What You Should Know About Title 21
Title 21 Rewrite Overview Presentations:
- Project Overview for Assembly, November 16, 2012
- Project Overview and Status (Abbreviated), March 9, 2012
- For Chamber of Commerce, February 22, 2012
- For the Federation of Community Councils, October 19, 2011
- For OLE on the History of City Planning in Anchorage, March 3, 2011
- For the Federation of Community Councils, March 16, 2011
Slide Shows on Rewrite Topics and Issues:
- Title 21 and Active Healthy Communities
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions were prepared in 2010 to help the general public understand the information that is being distributed outside the public process. Planning staff will adding to these FAQs as time permits. If you have questions or concerns about the Title 21 Rewrite, please call the department at 343-7921, or email us at title21@muni.org. You may also submit a question for planners to answer, to the same email. Please include a name and contact information, which will not be published. See FAQs.
What is Title 21?
Title 21 is a section of municipal code that regulates land use and development in order to protect and enhance the public health, safety, and general welfare, and to implement the comprehensive plan.
The regulations address zoning, subdividing, and such development standards as parking, landscaping, lighting, drainage, open space, and stream setbacks.
The title is organized into chapters, each addressing a different aspect of the regulations. See the Status of Chapters section below for the list of chapters in the rewrite.
What is the Title 21 Rewrite Project?
As part of the implementation of Anchorage 2020 – Anchorage Bowl Comprehensive Plan, the Community Development Department's Planning Division of the Municipality of Anchorage initiated a comprehensive rewrite of the land use code. The purpose of the code rewrite is to modernize Anchorage's land use regulations to include development techniques and design standards; to make the code more useable and easier to understand; and to implement recently adopted plans and policies. Go to the Archived Documents page (see sidebar to the left) for more historical information on the project.
Provisionally Adopted Chapters
(to be moved to title 21 documents page)
The Planning Department proposed minor edits to the provisionally adopted chapters in 2010, to correct errors and clarify intent. Staff tracked the edits in the chapters by underlining and yellow highlighting new text, and captalizing and gray highlighting deleted text. The edited chapters are available for download here.
In addition, at the same time, the department proposed a variety of amendments in a separate document. Some of these amendments suggested text for sections that were adopted without any content (RESERVED), and some suggested changes based on additional testing or research by department staff. The document of proposed amendments is also available for download here.
These amendments were prepared in May 2010 in anticipation of the Planning Department, the Administration, and the community reviewing Title 21 one last time before final adoption. Former Assemblymember Dan Coffey was hired in 2010 to facilitate the final review. Comments were accepted at the Planning Department through July 31, 2010, and were forwarded to Mr. Coffey. See the main title 21 rewrite web page for more information on the results of Mr. Coffey's review process as a consultant to the Mayor.
Provisionally Adopted Chapters 1-3 with edits
Provisionally Adopted Chapters 4-6 with edits
Provisionally Adopted Chapters 7-8 with edits
Provisionally Adopted Chapters 9-13 with edits and Chapter 14
Proposed Amendments (amendment numbers correspond to footnote numbers in the provisionally adopted chapters)
Chapter 14
The Assembly provisionally adopted everything but Chapter 14, Definitions. They intend to adopt Chapter 14 at the time of final adoption of the Title 21 Rewrite, bypassing provisional adoption of this chapter.
Chapter 14, Definitions, was recommended for adoption, with amendments, by the Planning and Zoning Commission on December 14, 2009. The Assembly Title 21 Committee began reviewing Chapter 14 however put its review on hold in 2010 in anticipation of receiving the Administration's proposed amendments. Go to Section 3 web page for Chapter 14 documents from 2010.
Assembly Title 21 Committee Documents
In 2010 the Assembly Title 21 Committee reviewed several subsections that had not been included in the provisionally adopted drafts. The subsections included:
-Snow Storage: Snow storage draft; Snow disposal treatment and guidance manual summary
-Large Nonresidential Establishments in or Surrounded by Large Lot Residential
1. Staff proposal to PZC Fall 2009
2. PZC recommended version
3. Ossiander version
4. Combination version June 2010
-Tall Buildings
The Assembly Title 21 Committee completed its review of one of these subsections, Large Nonresidential Establishements in or Surrounded by Large Residential, and forwarded its recommendations to the full Assembly. The subsection was provisionally adopted by the Assembly and is included in the provisionally adopted title 21 draft available on the main title 21 project web page. The Committee adjourned in 2010 before review of the other two subsections, snow storage and tall buildings, was completed. A revised version of the snow storage section appears as Proposed Amendment 84.1 brought forward at the request of the Administration at the end of 2011 for review by the Planning and Zoning Commission and Assembly.
For more information, please contact the Planning Division at Title21@muni.org or 343-7921.