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| Submitted comments will appear below after staff approval. | |
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| Robert French | 3/10/2014 3:57:30 PM |
| Dear Municipal Planning Department and Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Ship Creek Framework Plan. While I generally support the transition from an industrial use area to mixed use, I have to wonder about the continued hazardous occupancies and uses in and around the Ship Creek area. The recent deaths due to trains hauling oil, fuel, and other hazardous chemicals serve to highlight how important it is to provide an adequate buffer zone between hazards and residential or other commercial uses. Improved waterfront use and access, more retail businesses, and pedestrian friendly corridors represent assets within the plan. Here are some specific comments. 1. Integrate with Safety Plans and Safety Buffers: The current fuel tanks to the north and west of Government Hill were found in the Port Hazards Study in 2002 and 2003 to have established a “death zone” at the far west portion of the residential section of Government Hill. That “death zone” is due to the explosion hazard from those tanks, and there are comparatively larger “injury” and “evacuation” zones. Even if compliant with out of date building codes, it simply does not make sense to allow continued high hazard uses in areas adjacent to residential or lower hazard commercial uses, not to mention encouraging new populations to be moved into high hazard areas. I would support establishing an area that would be planned for having hazardous occupancies that would be well removed from other uses. A potential site for this area could be at the north portion of the Port of Anchorage, and would allow for safe re-development of the Ship Creek area. We need to learn from Lac-Mégantic and the 3 recent explosions in North Dakota. Refer to numerous articles about trains carrying hazardous materials exploding. 2. Knik Arm Power Plant: Re-development of the derelict Knik Arm Power Plant for power generation, (especially if coal fired, as was most recently proposed) is not compatible with any of the proposed uses in the Ship Creek Area, although re-use as some sort of non-hazardous artist loft or something similar could be compatible. In my view, the Knik Arm Power Plant should just be torn down, the contamination cleaned up, and the Dam removed. 3. Pg 10, KABATA has not been transferred to AHFC. The statement in the middle of the page is inaccurate. While HB23 did pass the House, it remains stuck in the Senate. The funding scenario for the Knik Arm Bridge is completely unknown at this time, with Governor Parnell wanting to use all Public Funding, and some project supporters still hoping for a Public Private Partnership. Refer to the January 20, 2014 article in Alaska Dispatch 4. The Ingra-Gambell Extension shown on page 18 of the plan is not compatible with the proposed Phase 2 of the Knik Arm Crossing, were that project ever to be built. 5. The Wetlands In-Fill proposal does not meet environmental, economic or public safety criteria. Page 29 indicated that it would be placed in a “high” seismic hazard zone, directly below areas that actually slid during the 1964 quake. In-Filling 85 acres of wetlands to build condos on mudflats in a seismically active zone indicates that the planners ignored the actual reality of building in the Anchorage area. I would support establishing more residential areas along 3rd Avenue, east of A Street. This has long been an area in need of revitalization. The area at the Knik Arm Power Plant is a potential area for light industrial use. 6. The pedestrian/bike connections to Government Hill is an important portion of the plan that received only minor mention. A separated pedestrian/bike corridor is essential to be included in the plan. The existing bike path adjacent to the A/C couplet and the A/C bridge is unsafe, and does not meet current standards. The pedestrian/bike path needs to be built regardless of what happens in Ship Creek.. Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Sincerely, Robert French | |
| Thomas Pease | 3/7/2014 8:12:42 PM |
| Dear Municipal Planning Department and Planning and Zoning Commissioners: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Ship Creek Framework Plan. The effort to bring mixed use to what has traditionally been an industrial use area is commendable. Improved waterfront use and access, more retail businesses, and pedestrian friendly corridors represent assets within the plan. Three parts of the plan need further consideration, however. 1. The Ingra-Gambell connector could impact both the east and west sides of Government Hill. Bridge noise is significant and carries much farther than highway noise. Much of the traffic would be industrial. A second proposed bridge to the east of the existing AC bridge could impact view sheds of newly built homes in the Northpointe Bluff development, a new, 15.5 acre residential development with views of the city skyline and the Chugach Mountains. It’s also unclear in the framework how any such connector would merge with Phase 2 of the Knik Arm Crossing, were that project ever to be built. The proposed connector could devalue, if not consume, a prime piece of real estate at the former Native Hospital site. A four-lane highway is not best use for bluff land with panoramic views. 2. The Wetlands Fill-in proposal makes little environmental, economic or public safety sense. Destroying 85 acres of wetlands to build condos on mudflats in a seismically active zone defies responsible residential planning. Planners should be commended for attempting to bring more residential into the area to create mixed use in the truest sense. A safer, cheaper and more effective plan, however, would be to develop vacant and underused land for residential use along 3rd Avenue, east of A Street. This has long been a decayed area in need of revitalization. Ship Creek redevelopment could provide the prime opportunity to breathe life back into this section of town. It is within walking distance of the Ship Creek area and can provide an economic boost to shops both downtown and in the restored historical warehouses near First Avenue. Such a residential development at the eastern end of the Ship Creek development area could promote additional retail development east of downtown. 3. The pedestrian/bike connections to Government Hill receive mention but no detailed discussion in the plan. The current, four-foot sidewalk on only one side of Loop Road represents the most dangerous stretch of my 10.5 mile bike commute to work in Southwest Anchorage. No separation exists between the sidewalk and four lanes of traffic. Two prominent curves on Loop Road, one of them a blind curve, send cars up onto the sidewalk, and sometimes across the sidewalk into the woods. Since only one sidewalk serves both directions of nonmotorized traffic, frequent near-collisions occur between bikers, walkers and skateboarders heading in opposite directions. This one skinny sidewalk serves the entire Government Hill community with access to Ship Creek and downtown. The east side of Government Hill has the highest density of rental units in Alaska, with the Panoramic View and Northpointe complexes housing nearly 700 households. These are mostly low-income families who have few transportation options. A separated pedestrian/bike corridor is essential to include in the plan, and maintain in the plan. Yes, it will be expensive, but it is necessary for public safety, it fits with Ship Creek Framework vision and it is long overdue. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Thomas Pease | |