Title
21 Rewrite
Anchorage's
land use laws, referred to as Title 21 after their section of
our legal code, are being rewritten. This effort is a mandate
of the Comprehensive Plan, Anchorage
2020, adopted
in 2001. This is dry stuff that will get you snoozing. It's also
extremely important since the rules we prepare
now will be with us for decades. If Title
21 is written to implement the vision of Anchorage 2020,
Anchorage will continue to be a wonderful place to live.
Since 2002,
the city has been enduring the arduous process of rewriting
Title 21. The process was one of consistent compromises leading
us away from the promise of Anchorage 2020. Over two years ago,
the Anchorage Assembly had "provisionally adopted"
all but the "Definitions" chapter. ACC wouldn't call
the provisionally adopted Title 21 our preferrred result, but
it's one that we can live with.
As we move forward,
we must avoid the myopic focus on immediate small cost increases
and look instead at the lower long term costs and the improved
quality of life. The past approach has proved unsustainable
and has not been supported by citizens of Anchorage, nor has
it proved to be successful across the country.
The
mayor released his proposed changes to the Provisionally adopted
Title 21 on Wednesday October 19.
Where do we draw
the line on the endless compromises? We draw the line here.
The mayor's proposals
combined with planning department comments are here.
The city's Title
21 information page is here.
The report on Dan
Coffey's work is here
(It's a very large file, over 400 pages.)
The mayor's memo
with a summary of his proposed changes is here
(14 pages)
Media on this release:
KTUU
, Anchorage
Daily News
If you find this
information helpful in your effort to understand this issue,
please consider
contributing to the Anchorage Citizens Coalition.
Dan
Coffey calls the provisionally adopted Title 21 "radical!"
Is it radical? Learn more here.
Contents:
Will
this effort create the city envisioned in Anchorage 2020?
How far has Title 21 drifted from its role of implementing
Anchorage 2020?
We need to get this rewrite of Title 21 back on track!
What can you do?
Public Meetings & Hearings
Title 21 - Documents for Review
·
Comparison
of existing code with proposed code
·
ACC's comments on Chapters 4, 5
and 6
ACC's
comments on Chapter 7 (Development and Design Standards)
·
More
Documents
Their
battle cry is "Free Title 21!" The Anchorage Press
June 30, 2011
Posted:
Thursday, June 30, 2011 Cindee Karns
How many of you still remember the Anchorage 2020 Comprehensive
Plan? I didn't live here in the late ‘90s when they started
it, but when I heard about it through Transition Anchorage,
I was VERY impressed that thousands of Anchoragites came together
over a course of several years and came up with a vision for
Anchorage in 2020. There were town meetings, organized conversations,
and work groups held from the late ‘90s to the early 2000s.
When it was finished it even received national recognition.
Yes, Anchorage! ... read
more
Title
21 Rewrite Economic Impact Analysis
ACC's Title
21 Citizen Participation Project
Will
this effort create the city envisioned in Anchorage 2020?
We are concerned that as the years of work on Title 21 have
passed; as we've moved from the early "modules" to
Drafts 1 and 2 and now on to the "Final Public Review Drafts;"
we have drifted away from the direction Anchorage 2020
points us. By the summer of 2010 all
of the new
chapters except the "Definitions" chapter have
been provisionally approved by the Assembly. That means they
went through an extensive public process and series of public
hearings and were found to be acceptable to the Assembly. Once
all were provisionally approved, the plan was to then accept
them all at one time. As of summer 2011, we are still waiting.
And waiting.
HOW
DID WE GET IN THIS MESS?
- The Title 21 Rewrite Project was started in 2002
to implement the city’s adopted comprehensive plans.
- There have been five drafts, each of which has been
reviewed by the public. Thousands of staff hours and volunteer
hours have gone into reviewing
and amending the various drafts.
The extensive public process has been open to anyone
who desired to participate.
