CityView Portal
| Submitted comments will appear below after staff approval. | |
|---|---|
| Luke Hasenbank | 2/28/2025 2:03:05 PM |
| Hi all, I strongly support for this code change because with the current code I won't be able to accomplish my new build house on a property I've lived on for close to 20 years and recently had my expiring house demolished in December. According to the current code it requires alley access parking, however, due to topography my block doesn't even have an alley where my side of the block drops approx. 20 ft down a steep embankment. Even if I was to accomplish this build this would bring in a whole lot of other problems with snow removal and garbage service as I would be the only one with access to this alley. I really hope you can understand how much economic and logistical hardship this would cause and would appreciate you voting for a code change for the better. Thank you, Luke Hasenbank | |
| Jon Isaacs | 2/10/2025 9:36:47 PM |
| Turnagain Community Council Board of Directors Comments on PZC 2025-0018, a Proposed Ordinance Amending Anchorage Municipal Code Chapters 21.03, 21.04, and 21.07 to Change Standards Related to Site Access, Building Frontage, Driveway, and How Private Properties Connect to the Public Street. The Turnagain Community Council (TCC) Board appreciates the opportunity to submit the following comments to the Planning and Zoning Commission on PZC 2025-0018, which proposes to amend Anchorage Municipal Code Chapters 21.03, 21.04, and 21.07 to Change Standards Related to Site Access, Building Frontage, Driveway, and How Private Properties Connect to the Public Street. A representative of the TCC Board of Directors participated in a working group established by the Municipality to provide recommendations on the proposed amendments. TCC appreciates the opportunity to do so, and supports this approach to engaging community stakeholders, particularly community councils, in the early discussion and recommendations to changes in Municipal land use regulations that are intended to facilitate construction/remodel of housing to help meet the city’s housing needs. Such early participation helps us understand the nature of obstacles to building more housing, particularly multi-family, express our concerns about unintended adverse consequences of potential code changes on residential neighborhoods and streets, and work with stakeholders to develop workable solutions. TCC understands that code changes during the last major Title 21 update and more recently related to site access issues created requirements that make it difficult to develop economically feasible multi-family housing. Some examples include sidewalks that connect to “nowhere” and window/facade requirements meant to provide a more inviting pedestrian experience but result in dysfunctional interior housing layouts. We understand that the intent of the code changes is to be less prescriptive, and provide more flexibility on the part of housing developers and the Municipal staff administrative review process. Three areas of code relaxation remain of concern to TCC: • Further relaxation of on-site parking requirements which push more parking onto our crowded streets. In many neighborhoods, on street parking creates public safety problems with access to driveways, forcing pedestrians further into active traffic lanes, and putting parked cars into active traffic lanes when snow storage narrows roads. It also interferes with winter snow removal and sets up competition for limited parking spaces. • Elimination of landscaping requirements. While it is not clear how these code changes will reduce or eliminate landscaping requirements, some modicum of required landscaping helps reduce adverse impacts of larger multi-family housing units on the character of existing neighborhoods. • Return to the ugly box/jammed together housing of the 1970’s and 1980’s. The Site Access working group field visits emphasized public safety problems associated with driveway access and pedestrian access along streets that were created during the multi-family housing boom of the 1970’s and 1980’s, in addition to some units that were extraordinarily unattractive. There is no guarantee that these code changes will not result in some ugly housing being built, but the Municipal administrative site review should take these concerns into consideration. In general, the Turnagain Community Council Board supports the intent and substance of the ordinance code changes being suggested in PZC 2025-0018, subject to the following recommendations: • TCC does not support any relaxations of multi-family design standards that further reduce on-site parking requirements and forcing those cars to park on streets. • As being suggested for other code change ordinances under consideration, we recommend an addition to this ordinance that directs the Planning Department to provide an annual report analyzing the efficacy of this ordinance in encouraging multifamily development and unintended adverse consequences of the design standard suspension. Of particularly concern to TCC is increasing the migration of on-site parking to on-street parking, aggravating increasing problems with snow removal and public safety. This is one of the topics being discussed by a current working group on ROW management. It would be helpful to have community council input on what an annual review might consider and understand what positive effects these code changes are having. Finally, we note that the whereas statements of ordinances changing land use code often cite provisions of the intent of the 2040 Land Use Plan. It was our understanding that after passage of the modified Home Initiative last June, there was an Assembly recommendation to initiate a public process to review and update the 2020 Comprehensive Plan and 2040 Land Use Plan. Such a review and update would help guide continued regulatory and zoning district changes, and we urge that progress be made to initiate this review and engage the community. Thank you for consideration of the Turnagain Community Council’s additional comments. Cathy Gleason, President and Land Use Committee Co-Chair, Turnagain Community Council Board Karen Pletnikoff, Vice Chair, Turnagain Community Council Board Jon Isaacs, Board Member and Land Use Committee Co-Chair, Turnagain Community Council Kathleen McCoy, Turnagain Community Council Board Member Lamar Cotton, Turnagain Community Council Board Member | |
| Tawny Klebesadel | 2/6/2025 1:44:06 PM |
| Concur with proposed Title 21 AMC revision. | |