Municipal Code 21.45.130." Per the application, the plat note refers to an obsolete section of code intended to “protect visually the major entrances to the urbanizing areas of the municipality for the benefit of tourists and residents”. Cost for this application: $1,415.
NEW: Minor Amendment to a defacto conditional Use: Case 2024-106. Adding 3 cabins to a lakefront camp. Cost: $1,130. Every time someone makes even a slight change to an approved conditional use like this it requires a whole new set of similar reviews.
NEW: South Anchorage resident seeks to limit Downtown development rights: A member of Rabbit Creek’s community council has been making the rounds at Downtown and Fairview community council meetings trying to drum up support for restricting building heights around Town Square Park. In the early 1990s, the Municipality apparently had to pay a settlement to the YMCA for attempting similar restrictions on that organization’s property in the same area (look up AR 91-138 for details). Why don’t the interested parties take a more fair and legal approach to limiting these properties by simply purchasing the air rights directly?
NEW: “Anchorage will require market data from short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo” in the ADN: “ “The Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday voted to require short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo to provide the city with data on the growing vacation rental market in Anchorage…The measure is slightly different than the initial version members proposed earlier this month. Tuesday’s approved version requires more specific information, such as the location information for rentals that’s available on the listings. And the number of operators is required to be aggregated by month.”
NEW: "With Alaska outmigration continuing, community members contemplate responses": In the ADN: ““The driver is not really the Alaskans who are leaving, he said. In 2023, 40,924 people moved out of the state, a smaller total than in any year since 2010, according to the department’s data. Rather, he said, is it the lack of people who are coming to Alaska. Less is known about them than about neighbors moving away, he said. “It’s harder to tell stories about the people who don’t come,” he said.” Could lack of housing have anything to do with it?
NEW: “Visitors to Alaska’s national parklands pumped $2.3 billion into the state’s economy, report says.”From the Alaska Beacon. From the report itself: “Many park visitors are on extended trips to Alaska, making it difficult to allocate expenses to a specific park visit. Lodging, vehicle rentals, and air expenses frequently occur in Anchorage, many miles from the visited park.”
ONGOING: Lutheran church transitional mini houses. Administrative Site Plan Review for religious assembly: “Amending site plan to include transitional living facility”. This might turn into a good example of how Euclidean zoning stifles innovative uses of property like this one: according to the use table in chapter 5 of Title 21, transitional living is listed as allowable as a primary use in this zone (R-3) but not as an accessory use to the church–perhaps they can call these structures a dormitory? See the application here.
ONGOING: Rezone from PLI to B2C Downtown at the 9/16/2024 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting. This appears to be the first new rezone to any of the downtown B-2 zones since they were reformed in 2023. Staff report recommends approval.
ONGOING: “New supportive housing opens for elders experiencing homelessness in Anchorage” In Alaska Public Media: “The supportive housing complex is a collaboration between Providence Alaska, Southcentral Foundation and other community partners. It will house single people or couples over 55-years-old who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, some of the rapidly-growing number of elders experiencing homelessness in the city.”
Transportation
ONGOING: Anchorage’s large vehicle fleet is at risk of ‘imminent collapse’ after years of underinvestment.” In the ADN:
“What we do understand is that we’ve been systematically underfunding our fleet needs all the way back to the (Dan) Sullivan administration, if not longer,” Windt Pearson said in an interview. “Every year we build a larger and larger backlog of vehicles that need to be replaced and maintained ... Now we’re approaching a real tipping point where we’re going to start to see, operationally, the impact of that prolonged underinvestment.”
And from Assembly member Brawley:
“There is also, she pointed out, the issue of Anchorage’s sprawl. Because people are so spread out, both inside and beyond the Anchorage Bowl, police have to drive for miles going from one call to the next, and municipal plow operators are responsible for clearing over a thousand lane miles of road crisscrossing the city. There is a cost to sprawl, Brawley said. “It’s not just about money, it’s not just about the miles and the gas, it’s also about the time. We don’t think about the time cost enough,” she said.
More on this topic below.
