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Revisions
on the Anchorage 2020 Comprehensive Plan are nearly
complete and the final product is expected to be
approved at the end of February.
This has
been a long and arduous process for the Chamber,
which has devoted a significant amount of time over
the past two years advocating for changes and
providing business insight.
The
Anchorage 2020 plan is a guide to city development
for the next 20 years. The land use plan, which was
designed to provide a general framework for
community issues such as land use, transportation,
housing, public facilities, economic development,
etc., will guide the Assembly and the Planning
Department when drafting ordinances, land use and
zoning maps, and area-specific plans.
The city
has been working on the plan slowly throughout the
late 1990s; however, community work began in
mid-1999. The Chamber has represented the business
community on every aspect of the plan, beginning in
an advisory capacity at the Municipal Open Houses.
Following
the first draft of the plan, the Chamber passed a
resolution in support of the process, the public
involvement, and the development direction the city
had taken.
The
Chamber did, however, express concerns over (1) the
lack of economic assessment for the Plan;
specifically, how we were planning on paying for the
development laid out in the Plan, (2) the economic
viability of some of the Plan’s concepts, (3) the
treatment of designated existing green/open space as
unalterable, (4) the controversial recommendations
of the incorporated "Living with Wildlife"
Plan, and (5) the lack of incorporated
transportation planning.
Over the
past year, the Chamber has forwarded as many as four
revised versions of the Plan to the Assembly and the
Planning Department, in addition to meeting with
several Assembly members and the Mayor to discuss
the effects of the Plan on the business community.
Various board members and business members also gave
public testimony on the proposed changes the Chamber
believes should be incorporated into the Plan.
Even up
until last week, Chamber Comp Plan Task Force
members were still sending the Chamber’s proposed
Plan revisions to the Assembly.
One of the
key issues the Chamber is still concerned over is
the language of the Plan, specifically, that the
Plan was intended as a general guide, not as a legal
mandate. According to legal members of the Task
Force, much of the language in the Plan is legally
binding and paints city development into a corner
for the next 20 years. The Chamber believes that the
Plan must leave room for unpredictable changes that
the city will face in the future.
The
Chamber is also concerned that the concepts laid out
in the Plan still lack economic feasibility. It is a
wonderful concept to require that all housing
developments connect trails to the existing
neighborhood trails, but once they are built, who is
going to maintain those trails and pay for that
maintenance?
The
economic consultants that the city hired to complete
the financial analysis of the 2020 Plan also agreed
with the Chamber. Tischler & Associates stated
that the Municipality is not in a position to
maintain current levels of service under our present
revenue structure. Their analysis showed that under
this Plan the city would have a $27.6 million
deficit per year.
Some of
the very specific design standards, concepts, and
other Municipal plans do not belong as part of this
document.
Unfortunately,
people are trying to incorporate too much into this
Plan in order to accommodate every resident of the
city; however, this ends up not only diluting the
original land-use concept but placing the
Municipality into future serious legal hot water.
Chamber
members still have the opportunity to review the
final Plan and submit their written comments up
until February 20. Copies of the Plan are available
from the City Clerk’s office and comments should
be forwarded to members of the Assembly and the
Planning Department.
For more
information, call Jane Yi at 677-7105.
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