In the May 17 commentary “Assembly rezoning plan needs more public input,” 16 of our neighbors railed against the rezoning process, calling it a stealth move by the Assembly despite numerous meetings, hearings and news pieces.
In an effort to try to understand our neighbors’ concerns, I looked at how the changes would affect them. The numbers are perplexing. Of the 11 authors with an address on the Municipality of Anchorage property rolls, nine would see no change in maximum density allowed in their neighborhood, one would see a rise of maximum density from four units per acre to five units per acre, and one would see a decrease from a maximum of 40 units per acre to 30.
In fact, when one takes the time to actually look at the difference in the existing zoning map and the proposed map, one can only wonder where the outrage is coming from. Nearly the entire Hillside stays at one unit per acre. South Addition, one of the neighborhoods well represented in this letter, stays at 5-15 units per acre, the very same it is now.
In light of the outsized reaction to so little a change, one is left with two reactions. The first is, “Why the fearmongering?”
The second is, “Why isn’t the Assembly pushing for more?”
Where is the mixed use residential/ commercial/retail in the downtown core that aligns with what we know the young professionals entering their prime earning years and wanting to start families want? Where is the incremental development step that allows responsible housing infill? Why are we tying our housing needs of the next 20 years to a seven-year-old land use plan that relies on even older data?
If we have to listen to fearmongering, we might as well make it worth our while to get zoning that is poised to address our housing supply and affordability crisis.
— Jason Norris
Anchorage
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