Tyler Robinson, Carol Gore, Andre Spinelli, Sean Debnam, Seth Anderson, Eric Visser, J. Jay Brooks, Brandon Murcott
Updated: 4 hours ago, Published: 4 hours ago
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A little-known Anchorage ordinance that went into effect in January has stalled numerous housing and construction projects at a time when the city is running out of space.
change? Strict new restrictions on vehicle access to residences and garage size and orientation across Anchorage. It has caused disruption, increased costs and hampered projects ranging from single-family homes to retail garage condo projects in Midtown. Few people expected such a major change to occur. The rules were buried last year in a complicated 50-page Parking and Grounds Access ordinance that even experts struggled to understand.
As a result, Anchorage has created new barriers to housing development, even though many in the community want more housing and affordability.
A vision of Anchorage as a walkable community drove these changes. In the long run, we may be able to share that vision. We don't think this is how we're going to get there. Lacking coordinated public investment and priorities to strengthen roads, build sidewalks, increase public transportation, and proactively manage public rights-of-way, these new rules will It's straining everyone's access to housing, from homes to large apartment complexes. You can't regulate your way out of infrastructure problems. The Anchorage Legislature has taken several steps in recent months to reverse the changes, but we call for more comprehensive action.
As builders of Anchorage homes and apartments, we propose measures that balance walkability concerns and protection of traditional neighborhoods with the realities of housing production needs. We call on Congress and the Mayor to immediately:
• Eliminate and simplify the “pedestrian frontage” standard and its complex and little-used menu of pedestrian amenities. Frontage standards have not been adequately tested for residential or commercial development.
• Maintain alley access requirements for traditional areas with alleys, such as the South Addition, Government Hill, and Fairview. If access is impractical due to insufficient topography or alley improvements, we will allow the project to proceed with long-standing limitations on driveway width.
Beyond this immediate fix, it has been 10 years since Anchorage overhauled Title 21, its zoning and land use code. We think it's time to seriously evaluate design rules. These broad and often Byzantine rules affect housing far more than other development types, adding costs and impacts to buyers and renters, although they are of questionable public interest. We support simple, clear and reasonable standards. We require up-front testing of rules, clear visuals, and language that all residents understand.
As Anchorage faces increasingly severe housing challenges, we are stepping forward. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand but significantly reduced supply. The average home price in Anchorage has increased to more than $450,000, an increase of more than $100,000 from 2019. Rent also rose by 2 percentage points.
Meanwhile, housing construction activity fell in 2015 and reached a new low in 2023. Building homes in Anchorage is more expensive and more difficult than ever. Generally, the people and organizations that build houses in this town also live in this town. We are a small to medium-sized local business and non-profit organization. We are an employer just like your local restaurant or retail store. And yes, our livelihoods are tied to cycles of development and redevelopment. In a market economy, housing is thus built on a large scale by professionals, with safety and quality at the forefront. Anchorage's future depends on investment and growth. We need more housing of all kinds.
Other efforts are underway to increase housing supply by simplifying zoning rules. We believe that the design barriers described here are significant and deserve immediate attention. We look forward to working with the Mayor and Council on this issue.
Tyler Robinson (Cook Inlet Housing), Carol Gore (Weidner Apartment Homes), Andre Spinelli (Spinelli Homes), Shaun Debenham (Debenham LLC), Seth Andersen (Arete, LLC), Eric Visser (Visser Construction), J. Jay Brooks ( Fischer Properties) and Brandon Marcott (Triad Engineering LLC) are a group of Anchorage residential construction professionals.
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