The Anchorage Assembly passed an ordinance Tuesday night that allows the city to issue dozens of new taxi permits in the next few years, rattling the local cab industry by potentially allowing an influx of new drivers to enter the market.
The ordinance, introduced by Assemblyman Bill Evans, passed in an 8-3 vote. Assembly members who voted in favor of the ordinance said it wasn't a cure-all but called it a "first step" toward changing and expanding the city's transportation options.
The version adopted by the Assembly on Tuesday directs the city to issue more than 100 new general and wheelchair-accessible taxi permits over the next five years through an auction.
Anchorage allows 188 taxis right now. After five years, Evans' ordinance also allows the city to lift the city's longstanding cap on the number of permits, though the city's Transportation Advisory Commission can halt more permits from being issued if the commission finds the changes damaged the quality of service.
Assembly members Evans, Patrick Flynn, John Weddleton, Forrest Dunbar, Eric Croft, Amy Demboski and Bill Starr voted in favor of the ordinance. The "no" votes were Assembly chair Elvi Gray-Jackson, vice-chair Dick Traini and Assemblyman Pete Petersen.
The Assembly took roughly four hours of testimony on the ordinance over two meetings. Many were cab drivers worried about financial ruin amid a hit to business investments.
Assembly members who supported the ordinance said it's good for competition and reacts to a rapidly evolving industry. Evans said his measure takes regulatory power out of the Assembly's hands and places it more in the hands of individuals making business decisions.
Several also said it wasn't a cure-all to complaints about service, but it was a start.
"This is by no means a silver bullet, it's not going to fix every transportation issue," said Assembly member Amy Demboski, who said she's watched service to her district, Chugiak-Eagle River, suffer over the years. "It's a first step though to modernizing the laws that govern this industry."
Evans said he expects a series of other regulatory changes will likely be examined in the wake of Tuesday's action. Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar called for an ad-hoc committee on transportation services to study issues raised in public testimony, such as complaints about dispatch companies and long hold times for callers.
With the number of permits currently fixed at 188, older, transferable permits have become valuable commodities for their owners. One sold for $155,000 in 2013, a report at the time said.
Cab drivers pleaded with the Assembly not to make changes. One man distributed receipts to the Assembly that he said showed that he spent $75,000 to buy a permit.
Assemblyman John Weddleton, who owns Bosco's Comic store in Anchorage, said he felt sympathetic toward the small business owners. But that's part of the risk of investment, he said.
"I got hammered when big box stores came in, and we all face the Internet," Weddleton said. "The signs of the risk of these permits were abundant."
Suzie Smith, a member of the Anchorage Taxicab Permit Owners Association, said she wasn't surprised by the Assembly's vote, but she called it "reckless."
Past efforts to deregulate the industry have been met with threats of legal action over the loss of permit value. Jim Brennan, an attorney for the Anchorage Taxicab Permit Owners Association, said he would be speaking with his client in the next week about a possible lawsuit.
"There very well may be a claim for taking without compensation," Brennan said.
The approval of the taxi ordinance came during a busy Assembly meeting, where the Assembly also forwarded a rate increase proposal for Municipal Light and Power to state utility regulators, approved a three-year contract for police protection in Girdwood.
The Assembly also rejected a proposal to ask voters to approve a cellphone tower lease in Kincaid Park late Tuesday night, with Assembly members voicing worries over the implications for the city's current agreement with GCI Inc. to build a tower if the proposition failed.
The Assembly postponed, until the next meeting, action on an ordinance related to the demolition of historic buildings.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the length of a contract for policing in Girdwood. It is a three-year contract, not a two-year contract.