September 2005
Our next meeting is Thursday September 15 at 7:00 pm
at O'Malley Elementary School.
Agenda
That question has been asked many times in this newsletter. The question gets to the heart of much of what we look at as a community council. Residents of Anchorage are fortunate to have the large lot alternative we enjoy. But how long will this last as the city grows? Will Anchorage's growth require that more homes per acre be built on the Hillside? Will growth on the Hillside require commercial services closer to home? And why do you want a large lot anyway? To store all of your toys or to get a little space so you don't have to look at your neighbor's junk? Regular readers of this newsletter know that these questions all point to the Hillside District Plan.
We have talked about this plan many times and it is becoming closer to a reality. Over the summer, Hillside area Community Council members and representatives of the Home and Landowners Organization (HALO) met with MOA planners to get this plan on track. The MOA is twiddling its thumbs until funding can be assured by the Assembly. There is confidence that will be forthcoming in the next budget.
But anxious Hillsiders can't wait until that budget issue is resolved so we are getting things rolling on our own. And you are invited! Plan to attend and bring your friends to a round table discussion on the Hillside District Plan. Hosted and funded by HALO, this event will be Thursday, September 29, 7 pm, at O'Malleys on the Green.
The evening will include the eight Hillside area Community Councils: Abbott Loop, Basher, Bear Valley, Glen Alps, Hillside East, Huffman/O'Malley, Mid-Hillside and Rabbit Creek. Planning Department Director Tom Nelson and Planning Staff will attend, as well as Assembly and State Representatives.
Why do you live on the Hillside? If you don't take the time to answer that question, other people will answer it for you! The only way to create an effective Hillside District Plan that represents the opinions of its residents is with community input. That means you!
For more information about the event, contact HALO President Chris Hamre at 561-1840.
__________________________________
BYLAWS CHANGE FOR THE HILLSIDE EAST COMMUNITY COUNCIL. The Assembly recently set new guidelines for Community Council Bylaws. The Hillside East CC Bylaws need significant changes. Tom Newins will propose changes for discussion.
__________________________________
THE LARGE ANIMAL ORDINANCE will be introduced at the Assembly on the 13th. A public hearing will usually be a month or so later. Linda Perkins will present points for a proposed resolution regarding this ordinance.
__________________________________
THE ZONING LAWS ARE CHANGING! Anchorage has been working on a rewrite of our zoning laws, called Title 21, for a couple years. The existing code has its roots in 1969. Since then, Anchorage's population has more than doubled, we've got more cars than people, and instead of growing by spreading out, we're growing by filling in.
The draft of the new Title 21 is designed to reflect this new reality and to promote the goals of our Comprehensive Plan. Where the Comp Plan speaks broadly about things like building and subdivision design and open space and trails, Title 21 puts it in concrete terms. It's really hard to read.
A glaring aspect of the Title 21 Draft is the diminished role of Community Councils. There's some irony in this as the city is celebrating the 30th anniversary of unification with the borough and the birth of Community Councils.
Comments on the second draft are due the day after our meeting. John Weddleton will summarize points in the draft that specifically relate to zoning in our area (primarily R-6). We'll work on a resolution to comment on those points. Check the council's website a few days before the meeting for a preview.
If you really want to read the whole thing for yourself, go to
www.muni.org/planning/prj_T21_PublicReviewDraft_1.cfm.
__________________________________
THE LAND USE PLANNING MAP is closely related to Title 21. This map is the picture that describes what areas of land are zoned. This map, once it is approved, is the main document people will use to determine what can be built and where. Comments on this map are due the day after our meeting. We'll have a copy for review. ___________________________________
THE HILLSIDE DISTRICT PLAN is the headline topic this month. The main meeting on that will be a week after our regular meeting. However, Joanne Contreras, the MOA person in charge of shepherding this project along, will be at our regular meeting to give us an overview.
___________________________________
THE LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN draft is circulating and comments are due soon after our meeting. A joint Assembly and Planning & Zoning Commission hearing will be held on September 19, 2005 from 5 to 7 pm to seek public comment on the 2025 Draft. It appears that O'Malley and DeArmoun may have been reclassified as busier streets.
More information on the Long Range Transportation Plan is at www.muni.org/tran
___________________________________
WE LOST A BOARD MEMBER! John Jenkins moved just outside the Mid-Hillside boundaries and into the Huffman-O'Malley CC.
