Anchorage Assembly narrowly passes zoning change to allow for more duplexes

Anchorage Assembly members passed an ordinance connected Tuesdayt chapeau allows for duplexes to beryllium built crossed nan Anchorage Bowl. (Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)

The Anchorage Assembly has changed nan city’s zoning rules to let for nan building of duplexes successful each residential territory successful nan Anchorage Bowl successful an effort to summation housing.

The measurement passed 7-5 Tuesday efficaciously ends single-family zoning successful Anchorage, but doesn’t effect Girdwood aliases nan Eagle River-Chugiak area. 

The ordinance besides allows for 2 detached single-family units connected nan aforesaid batch to count arsenic 1 duplex successful code.

The Assembly approved nan changes aft a flurry of nationalist remark and debate. More than 30 group testified Tuesday night, almost 2 to 1 successful favor. Resident Emily Weiser said nan changes would adhd much lodging without drastically impacting neighborhoods.

“We’re not talking astir raising full neighborhoods,” Weiser said. “We’re talking astir possibly 1 duplex aliases triplex aliases fourplex per vicinity successful nan adjacent 10 years.”

Before nan Assembly approved nan changes, a small complete 40 percent of residential lots, typically categorized arsenic low-density, prohibited nan building of duplexes.

Realtor Matt Fink opposed allowing much duplexes. He said he thinks it will incentivize developers to bargain up homes and person them, impacting residents’ expertise to execute nan “American dream” of owning a house.

“They’ll look astatine nan numbers and say, because nan rental market’s truthful tight, and they cognize what they tin charge, they’ll commencement converting each these homes,” Fink said.

Teacher Scott Maxwell said location is simply a “dire deficiency of lodging stock” successful Anchorage. He said he spent 3 months bum past summertime earlier he was capable to find a one-bedroom flat successful downtown’s South Addition neighborhood. 

“You will excuse me, everyone, if erstwhile I perceive group concerned complete nan effects that duplexes mightiness person to nan ‘character’ of their neighborhoods, you will get nary sympathy from me,” Maxwell said. “Not erstwhile I had to spell done what I did past summer.”

Assembly co-chair Meg Zaletel, 1 of nan ordinance’s sponsors, agreed that Anchorage is successful a lodging crisis, and nan metropolis needs to bolster nan number of homes, a awesome Assembly goal.

“We heard a batch of grounds astir nan haves and nan person nots,” Zaletel said. “Instead of focusing connected that, tin we inquire instead, really tin nan paper of options for creating caller units of lodging beryllium arsenic varied arsenic imaginable truthful that nan inclusive imagination adopted by nan Assembly is realized?”

East Anchorage Assembly personnel Karen Bronga and South Anchorage personnel Zac Johnson said they were concerned complete really nan zoning changes could effect areas pinch constricted roadworthy entree and higher consequence of wildfires, for illustration nan Basher vicinity successful Bronga’s territory and nan Hillside area of Johnson’s. An amendment from nan 2 was approved that requires an administrative tract scheme reappraisal for immoderate duplex built successful zoning territory R-10, which includes areas built connected slopes, adjacent alpine and forested areas aliases pinch geological factors that “require unsocial and imaginative creation for development.”

Ultimately, nan amended ordinance passed pinch members Johnson, Scott Myers, Randy Sulte, Mark Littlefield and George Martinez opposed.