Mid-Hillside and Hillside East
Community Councils

Anchorage, Alaska

TERRACE ESTATES

Terrace Estates and you. There has been a proposal to rezone the sand pit on the east side of Lake Otis between O'Malley and Huffman. The rezone requests housing density far greater than the surrounding neighborhoods. The rezone also includes a "Residential/Office" zoning that allows commercial development. This is way down the hill from us so you may think it will have little impact on you. It might even be a good idea and potentially a very nice development.

So what's all the fuss about? This rezone represents a dramatic change from the "Hillside Wastewater Management Plan" which is currently the guiding plan for zoning in our area. The new Comprehensive Plan mandates a "Hillside Area Plan" that would address zoning in our area. That plan remains unfunded for the foreseeable future. Until that plan is developed, the city must rely on the prevailing plan and on previous precedent. The rezone of this sand pit does neither.

Why does this concern you? What happens to our neighbor, may happen to us next. Angela Kuentzel, President of the Huffman-O'Malley CC has done a huge amount of research on the zoning issues involved and has spent many hours educating residents in that area. She says, "the City is justifying this development by comparing it to other similar developments - the problem being that they are comparing it to mid-town. If that is carried out to its logical conclusion - it would also be appropriate to build multi-storey offices, malls and other similar developments in Southeast Anchorage and the Hillside!!!"

The result of this issue is important to our area. If you live near an undeveloped tract of land with the expectation that any development there would be similar to the developments in your area now, you may be in for a surprise.

The following is a DRAFT resolution sent bt Diane Holmes from the Rabbit Creek Community Council. The Mid Hillside and Hillside East CC's will consider a similar resolution at our April 18,2002 meeting.

 

Draft Rabbit Creek Community Council Resolution to generate support for Hillside District Plan and to create interim protection against piecemeal high-density development Discussed by Rabbit Creek Community Council 3-14-02, Revised 3-18-02 On the Rabbit Creek agenda for action on 4-11-02 Until a Hillside District Plan is in place, the city should not allow leap-frog development, in which high-density neighborhoods are planted piecemeal in lower-density surroundings. These urban pockets create high traffic impacts, overburden other existing community infrastructure, abruptly change the neighborhood character, and require contentious retro-fitting of adjoining neighborhoods to handle spill-over impacts. The proposed Terraces subdivision between O’Malley and Huffman Roads is an example of a leap-frog development at higher densities than adjoining neighborhoods, which will change the character and quality of life for current residents, without any comprehensive community planning. The Anchorage 2020 Comprehensive Plan left the question of residential densities in southeast Anchorage to future detailed planning through the Hillside District Plan. Because the District Plan has not even begun, the Municipal planning staff and planning and zoning commission can decide on housing densities for each subdivision based on a combination of limited-scope documents such as the 1982 Wastewater Management Plan, and on personal or political inclination. The one-time public hearings after plats are submitted does not substitute for community planning. This is piecemeal re-zoning, no different from before Anchorage 2020. The Municipality must follow the promise of the Anchorage 2020 Comprehensive Plan, which specifies a Hillside District Plan to determine land use densities and urban/rural service levels in Southeast Anchorage. Until this plan is completed, the city should not permit high-density development or commercial development in a piecemeal fashion across the Hillside. Be it resolved by Rabbit Creek Community Council that the following measures are critical to avoid inefficient and incompatible piecemeal development in southeast Anchorage : 1. Fund the Hillside Plan. We urge our Assembly Representatives and the MOA Departments to be strategic and persistent in pursuing funding for a Hillside District Plan in the 2003 municipal budget. The funding should include adequate MOA staff to oversee the district plan. 2. Eliminate a density mandate based on sewers. The Assembly should remove the requirement of 3 dwelling units per acre as a minimum density for development of properties served by municipal sewers. The Municipality should determine residential densities through comprehensive district-wide planning, not just sewer service. 3. Moratorium on new commercial development, commercial zoning, and multi-family zoning. Until adoption of a comprehensive Hillside District Plan, place a moratorium on new commercial developments, or rezoning for commercial uses and multi-family housing south of Abbott Road and east of New Seward Highway; 4. Moratorium on down-sizing of R-6 areas. Until adoption of a comprehensive Hillside District Plan that addresses a full range of issues including transportation, emergency services, environmental quality, place a moratorium on re-zoning of large lots (R-6) to smaller lot sizes. 5. Traffic impact analysis and accountability. Require a traffic impact analysis of any residential development with five or more lots less than 1.25 acres. The impact analysis must take into account potential traffic from other undeveloped properties. The developer must fund any identifiable transportation upgrades needed to deal with his/her development’s traffic through adjoining areas. 6. Strong deterrence of cut-through traffic. New developments mustdirect their vehicle traffic to main collectors and arterials in a way that least affects adjoining neighborhoods. The developer must design and fund deterrents to cut-through traffic on residential roads (non-collectors) that will connect to his/her development. (Examples include one-lane, one-way connections; speed bumps; traffic diverters, or gated connections that can be opened by emergency vehicles.) This measure does not apply to pedestrian connectivity for a new development, which should be provided on dedicated public easements. 7. Transition zoning. Require any development in which lot size will be 20 percent smaller than adjoining lots to have a transition zone around the periphery. This transition zone in the new development will have a double-band of lots equal to adjoining larger lot sizes; or alternatively, it may have undisturbed natural space, protected by dedicated easement, of a depth equal to one band of lots of the same lot-size that adjoins the development. 8. Natural open space buffers. Where natural open space buffers are platted in a new development, the natural condition of the buffer must be guaranteed by dedicated easement and by bonds posted at the time of construction of adjoining infrastructure or buildings. The bond would cover restoration if natural open space were degraded by construction. 9. Usable public open space. Large developments must provide residents with usuable public open space within their boundaries because neighborhood open space is insufficient and poorly distibuted in southeast Anchorage. Usable space is defined as: having gentle grade; located for safe and convenient pedestrian access; width and length of lot must be conducive to public use (no skinny remnant strips of land); and not exposed to pre-emptive uses, such as parking or snow storage. 10. Community support. Rabbit Creek Community Council encourages passage of a similar resolution by all of southeast Anchorage’s Community Councils, and other groups that support rational, responsible development that respects neighborhoods.