- There have been multiple public hearings at the
Planning & Zoning Commission and the Assembly.
- With each draft, input from the public, including
the development community, has led to changes and improvements.
- By the summer
of 2010, all but one of the fourteen chapters had been provisionally
adopted by the Assembly. (Not counting the separate Chugiak-Eagle River chapter.)
- “Provisionally Adopted” means that the Assembly
Title 21 Committee had thoroughly reviewed, discussed, and
frequently amended at least two different drafts of the code,
and the final draft was found to be generally acceptable by
the Assembly.
- Dan Coffey was a member of the Assembly’s Title
21 committee and he voted FOR every single provisionally adopted
chapter.
- On July 25, 2010, the Mayor entered into a sole-source
contract with Mr. Coffey (who was no longer on the Assembly)
to review the provisionally adopted chapters with an assignment
to select the top ten most controversial issues in the rewrite
and work with interest groups and municipal staff to resolve
the identified issues. In a political letter in late 2010 urging
support for certain Assembly candidates, Mr. Coffey wrote
that the mayor asked him to “re-work” Title 21.
- In the Fall of 2010, Mr. Coffey held private meetings
(planning staff was not allowed to attend and they were closed
to the public) with various interest groups. Instead
of identifying and working on the top ten issues, Mr. Coffey
submitted to the Planning Department redlined drafts of chapters
1 and 2 of the rewrite.
- At a meeting with Anchorage Citizens Coalition representatives
in November of 2010, Mr. Coffey showed redlined drafts of
chapters 1 and 2 of the rewrite.
He made it clear he is rewriting the code following
his own personal opinions and biases.
He expressed disdain for planners and discounted studies
that did not fit his opinions.
- In November 2010, the Assembly Title 21 Committee
stopped meeting after Mr. Coffey convinced the chair to discontinue
the meetings until he finished his work.
- In July of 2011,
Mr. Coffey turned in his version of the report but it has
not been made public despite requests from many including
assembly members. Despite this, Mr. Coffey began a speaking
tour to tell people what a good job he did. In those presentations,
he calls the provisionally adopted Title 21 "radical."
- The Coffey/Sullivan
version was scheduled for a public hearing at the Planning
and Zoning Commission on October 4 but word is that may be
delayed until after October 14 when two commisioners will
be replaced by mayor Sullivan appointees.
WHY IS TITLE 21 BEING
HELD UP?
·
The Mayor wants to weigh in. Sure, why not?
But the Mayor was in
office for over a year before hiring Mr. Coffey to review the
draft rewrite. Why couldn’t he
have weighed in during that time?
Now we have to wait another year?
His term is only three years!
Let’s get it done.
·
The Economic Impact Analysis is flawed. Baloney. A detailed economic evaluation tool
was developed by an independent consultant to test the code. Runs of the model show in the majority of cases,
costs are the same or less than development under the current
code.
·
Pre-application design costs and the municipal staff
review time/costs wil be too high as the new code is implemented. Okay, sure, there will be a transition period that
will exist no matter what changes are enacted. After everyone
is used to the new code, the pre-application design time and
the staff review time will be about the same as today.
·
Some say the new code is a “taking.” The new code does not “take” from land owners but rather
“gives” to land owners, either by requiring less land to build
the same sized building, or allowing them to build a larger
building (and thus collect more rent) on the same sized parcel
of land.
·
There are “holes” in the rewrite. This is incorrect.
There are a few sections set aside to be dealt with later but
the planning staff has prepared adequate transition code to
use until those are ready.
·
It’s the product of planners and they have never built
anything! These revisons to our land use laws are
hardly recognizable as the ones from the planning staff. The public process has lead to countless changes
large and minute. As
chair of the Assembly’s committee for years, the provisionally
adopted chapters already bear Mr. Coffey’s mark throughout.
·
It’s not perfect yet! That’s
true. And parts that are great now will probably need to be
changed in the future as the city’s needs change.