October is our Annual Meeting where we vote in some new board members. Don't be bashful!
___________________________________
THE BUCKETLOADS OF RAIN WE'VE BEEN GETTING have probably kept you from worrying about wildfire. But the local wood lot is still open until October 1, 2005. Go fill it up with your flammable brush and wood. Hours are Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 6 p.m. The Anchorage Wood Lot is located at Valley Sawmill, off Minnesota and "C" Streets. For more information, call 267-4956 or go to http://www.muni.org/fire1/Woodlots.cfm
___________________________________
TRASH HOURS AND DAYS ARE CHANGING To reduce the risk of bears roaming our neighborhoods to chow on garbage, the Municipality and Alaska Waste are changing the hours and days for residential trash pick up.
There will be no more Saturday residential trash pick up and from May through September trash pick up for all residents will begin no earlier than 7:30 a.m.
_______________________
ANCHORAGE DEMOGRAPHICS
Research Matters No. 10: Anchorage at 90 July 11, 2005
Anchorage reflects magnifies three nationwide trends: a growing number of minority residents, a large number of baby boomers on the cusp of retirement, and a fast-growing population over 65. Rapid growth in the adjoining Mat-Su Borough is also making Anchorage like other cities where the population in outlying areas is less racially diverse and more concentrated among families. Those changes and many more are described in a new ISER profile of recent economic and demographic change in Alaska's largest city.
" Anchorage's growing minority population is on average younger, less well-educated, and poorer than the white population. Those differences are already changing the labor force, school enrollment, and more.
" Growing international immigration to Anchorage is reflected in a 26% increase in the number of Permanent Fund dividend applications from non-citizen residents between 1995 and 2004.
" Anchorage has more baby boomers than almost any place else. Their decisions about when and where to retire will have big effects on the make-up of the population, the demand for housing and health care, and more.
" People over 65 could make up 1 in every 10 Anchorage residents by 2020, up from about half that level in 2000. Older residents help stabilize the economy, because they have income that doesn't depend on jobs, but they also increase demand for health care and related services.
" Education levels among young adults in Anchorage are down slightly, even as it gets harder for those without a college education to find good-paying jobs. In 1980, high-school dropouts in Anchorage could earn 72% as much as college graduates; by 2000, that had dropped to just 43% as much.
" Permanent Fund dividends keep poverty at bay, with dividends making up about $1 of every $5 of income among the poorest 20% of Anchorage households. The likeliest to be poor in Anchorage (as is true in other cities) are single mothers and their children, old people living alone, minorities, and people with less education.
Click here http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/Anch90.pdf to see a copy of the full publication, , by Scott Goldsmith, Lance Howe, and Linda Leask.
_______________________________
WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A DIKE BURSTING, but what if we have an earthquake or wildfire? The chaos in New Orleans shows the benefit of the multi agency drills we've had over the past few years. So who's in charge if there's an emergency in Anchorage? Denis LeBlanc, the City Manager, is the point person if we should have a fire on the hillside. He is also the Director of the Emergency Operations Center so that makes him the point person all the way around the system.
It should be reassuring for Hillsiders that he lives in our neighborhood!
Mid-HillsideBoard Members
John Weddleton -President 349-8370 john@weddleton.com
Brian Johnson -Vice President 345-5883 brian.johnson2@akanch.ang.af.mil
Tom O'Grady -Secretary 345-6948 ogrady@gci.net
Linda Perkins -Treasurer 346-2558 miniaturehorses@alaska.com
Kim Ross -Registrar 344-0333 kimross@alaska.com
Shirley McGrath 345-1606 smcgrath@alaska.net
Mark Miner 336-2383 akminers@alaska.net
Lance Powell 346-2327 lwpowell1@juno.com
Hillside East Board Members
Tom Newins, President 345-8881 newins@gci.net
Bjarne Holm, Vice President bjarneholm@ak.net
Assembly Representatives
Janice Shamberg jcshamberg@gci.net 343-4124
Chris Birch chrisbirch@gci.net 346-3265
APD Liason Cindy Stanton 786-2668 c:317-0985
Our next meeting is Thursday, September 15.
We meet at 7pm on the third Thursday of the month at O'Malley Elementary School on Rockridge off O'Malley. www.communitycouncils.org/MidHillside/hillmid.html