email of 4/25/2002

Sharon Minsch, the President of Chugiak Community Council has asked me to distribute to you. This policy will affect all new large developments
(specifically the new gravel pit developments in the Huffman / O'Malley and
Sand Lake Council areas). If you have any questions you can contact Sharon Minsch at 694-4200 or

Development Services Department Policy / Procedure

Subject: Criteria for determining natural resource extraction

Purpose: To establish the criteria for determining natural resource
extraction for the Development Services Department

Policy:
This policy is intended to replace policy memo # 3-84 and to be used in
conjunction with Title 21 to identify when a conditional use permit will not
be required for resource extraction during the course of site preparation
and/or subdivision

The criteria within each of the five categories below must be met for
each site upon which the material is excavated.

A. A Municipal permit or agreement for the site upon which the excavation
is occurring shall have been applied for. "Permit or agreement" means a
building permit for a permanent structure; a land use permit; a grading
permit; an excavation/fill borrow permit; and AWWU water or sewer extension
agreement; a plat or short plat has been approved with a subdivision
agreement applied for; or another applicable Municipality of Anchorage
permit for the site has been applied for.

B. Excavation upon a site must occur prior to the expiration of that
agreement or permit or any extension thereof. "Site" means the described
area upon which the excavation is occurring under the certain permit or
agreement application.

C. No more than 50,000 cubic yards of material will be transported from a
site.

D. Disposal of material shall not be by sales, trade, or barter.

E. Excess material is disposed of on the same site or another site under
same ownership and the overall truck traffic impact to the properties along
the access route will not be more than would be created if the material were
provided from the nearest commercial off-site source.

If the above criteria are met, on site processing, crushing, screening, and
stockpiling for future use of the excess excavated material will be allowed.

Organizations Affected: Development Services Dept.

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