That’s the nature of these things.
Even as we’ve been rewriting the code, we’ve frequently
amended the “old” code. The revision may not be perfect, but it’s pretty
close and we can continue the pattern of amendments as changes
are needed.
·
The new code will increase bus ridership and that is
subsidized! Yep. A reputable group made this complaint. Gosh. Less
traffic, less land cleared for parking. We should hope for more problems like that!
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
·
The
Assembly should adopt the Title 21 Rewrite immediately, in the
form in which it was provisionally adopted.
·
If
the Mayor and others want changes, they should bring the changes
forward as amendments to the provisionally adopted chapters.
·
Amendments
should be reviewed by the city’s professional planners who understand
the city’s adopted comprehensive plans, which represent the
values expressed by thousands of citizens during the creation
of Anchorage 2020.
·
All
Anchorage residents should be able to trust that local government
operates using an honest and open public process.
·
Assembly
members need to take this ball back onto their court.
The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive
branch implements the laws.
The Assembly should not let the Mayor outsource their
job!
What can you do?
Contact
the Anchorage Planning Department E-mail: title21@muni.org or phone: (907) 343-7921
Fax: (907) 343-7927. Tell them you like the vision in Anchorage
2020 and you expect Title 21 to bring us in there. The Planning
Department's website is here.
Contact
Anchorage Citizens Coalition to get on our newsletter and alert
list.
email: acc
(at) accalaska.org
We
have moved so far away from Anchorage 2020, that the
draft rewrite actually states that Title 21 will overrule Anchorage
2020 when there are conflicts between the two! Anchorage’s
Comprehensive Plan, Anchorage
2020, should be clearly and consistently supported as the
guiding document for Title 21.
Anchorage 2020 says of its Role & Purpose:
“Once adopted, the Plan becomes a public declaration
of the policies that will guide decisions of the Municipal Assembly,
the P&ZC and other municipal planning boards and commissions
…” Anchorage 2020 requires that Tile 21 regulations “shall be enforced
to the greatest extent possible based in conjunction with policies
stated in Anchorage 2020.” Anchorage 2020 is the planning document.
Title 21 is the implementation document. If Title 21 does
not agree with 2020
then there is no planning and we wasted years of effort.
With
this back ground, it’s a surprise to see in the current draft
of Title 21 in Chapter 1 Section 6 on Conflicting Provisions:
Section
21.01.060 Conflicting Provisions
B.
Conflict with the Comprehensive Plan
Where
conditions, standards, or requirements imposed by any provision
of this title are either more restrictive or less restrictive
than any provision found in the comprehensive plan, the
provisions of this title shall govern.
This
section is backwards to common sense and conflicts with state law and
legal opinions. This section must be corrected this by changing
the wording to this:
the
provisions of the comprehensive
plan shall govern.
Having
put 2020 in its rightful place, it seems reasonable that when
presenting decisions, boards and commissions say how their decision
implements 2020. In Chapter 2: Boards, Commissions and Municipal
Administration Section B.12 Record of Proceedings this should
be added:
The
record of the decision should show how the decision implements
or is in concordance with the Comprehensive Plan.
If
these changes are made to the current versions of Title 21,
other issues will start to fall into place.
How
far has Title 21 drifted from its role of implementing Anchorage
2020?
As the process of rewriting our land use laws has progressed,
we have moved away from the goals of Anchorage
2020. That is clear in this draft’s presentation
of its purpose in section 21.03.030. Some of this is straight out of Anchorage 2020. It’s interesting to see what got dropped.
2020 says “A balanced, diverse supply
of affordable, quality housing, located in safe and livable
neighborhoods with amenities and infrastructure that
reflects Anchorage’s
varied social and cultural physical environment.
This draft of
Title 21 left out the bold part.
The idea of protecting the character of our diverse neighborhoods
is a major part of 2020.
