9/29/2024
Land Use
NEW: New Planned Unit Development (PUD) ordinance introduced at the 9/24/2024 Assembly Meeting. A planned unit development is a special review process for a bunch of housing at one time. Through this process, a developer can get certain flexibility for the project in exchange for exactions requested by the planning department or the Planning & Zoning Commission. AO 2024-83(S) waives Planning & Zoning review and appears to significantly simplify the PUD process (which will still require a review and approval). Seems like a good functional change to simplify the existing process which is confusing, requires extra variances, and is saddled with unenforceable criteria like requirements for “creative use of the land” and “imaginative architectural design”.
NEW: MOA application to the HUD Proactively Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO) grant. Press release here, application available here, and submit public comment until 10/10/2024 here. The MOA’s application from last year was not funded but can be downloaded here. Proposed activities:
University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) – Research on housing costs and innovative construction techniques, including structural insulated panels (SIPs) - $800,000
Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACDA) – Construction of up to 24 housing units using the results of UAA research to reduce costs - $3,300,000
Native Village of Eklutna – Construction of 8 housing units using the results of UAA research to reduce costs - $1,600,000
Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility (AWWU) – Upgrade of water lines to properties recently rezoned for higher density - $1,000,000
MOA Planning Department – Site-plan generation, public outreach, and a Civic Academy - $200,000
Anchorage Health Department – Project management and coordination - $100,000
NEW: Planning busywork: another Alternative Equivalent Compliance (AEC) for landscaping. Planning case 2024-0111 is a new office building requesting alternative equivalent compliance for the landscaping around a dumpster along Lake Otis. Something unique about this application–page 6 includes notes from the pre-application meeting, which provide rare insight into what actually happens when an applicant gets called in to talk with 9 staff members (including two supervisors) for these processes. On the plus side it seems like the property is converting from a car wash to an office building. See previous AECs from earlier this year for building wall length (7/28/2024) and landscaping for an industrial building on (6/23/2024).
NEW: Anchorage's largest skatepark set to open this weekend. From Alaska’s News Source: “The Anchorage Park Foundation and Anchorage Parks and Recreation are unveiling a newly revamped skate park in town.They say the new in-ground park at Taku Lake features Alaskan designs and elements such as an inlaid Big Dipper and whale tail-shaped bowl.”
NEW: Downtown Streets Engineering Study Engineering Report now available here. Page 21 indicates that removing a lane from big roads will not result in traffic exceeding the road system’s designed capacity for most intersections downtown (even when modeled in the traffic engineering universe which prioritizes vehicle flow). Project webpage here.
NEW: Platting Board Cases for 10/2/2024:
S12771: This is a time extension request, but interesting because the original application in 2014 requested a variance from the lot width requirements in 21.80.300D. (Minimum lot size/width requirements, when not based on anything empirical, are a notorious obstacle to building housing.)
S12800: Request to remove a plat note (referring to a section of code that hasn't existed for 10 years) that requires a site plan for development. The intent of the plat note seems to have primarily been mandating landscaping in order to “protect visually the major entrances to the urbanizing areas of the municipality for the benefit of tourists and residents.” The rewrite of Title 21 in 2014 seems to have made the rules apply more broadly so now the plat note is no longer required. Worth noting that a plat note like this can be removed by the platting board, while Special Limitations (SLs) which are often used to impose the same type of extra rule can only be removed through a longer rezone procedure. Cost to the applicant: $1,415 and around 2 months of time.
NEW: Community and Economic Development Committee meeting on October 3, 2024. Not much on the agenda related to land use except “ACDA Presentation re D Street Plan”
Transportation
NEW: AKDOT STIP partially approved. AKDOT’s cheerful press release: “Partial approvals have not been used in the past but are becoming more frequent for FHWA to communicate expectations to the State's STIP team in writing to formally codify the new expectations with Alaska.” Compare what AKDOT says here with what the actual letter from FHWA shows when it becomes available.
NEW: “Anchorage set to buy more snow-removal equipment after finding unspent money”. In the Alaska Current: “The purchase — ten snow-plow pickups, a sander truck with a belly plow, a vacuum truck and three motor graders — was made possible after the LaFrance administration discovered millions of unspent dollars in the city’s equipment maintenance fund. City officials said some equipment will be deployed this winter, while others will arrive next year. The money was found while closing the city’s 2022 financial books, which the former Bronson administration left uncompleted in a historic delay.”
