Mid Hillside Anchorage Community Council Notification Period

Notification Period

Community Councils can only be effective if we are given information in time to act on it. There has been an ongoing discussion about how much time is needed for Community Councils to respond to zoning issues that come up.

The current law is that 21 days notice must be given. This creates a problem for community councils that meet once a month.

The city has developed a website that is useful for finding zoning issues by community council area. This still does not solve the problem of scheduling a meeting in time to discuss an issue.

If you review the history section of this site, you'll see a few issues where a short notification time limited your neighborhood's ability to respond to changes.

The presentation below starts in 2001. The issue has been looming for much longer.

June 20, 2001

Greetings,
I just spoke with Assembly Chair Traini. He informed me that it is not possible to call for a recall of the vote to override the Mayor's Veto of the 35 day notification. Because of this PLEASE DO NOT ASK YOUR ASSEMBLY MEMBERS TO ASK FOR A RECALL of the override vote because it is not possible.

However, we do want to make sure that the Assembly keeps the pressure on the Administration and Community Planning to make sure that the email notification they promised actually does happen, and that it works to fix the problems we have found with the system. Basically we want to make sure that the notification works the way it should, and our Assembly needs to make sure they follow through with their promises.

It is perfectly ok for us to request our representatives hold the administration to their promise. Please contact me if you have any questions about this or other Council issues.

David Paperman Operations Manager
Federation of Community Councils
Community Councils Center

June 20, 2001

Greetings all,
In case you have not found out by now, the Assembly last night failed to override the Mayor's Veto of the 35 day notification for public hearings. The original vote held earlier this month passed the Assembly by a vote of 9-2 (with Assy. Members Clementson & Kendall voting against the notification increase). Last night's vote was 5-5-1 with Anna Fairclough, Dan Sullivan, Melinda Taylor, Doug Van Etten, and Janice Shamberg voting to override the Mayor, Assembly Members Allen Tesche, Dan Kendall, Cheryl Clementson, Fay Von Gemmingen, & Dick Traini voting to NOT OVERRIDE THE VETO, and Member Dick Tremaine was absent from that part of the meeting (he had an excused absence, but had told some residents that he was planning to vote to override if he was present.

The reason the override had lost support was that Craig Campbell, on behalf of the Mayor, stated that the Muni would send email announcements of upcoming hearings 45 days in advance of the hearing. Unfortunately this does not alert members of Councils, only the Presidents, and will only work if they have a computer with internet access (which at least 5 Council Presidents do not have).

However, the fight is not over yet... Please contact your Assembly Members to either a: Thank them for their support, and encourage them to 'hold the administration's feet to the fire' to make sure that this early notification is as complete as possible and happens as soon as possible (the target date is October 2001) b: Encourage them to rethink their votes and call for a reconsideration of the Override at the next Assembly Meeting. If they will not change their vote, encourage them to take an active role in encouraging the Muni to get this email notification system out ASAP, and to include all of the officers, not just the Council Presidents.

If you have questions or need more information, please don't hesitate to contact us at the FCC office.

David Paperman
Operations Manager
Federation of Community Councils
Community Councils Center 401 E. Northern Lights Blvd # 204 Anchorage AK 99503

June 13, 2001

Greetings,
As you may have already heard, the Mayor has vetoed the recently passed Assembly Ordinance to allow 35 days of notification prior to public hearings. This is an issue which the Councils and the Federation has worked on for nearly two years, and which passed the Assembly by a 9-2 vote last Tuesday.

It is the Federation's opinion that this notification will not present any significant delays or roadblocks to positive development in Anchorage, and that the increased notification will allow Councils an opportunity to have their neighborhoods' truly be given a say as to the future development of Anchorage as they were intended in the Charter.

Please contact your Assembly members to encourage them to vote to override the veto.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the office. With your help we worked with the Assembly to pass this resolution, and with your help we will see this veto over-ridden and the increased notification go into effect.

David Paperman Operations Manager

Click here to read the letter Mayor Wuerch wrote June 12, 2001 with his veto of the 35 day notification.

The Mayor's key points are that the two week increase for notification will apply at all levels as a zoning issue progresses through the system. This could in some cases add up to 2 months of delay. That delay could cause a project to miss the summer construction season.