2020 says of a Community Vision: “A northern
community built in harmony with our natural resources and majestic
setting.” Compare that
with this section’s “Minimize adverse impacts of land development
on the natural environment.”
Every city should play to its strengths and Anchorage’s
is this incredible setting in which we live. Let’s set a higher bar!
2020 says on Wildlife: “A wide diversity
of fish, wildlife and habitats throughout the Municipality that
thrives and flourishes in harmony with the community.” Title 21’s purpose statement? Not a word on wildlife!
2020 says on Natural Open Spaces: “A
network of natural open spaces throughout the community that
preserves and enhances Anchorage’s
scenic vistas, fish and wildlife and plant habitats and their
ecological functions and values.”
The Comprehensive Plan mentions “a strong commitment
to protect natural open spaces ... will maintain the quality
of the environment.” Natural
Open Space is a big deal in Anchorage
and that is reflected throughout Anchorage
2020. This draft
of Title 21 tucks it into one sentence with parks and facilities.
We
need to get this rewrite of Title 21
back on track!
Chapter 1 of 2020
has a section “Anchorage 2020 – A New Direction” It says,
“The demands of rapid growth have faded, and quality
of life issues have moved to the forefront.” From this rewrite’s
early “modules” through Draft 1 and Draft 2, the changes proposed
for Title 21 have drifted
steadily away
from Anchorage 2020. The Purpose Statement, many details and
the dominance of 2020
over the land use rules should be turned back in that “New Direction.”
Public Meetings & Hearings
COMMUNITY MEETINGS by the MOA Planning Department
None
scheduled at this time.
PUBLIC HEARINGS AT THE PLANNING AND
ZONING COMMISSION
None
planned as of May 2011.
Public Hearings at The Assembly
None
planned as of May 2011.
ASSEMBLY TITLE 21 COMMITTEE
None
planned as of May 2011.
Title 21 - Documents for Review:
The
provisionally approved chapters and supporting information is
available at the Anchorage
Planning Department's Title 21 website.
Click here for
a "side-by-side" comparison of existing code and proposed code prepared by the
Planning Department. This is a useful document to get a sense
for what is changing. Chapter 7 on Development and Design Standards
is an important companion to this information.
Click here for ACC's comments on Chapters 4, 5, 6.
Click here for ACC's comments on Chapter 7.
Title 21 Rewrite Economic Impact Analysis
Click
here to go to the EIA documents.
A proper analysis of possible changes to Title 21 must include
the direct monetary costs of additional requirements as well
as the benefits to the community in general and to adjacent
landowners. The direct costs are easy to tally. Those indirect
benefits can be huge, but are very hard to calculate. The budget
for this study was small so we need to be vigilant that the
analysis is fair.
ACC Title 21 Citizen Participation Project
The
Anchorage Citizens Coalition organized a series of meetings
where citizens reviewed and discussed early drafts of a new
Title 21. Each of the three modules were reviewed as they were
released to the public. Individual comments and group input
was compiled and forwarded to the Municipality of Anchorage
Planning Department and Clarion Associates.
Work Groups' Comments received on Module 1:
ACC Title 21 Work Groups Notes, July 30&31, 2003
ACC Title 21 Work Groups Notes, August 6&7, 2003
ACC Title 21 Work Groups Notes, August 13&14, 2003
ACC Title 21 Work Groups Notes, August 21, 2003 (group
2 only)
Work Groups' comments received on Module
2:
Citizens
have discussed issues and have arrived at consensus on items.
See
ACC Title
21 Work Groups Module 2 Consensus Statements
See
ACC Title
21 Work Groups Module 2 Individual Statements
Work Group's Questions on Module 2:
Citizens
posed questions while reviewing the draft of Title 21, Module
2, and these questions have been answered by MOA planning staff
and/or the consultants. See Questions
and Answers 1, Questions and Answers 2 and Questions and Answers
3.
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