Title 21 Parking and Site Access
Introduction
Parking and maneuvering requirements are typically the costliest zoning regulations for multifamily and mixed-use developments. Excessive parking can reduce the number of housing units, increase household rents on remaining units, stymie economic reinvestment, discourage transportation alternatives, increase road congestion, constrain design, and degrade quality of life.
This project was initiated by the Planning Department to carry out Actions 4-3 and 4-6 of the Anchorage 2040 Land Use Plan to amend Title 21 to allow parking reductions by right, offer greater reductions in key development areas, and reform on-site driveway standards and other site access requirements.
Title 21 Site Access Amendments adopted on July 11, 2023; Effective date is January 1, 2024
The Assembly deliberated upon and adopted the Title 21 Site Access Amendment ordinance with two floor amendments at its July 11 regular meeting. The ordinance as introduced to the assembly and the two floor amendments made by the Assembly at the meeting appear below. The final, signed and approved version of the ordinance that incorporates Floor Amendments 1 and 2 will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.
The amended Title 21 site access regulations in AO No. 2023-50 will become effective on January 1, 2024. The Title 21 regulations that have applied to development projects prior to Assembly adoption of AO No. 2022-50 will continue to apply to all applications filed for development or land use entitlements until the close of business on Friday, December 29, 2023. Applicants for entitlements who file their application on or after Tuesday, January 2, 2024, will be reviewed under Title 21 as amended by the adopted AO No. 2023-50.
- 21.07.090F., Parking Usage Reductions: Alternative Transportation Incentives
- 21.07.090K., Bicycle Parking
Title 21 Site Access Amendments Assembly public hearing held on May 9th and continued deliberation by Assembly scheduled for July 11th (A.O. 2023-50)
The Anchorage Assembly held a public hearing and closed public testimony during their May 9, 2023 Assembly meeting. The Assembly also referred A.O. 2023-50 to the Assembly Community and Economic Development Committee (CEDC). The CEDC listened to a staff overview presentation and discussed the ordinance on June 1, 2023.
Assembly Community and Economic Development Committee (CEDC) Site Access Amendment Documents:
- CEDC Presentation Slides, June 1, 2023 (Hyperlink available soon)
- CEDC Handout, June 1, 2023 (Hyperlink available soon)
Assembly Site Access Amendment Documents:
Title 21 Site Access Amendments ordinance recommended to Assembly for approval (PZC Case No. 2023-0011)
On February 13, 2023, the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) voted unanimously to recommend approval to the Anchorage Assembly of PZC Case No. 2023-0011, Site Access Regulations in Title 21. The case will be scheduled for Introduction and Public Hearing before the Assembly during the second quarter of 2023.
The PZC documents are hyperlinked below. These are the reforms to Title 21 vehicle driveway access and circulation requirements, pedestrian facility requirements and incentives, and building placement and orientation standards that were proposed alongside the reforms to off-street parking minimums in A.O. 2022-80 (PZC Case No. 2022-0026; see further below). The Assembly ultimately adopted a Substitute version of A.O. 2022-80(S) without the site access amendments, in order to de-couple the site access amendments from the parking amendments ordinance. The Assembly gave direction to take the site access amendments back through a Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) public hearing as a separate companion ordinance to the parking reforms.
PZC Site Access Case Documents:
Title 21 Parking Amendments adopted on November 22, 2022
Following is the Assembly's Substitute version of the Title 21 Parking and Site Access Amendments ordinance, AO 2022-80(S), which the Assembly adopted with two floor amendments on November 22. Also listed are the Assembly Memorandum (AM) summarizing the Assembly's Substitute version, and the two floor amendments to the Substitute version made by the Assembly at the meeting. These documents and other information is available in an Assembly press release.
Effective Date of Amended Parking Regulations: January 23, 2023
The amended Title 21 parking regulations in the adopted AO No. 2022-80(S) will become effective on January 23, 2023. The Title 21 regulations that have applied to development projects prior to Assembly adoption of AO No. 2022-80(S) will continue to apply to all applications filed for development or land use entitlements until the close of business on Friday, January 20, 2023.
Applicants for entitlements who file their application on or after Monday, January 23, 2023, will be reviewed under Title 21 as amended by the adopted AO No. 2022-80(S).
Exception: Two subsections of the amended Title 21 parking regulations will not apply to developments until January 1, 2024. These two subsections are:
- 21.07.090F., Parking Usage Reductions: Alternative Transportation Incentives
- 21.07.090K., Bicycle Parking
Draft Assembly Ordinance as Introduced in September
Following is the draft Title 21 parking and site access amendment ordinance containing the Planning and Zoning Commission's (PZC's) recommended changes, as well as its accompanying Exhibits A through E, which was introduced at the September 13 Assembly Meeting. These materials are subject to an Assembly public hearing that opened on October 11 and is continued to the November 22 Assembly meeting.
2022 Public Hearing Draft Approved by Planning and Zoning Commission
On June 6, 2022, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved forwarding to the Assembly a recommendation to adopt the Public Hearing Draft Title 21 parking and site access amendment, with some edits in response to public comments. See the PZC Resolution and attachments containing the PZC's approved edits:
Attachments 1-4 below were released on February 7, 2022, for two months of public review and comment. The Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) public hearing was held on April 11, 2022. Attachment 5 below contains written public comments regarding the public hearing draft code amendments that the Planning Department received by March 31. Additional public comments received by April 11 and submitted to the PZC in a supplementary packet are also provided below. The PZC closed the hearing and postponed its deliberations until June 6 when the Planning Department provided an issue-response memorandum to address the written comments and public testimony.
Attachment 3: Annotated Zoning Code Amendment Language Attachment 4: Clean Version with Proposed Amendments (Non-annotated)
2021 Community Discussion Draft for Public Review
The 2021 Community Discussion Draft amendment to the Title 21 Parking and Site Access was released on October 29 for a two-month review period. The Planning Department received comments/feedback to incorporate into the 2022 Public Hearing Draft. Materials released for the 2021 Community Discussion Draft included the following:
Other Project Documents
What We Heard from You in Pre-Consultation Phase: Winter 2020 - Summer 2021
The forthcoming Community Discussion Draft (October 2021) merges recommendations from individuals and organizations collected during the pre-consultation phase of the project. Thank you for your comments! Please review Project Documents for information on materials presented during this phase of the project. As we compile summaries of public comments and questionnaire responses from this phase we are posting them here:
Contacts
Tom Davis, Senior Planner, 907-343-7916 or tom.davis@anchorageak.gov
Elizabeth Appleby, Senior Planner, 907-343-7925 or elizabeth.appleby@anchorageak.gov