The Anchorage Assembly again tabled a decision on the controversial Chugach Access Plan at its meeting Tuesday night, this time because of a procedural issue tied to new Anchorage land-use regulations.
The comprehensive access plan document, developed through a joint effort by the state and municipality, deals with access issues into Chugach State Park. After hearing public testimony from more than 40 people at its Sept. 23 meeting, and postponing a vote to work on proposed amendments, the Assembly seemed set to make a decision Tuesday on whether to adopt the plan.
But municipal attorney Dennis Wheeler told the Assembly during the meeting that Anchorage's new land-use regulations require the plan to first be reviewed by a land-use advisory board.
The Chugiak-Eagle River Advisory Board, like other land-use boards, is charged with reviewing recommended changes to the municipality's comprehensive plan that affect their area, Wheeler said. That requirement is part of the rewritten Title 21, which took effect at the start of 2014.
"We simply have a procedural issue we have to address," Assembly Chair Patrick Flynn said at the meeting.
Assembly member Bill Starr, who represents Chugiak-Eagle River, said the five-member advisory board will be able to address the issue within the next four weeks.
Documents provided for Tuesday's Assembly meeting show that Assembly members have proposed a total of 24 amendments to the plan, ranging from language changes to a proposal to delete or modify potential access points, or "red dots." Some homeowners who live close to places identified as possible access points have asked the Assembly to remove them.
In an interview before the meeting, senior planner Thede Tobish said the department "generally does not support deleting sites." The "red dots" are supposed to reflect potential access sites in the future, but none are certain.
The Assembly is scheduled to take up the access plan again at its Nov. 5 meeting.
Also postponed Tuesday night was a decision on whether to outlaw shorter metal palisade fences, singled out by wildlife biologists as posing a danger to moose. Assembly member Jennifer Johnston, who sponsored the original measure, agreed to amend the ordinance to say the law would apply only to fences shorter than 7 feet, instead of 9 feet.
That prompted several Assembly members to move to postpone a vote on the measure, saying the public should have a chance to see a summary of the amendment.
Johnston's amendment came after Art Davidson, who lives in South Anchorage and owns a storage business in Midtown Anchorage, testified to the Assembly and suggested revising the ordinance to lower the height requirement. He said that while the ordinance was "well-intended to protect moose in areas where there are lots of them," it makes little sense for commercial industrial areas like Midtown, where moose are less likely to be attempting to scale fences.
In another land-use issue, the Assembly voted 8-3 to extend the period for people to voluntarily apply for building permits under the old land-use regulations.
Developers and architects were in support of extending the option to apply under the old regulations, but the city's community development office opposed such action. A five-and-a-half page memo from Erika McConnell, the manager of the current planning division, cited a series of concerns, including a burden on city staff stretched thin by years of budget cuts.
Jennifer Johnston, who co-sponsored the proposal with Amy Demboski, reiterated that the goal of the proposal was to avoid making rushed changes to the new regulations.
The Assembly voted 8-3 on the proposal, with Assembly members Elvi Gray-Jackson, Dick Traini and Paul Honeman in opposition. The vote came one day after Anchorage's Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-1 to support extending the "old code" option.