The demise of Anchorage’s single-family residential neighborhoods

Has been updated: 1 1 hour ago Release: 1 1 hour ago

While not widely publicized, significant changes to Anchorage’s city ordinance have been proposed by the planning department and will soon be voted on by the legislature. This change is related to Attached Units (ADU) and should be of concern if you are the owner of a small R-1 lot.

What is this? For that, we need history.

In 2003, Anchorage passed its first ADU ordinance. This was intended to create additional housing by allowing homeowners in all zones to build “mother-in-law” apartments. To respect the rights of the subdivision homeowner, the ordinance prohibited single-family ADUs (apartments not attached to a primary residence) in her R-1 zone. The community council where we live supported this ordinance because it struck a reasonable balance between building additional housing and respecting the rights of homeowners.

In 2018, the ordinance eliminated some lot size restrictions, removed certain appearance requirements, allowed 25-foot-tall segregated ADUs in R-1 zones, and allowed larger ADUs in all zones. Revised to allow. As a slight nod to respect for the neighbors, the R-1’s over 15-foot tall (up to mid-roof height) segregated ADU had to be set back 10 feet from the property line.

In 2020, the community built an ADU that takes full advantage of the relaxed requirements of the 2018 revision. Even with a 10 foot setback, it’s so high that it blocks the sun and invades the privacy of the adjacent neighbors.

Now, just a few years later, instead of revising the rule to prevent this from happening again, the planning department has proposed further relaxing the rule to remove virtually all restrictions on detached ADUs. Did.

The proposed changes were made by a working group composed solely of representatives from public, nonprofit, and commercial housing advocacy groups. These are well-intentioned people, but they don’t seem to understand how this affects their neighbors and neighborhoods on the subdivision.This change would make his ADU that was subdivided the same as the main structure on the site. You will be able to build according to the rules. It is taller than the current ordinance and closer to the property line. The proposed change would essentially allow two homes on every R-1 parcel.

And then there’s the twist. Hidden in the change is the removal of the existing requirement that either the primary residence or ADU must be the owner. Nationwide research shows that eliminating owner occupancy requirements means fewer housing units for residents and cheaper affordable rents. In fact, the malicious ADU example cited above is now being served on AirBnB. That unit, and other ADUs like it, are no longer building housing for Anchorage residents.

While Congress is preparing to enact a short-term rental law, this bill and the removal of the occupancy requirement for existing ADU owners must be addressed simultaneously. You can’t tell someone they can do something and then take it away.

A 2003 ordinance allowed more housing and respected neighbors and neighbors. The proposed change does not allow for the second goal. Their focus is just to build as many houses as possible.

The proposed changes would pit neighbors against each other to preserve the qualities that have made it a place where one could take advantage of its generosity while the other could comfortably invest time, money and social capital.

The planning department has not indicated an urgent need for these changes, nor has it provided any evidence that the removal of restrictions is the reason ADU is not building at the desired pace. On the contrary, under current ordinances, at least six of his ADUs have been built in the neighborhood since 2019.

This is not an “either/or” situation. Existing ordinances can be amended to create affordable housing that works in a parcel area. I need to step back and get this right, but I don’t have much time. Congress will give his public testimony on January 10th. If you live on a small lot in the R-1 district and are interested in keeping the sun out of your solar panels and yard, preserving your privacy, and protecting your neighborhood’s residential features, please contact the Council. Please give me. We encourage you to become a member or attend the Congressional meeting in person on Tuesday, January 10th.

And if you want a preview of what’s to come on your neighbor’s land, drive down the alleyway between Redwood and Cottonwood streets south of Bannister Drive.

David Evans, Bob Boutella When Dan Rosenberg Anchorage resident living in the Rogers Park Community Council area.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a wide range of views.To submit your work for consideration, please email Commentary (at) adn.comSubmissions of less than 200 words will be letter@adn.com Also Click here to send from any web browserPlease read our complete guidelines for letters and comments here.