ONGOING: AKDOT roads–the most dangerous places in Anchorage:
9/20/2024 Bike Anchorage Call to Action: “Approaches like telling pedestrians to wear more reflective clothing, or stepping up police patrols to issue more speeding citations, only address the symptoms without solving the root cause. Instead, we're advocating for the implementation of safety countermeasures proven by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to prevent traffic violence and save lives.”
9/24/2024 “Speed limit, lighting changes needed to deal with pedestrian deaths, Assembly members say”. In Alaska’s News Source: “The single most impactful risk to pedestrians is speed,” Zaletel said. “Driving at slower speeds means you have more time to react.””
Laid on the table at the 9/24/2024 Assembly Meeting:”Resolution No. AR 2024-XXX, a resolution of the Anchorage Assembly calling on the Municipality of Anchorage and the State of Alaska to take action in response to a record-breaking number of pedestrian deaths in collisions with vehicles and declaring October “Pedestrian Safety Month.”
9/25/2024 Letter from Senator Löki Gale Tobin: “On the government side of the equation, I ask the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to carefully consider legislation to codify a statewide Complete Streets policy and advocate for the additional funding needed to protect public safety through quality non-motorized transportation planning.”
9/25/2024 “Anchorage woman seriously injured while crossing Benson”. In Alaska’s News Source. Article has a useful map and list of all the people killed so far in September.
9/26/2024 “Fatally flawed’: What this year’s [12] 13 pedestrian deaths tell us about Anchorage’s roads” In the ADN.
9/27/2024 “APD investigating fatal East Anchorage motorcycle crash”. In Alaska’s News Source: “A motorcyclist died after a collision with an SUV in East Anchorage on Friday, the Anchorage Police Department said. APD wrote in a release that around 3:45 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a report of a crash with injuries near Boniface Parkway and Caribou Avenue.”
9/28/2024 “Motorcyclist dies in fiery crash near Ship Creek, Anchorage police say” From the ADN: “A man driving a motorcycle died Friday night in a fiery collision with a vehicle near Ship Creek that sent the other driver to the hospital with injuries, Anchorage police said.” Engineers design our rights-of-way like raceways, and that’s exactly how drivers use them.
9/28/2024 “Opinion: Reducing speeds won’t reduce Anchorage pedestrian deaths.” In the ADN: “The Anchorage Assembly and local politicians should move quickly to demand action on road safety after [the]12th pedestrian killed this year, as outlined in a recent article in this publication; however, their proposed plan to reduce road speeds and increase street lighting does not adequately address the root issue of pedestrian deaths…Extensive research shows that drivers’ behavior is affected by cues in the built environment. In “Dangerous By Design,” published by Smart Growth America…the report highlights that “roadway design has a strong impact on how people drive and is often more influential on driver behavior than the posted speed limit … (since) road’s design is ever-present, continually providing guidance and visual cues.” The writer is a Professor of Health Sciences at University of Alaska Anchorage.
Road design, which is fully the purview of AKDOT, is not mentioned in their 9/25/2024 response:
“We encourage drivers to slow down, especially in high-pedestrian areas, and stay alert to the potential of pedestrians crossing roadways outside of well-lit crosswalks. Pedestrians are advised to wear reflective or light-colored gear and remain vigilant when crossing streets…DOT&PF remains committed to improving road safety for all users through initiatives such as Partners in Safety, the Strategic Highway Safety Plan, and the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), which prioritize reducing traffic-related fatalities and protecting vulnerable road users”
Recognizing design as a fundamental factor in these deaths might get AKDOT too close to conceding that their own engineers may actually carry some liability for these fatalities.
NEW: People Mover service changes coming October 28, 2024. “People Mover is reducing service this October due to significant workforce shortages and challenges.” See details here.
Events
NEW: AKDOT Safety Survey available here. “This survey is being conducted by the Alaska Dept. of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF). This survey is focused on the Anchorage community. We will be developing campaigns in other communities across the state in the coming months.”
ONGOING: Fairness for Fairview Community Workshop: “What is a Gambell Main Street?” “Community members are invited to participate in an interactive workshop to shape the future of Fairview by digging into the question. ‘What is a Gambell Main Street’? In the 1950’s, Gambell Street was a busy main street for the neighborhood, and efforts are underway to transform it into a thriving main street again.” This workshop is related to the ongoing project evaluating options for the highway segment that currently bisects Fairview. Sunday September 29th, 2-4 pm. Fairview recreation center, 1121 E 10th Avenue.
ONGOING: Chugiak-Eagle River Transportation Strategy Survey “The Municipality of Anchorage is looking for feedback on long range transportation values and priorities as part of the Municipality’s Long Range Transportation Strategy.”