Anchorage recently passed a package of laws that will allow accessory dwelling units in commercial and residential zones, and, in a rare move, on residential lots with existing multi-family housing.
The Anchorage Assembly recently approved a reform package that will allow more accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Alaska’s largest city.
According to an article by Jeanette Lee for the Sightline Institute, the city will ease ADU permitting and construction by “allowing bonus homes on more kinds of properties and removing owner-occupancy requirements and onerous design rules.”
Anchorage’s ADU reforms allow a bonus home in all commercial and residential zones and on all kinds of housing, including large, multifamily buildings. Owners can build a bonus home, or buy a home that comes with one, but no longer have to live on the property. Design-based barriers, including square footage, height, and architectural requirements, were eased or eliminated. The ordinance requires the city planning department to help people navigate the permitting process and start tracking the number of ADUs. Anchorage already did away with parking mandates, another design-related impediment to ADUs, in a separate ordinance last year.
Lee also describes Anchorage’s amended ADU codes as significant compared to other zoning reform efforts around the country. “Most cities limit ADUs to lots with single houses in residential zones,” for example, “But Anchorage now allows them with multifamily homes, too.”
Anchorage also made zoning reform news in November, when it eliminated parking requirements citywide.
FULL STORY: ANCHORAGE ADOPTS MODEL ADU REFORMS
Texas Legislature’s Surprising Pro-Housing Swing
Smaller homes on smaller lots, office to apartment conversions, and 40% less say for NIMBYs, vote state lawmakers.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
NYC Likely to Legalize ADUs as Part of ‘City of Yes’ Reforms
Homeowners in some neighborhoods could soon be able to build accessory dwelling units in their backyards, garages, or basements.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association