A proposed ordinance that would increase the space available for farmers markets and allow rooftop greenhouses was postponed indefinitely by the Anchorage planning and zoning commission Monday night after facing scrutiny by commission members.
The ordinance would allow farmers markets on city parks and recreation land and allow rooftop greenhouses to exceed city building height limits by up to 15 feet.
Rooftop greenhouses are already allowed on residences in the municipality if they do not exceed building height limits.
Ryan Yelle, associate planner for the city's planning division, said similar rooftop greenhouse models in cities like Detroit, Montreal and Milwaukee have been successful. Yelle said in the meeting that it can be an efficient way to grow food, tap into existing utilities and use empty space.
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But members of the commission said the details of the proposal were too vague. Some noted that under the proposal, a greenhouse could make up 30 to 50 percent of the building depending on its zoning. They also had concerns about the structural integrity of the greenhouses and their upkeep, maintenance and interference with neighborhood views.
"It could kind of lend itself to having an appearance of a shantytown with all these flimsy structures on top of roofs," said commission member Danielle Bailey.
The idea for the ordinance stemmed from a recommendation given to Mayor Ethan Berkowitz's office from the Alaska Food Policy Council. The letter outlines barriers to food production in Anchorage and suggestions from the city on how to increase it.
The proposed ordinance would add farmers markets as an acceptable use for city park land under Title 21, the city code that designates land use and zoning provisions. Katie Dougherty, executive assistant to the director of economic and community development, said the farmers market designation was simply not included as a park use during the Title 21 rewrite process.
"Those sorts of oversights are bound to happen when you're dealing with something of that size," Dougherty said in a phone interview last month. "It's so small and it's so specific."
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Dougherty said the mayor's office was only informed of the issue when the parks and recreation department contacted them about it.
On Monday, Jerrianne Lowther, with the Muldoon Farmers Market, said they hoped to move into the Muldoon Town Square Park when it's completed, but were told they couldn't under current land-use provisions.
The commission approved of allowing farmers markets, but didn't move the case forward due to the greenhouse proposal.
Yelle said he planned to make changes to the ordinance before introducing it to the planning commission again in several months for reconsideration.