NEW: “Snow removal staffing remains challenge, LaFrance administration tells Assembly committee” In Alaska’s News Source: “The municipality says 108,000 snow loads were moved last season, when Anchorage experienced a near-record snowfall.” Here’s a link to the Anchorage Transportation Committee special meeting on Snow Strategy, with agenda and materials available here. According to page 4 of this presentation, Anchorage spent over $18 million dollars clearing snow off the roads last year.
NEW & ONGOING: An exceptionally bad two weeks for traffic violence:
August 31: “Motorcyclist killed in downtown Anchorage collision” In Alaska’s News Source.
September 8: “2 pedestrians die after being struck by pickups in separate incidents” in the ADN.
September 9: Pedestrian fatally struck by minivan on Seward Highway near Rainbow Trailhead: In the ADN: “A woman died Monday morning after she was struck by a minivan on the Seward Highway near a popular trailhead, Anchorage police said…Vehicle strikes have killed nine pedestrians in Anchorage so far this year, including two people struck by pickups in separate incidents early Sunday.”
September 13: “SUV fatally strikes woman walking across Minnesota Drive, Anchorage police say”: In the ADN: “Three other women have died over the past week while walking on Anchorage-area roads.”
All of these fatalities occurred on roads designed, built, and managed by AKDOT.
NEW: “OPINION: Eagle River’s roads: a cyclist’s nightmare and a vision for the future”: In the ADN: “Let’s make Eagle River a place where cycling is not just possible but enjoyable, where sidewalks are safe havens, and where drivers respect the rights and lives of all who share the road. The 2007 Long-Range Transportation Plan and the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan provide a roadmap for the future, but we need to act now to ensure the safety of our residents today.”
NEW: Coastal trail erosion issues: In Alaska’s News Source: “A section of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail will be closed for the next week to alleviate bluff erosion concerns.”
NEW: AKDOT “Partners in Safety” Event. “Partners in Safety is a new program that will be used to seek knowledge and experiences from local road users. Our goal is to develop new ways to identify and mitigate safety concerns about our transportation system.” September 18, 2024 from 3:30-6:30 PM at the Loussac Library. Take their Anchorage Traffic Safety Survey.
NEW: AMATS Policy Committee on 9/19/2024. From the memo on the AMATS boundary: “At the August 22nd , 2024, Policy Committee meeting, the DOT&PF representative asked that the AMATS boundary, that was approved in February, be reviewed again. DOT&PF has concerns that planned projects along the Seward Highway, that will be included in the new AMATS boundary, may be impacted by becoming part of the AMATS process.” The AMATS process likely requires a higher level of project accountability.
ONGOING: “The Complicated Recovery of A Semi That Ended Up in Turnagain Arm” In the ADN: ““The area where the truck went into the water is part of a state transportation project involving realignment and bridge replacement between Ingram Creek and Twentymile River, according to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities regional spokesman Justin Shelby…The area where the guardrail is removed is posted with a reduced speed of 45 mph, he said. “We’ve got signs and lights and those barrel cones all through that section as well.” Perhaps signs and lights are not as effective at ensuring safety as AKDOT believes them to be.
Events
NEW: 2024 Alaska Safe Roadway Behaviors Symposium: “Don’t miss your chance to connect with fellow highway safety stakeholders, learn about new innovative ideas to improve safe practices on the roads, reduce crashes, and save lives. The symposium will feature a number of state and national speakers and sessions focused on solutions and new approaches to increasing roadway safety.” Monday and Tuesday September 16-17, 2024 Sheraton Anchorage Hotel
NEW: “Goodbye ride” on the protected bike lane: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 6:00 PM. “Take one last ride along the PBL with us before it's taken down for the season. Black attire recommended for this "funeral procession," followed by a social hour at Gumbo House!” Hosted by Bike Anchorage.
ONGOING: Community Councils Website Improvement Survey
ONGOING: Federation of Community Councils town hall series: “Demystifying Community Councils:Understanding Their Role in Fostering Civic Engagement.” Monday, September 23, 2024, 7:00pm - 8:00pm, in Person at Wilda Marston Theater and via Zoom. Register here.
ONGOING: Midtown District Plan Open House: September 17, 2024 from 5:30-7:30 pm at the BP Energy Center. Zoom link.