Kevin Berry
Updated: 9 hours ago Published: 9 hours ago
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Supporters of the status quo of high housing prices, stunted growth, and exclusion want us to once again respect the “public process” and delay policy changes like the HOME Initiative, which seeks to legalize duplexes citywide. According to some, the real problem with housing in Anchorage is not that the housing stock is expensive, aging, and in short supply, but that it has not been adequately discussed. They point out that the Anchorage 2020 plan was a successful process because it began in the 1990s and “involved the community,” and they argue that the problem can only be solved with a few more meetings and planning sessions.
I was a grade school student in the 1990s. I'm now a professor with three kids and a mortgage. I was never invited to a community meeting in the 1990s, and the meetings don't reflect my values or preferences. I also don't think the progressive values of the 1990s should dictate what I'm allowed to do with my property today or whether our currently elected city government can change policy. This stagnation makes it impossible to solve new problems when we're tied to the opinions of Anchorage residents (many of whom don't even live in Alaska) who participated in a 30-year-old zoning plan.
Even today, most residents don't attend community council or council meetings. Few can name their council leaders, and many don't even know they exist or have a say in who chairs them. The process leaves a small chorus of the loudest unelected voices speaking for the entire city.
De-densification is not called for by benevolent foresight or democratic ideals. For the NIMBYs, expensive housing is the goal. Blocking the process blocks housing construction to protect the property values of incumbent landlords. This benefits those who already own homes at the expense of the young and the poor. Quality of life claims are often a sham. As a transplant to Anchorage, I would be interested to know how living in the city has negatively impacted the quality of life of the previous author. If not me, who was the insult to try to protect Anchorage from?
The argument that new housing is inevitable runs counter to overwhelming empirical evidence that land use restrictions increase housing prices and new housing lowers rents and home prices. “Democratic leadership” and local government specifically lead to fewer housing units, higher housing prices, and higher home prices that lead to homeownership problems, homelessness, and even displacement of people from Alaska.
Opponents like to assume that building more housing won't lower home prices. They offer Rube Goldberg-style solutions and absurd proposals for widespread public input as a way to discourage new home construction and protect the premium on their homes. At the same time, the potential policy impacts are exaggerated.
Even if duplexes were legalized citywide, the number of duplexes in Anchorage would not skyrocket. We are not waiting for bulldozers to tear down Anchorage’s residential neighborhoods and replace them with high-density residential towers. Relaxing restrictive zoning and land use regulations will likely lead to a slight increase in development. Allowing people to choose how to use their property almost always means taking actions that increase property values. There will be slightly more housing and prices will be slightly lower than they would otherwise be. Then eventually someone will propose a new change to allow more housing to be built, and the NIMBYs will again claim that the sky is falling and the process is being ignored.
Kevin Berry is an Anchorage homeowner and economist.
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