Title 21 revisions coming soon; public has several more opportunities to comment

Posted: 6/28/11

City land use planning is not the most exciting subject in the world, but an important one for citizens who care about how land is developed in Anchorage. For eight years now, revisions to the Municipality’s land use code, usually referred to as Title 21, have been painstakingly crafted, discussed and debated. We are very close to finishing the revision process, but several key actions must take place before the document is finalized.

A final draft of the Title 21 revisions is due to me by the end of this month. I will review the chapters myself before sending them to the city’s Legal Department for a thorough legal analysis. Attorneys will make sure that city codes are in compliance with the new revisions, as well as identify any potential conflicts within the document itself.

Once this process is complete, the revisions will go to the city’s Planning Department staff, who will comment on the changes and make recommendations to both the administration and the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) commission. Once the chapters are forwarded to P&Z, the document is available for review and public comment. P&Z will then forward the document to the Assembly, whose members will hear additional public testimony and may offer amendments, and who ultimately will vote on whether to ratify the provisions.

Bottom line, many opportunities remain for the public to be heard on this important piece of legislation. We welcome citizen input and look forward to getting a comprehensive, well-crafted and carefully considered land use code officially on the books. In my opinion, after eight years of hard work by both the Assembly and members of the public, it makes sense to take the additional time and effort to make sure we get it right before concluding the long public process.