Comprehensive Plans
List of Comprehensive Plans
- Anchorage 2020/Anchorage Bowl Comprehensive Plan
(Anchorage 2020) The Planning Department is involved with several projects that implement the Anchorage 2020 plan.
- Chugiak-Eagle River Comprehensive Plan (download here)
Adopted in 1993, this plan covers approximately 65 square miles located along the upper portion of Knik Arm north of the Anchorage Bowl. Although it is within the municipality, Chugiak-Eagle River has remained a distinct settlement due to the open space created by Fort Richardson Military Reservation, which separates it from Anchorage by more than 10 miles.
The plan addresses the needs and desires of this growing suburban/rural area. Most workers commute to work in the Anchorage Bowl. Key issues in Chugiak-Eagle River are developing a broader economic base, adequacy of public services, and protection/conservation of natural features.
- Turnagain Arm Comprehensive Plan
Adopted in 1987, this plan provides land use guidance for a handful of small settlement areas located at the southern end of the municipality. Nestled in mountain valleys along Turnagain Arm, the settlements covered by the plan include Rainbow, Indian, Bird Creek, Girdwood, and Portage. These are small, isolated development areas with a minimal level of public services. Most new development will occur along the Seward Highway corridor where environmental and aesthetic issues are dominant.
What is a comprehensive plan?
A comprehensive plan is a guide for community land use development. It is based on a community vision and portrays the dynamics, unique qualities, and concerns of a community. It represents how residents see their community.
The comprehensive plan identifies the issues, goals, and objectives which provide a framework for community decision making. It promotes orderly growth by ensuring that there is adequate housing, a climate for economic development and jobs, cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities, drinking water supply, roads, and utilities--all in a safe environment.
The comprehensive plan provides guidelines for determining the type and location of industrial, commercial, recreational and residential development and residential development density.
How is a comprehensive plan developed?
The development of a comprehensive plan involves four basic steps:
- Profile the current conditions in the community
- Analyze the trends and forecast future trends if current conditions continue
- Create a vision which identifies what the community wants to become and how it wants to look
- Develop an implementation plan which identifies actions and policies necessary to head the community in the direction of its vision.
The final comprehensive plan typically includes a community description, identification of issues, goals, objectives, and a land use map depicting the desired pattern of community development.
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