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Record of Proceedings

Work Session on Non-Conforming Structures and Relocatable Dwelling Units - October 3, 2025

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Friday, October 3, 2025

BodyAnchorage, Alaska

SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings

DateFriday, October 3, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 54:52

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Today, October 3rd.

0:02

First Friday, if you get a chance to go out tonight downtown, it's a lot of fun.

0:07

We are here convened to hear a work session or have a work session on 02025-90 for an ordinance amending anchorage municipal code, chapter 21.03 review and approval procedures in chapter 13, nonconformities to allow more flexibility for reconstruction or rehabilitation of non-conforming structures, as well as AO 2025-112 and ordinance amending Anchorage Municipal Code chapters 2103, 2104, 2105, 2106, 2107, 211, 2113, and 2115 to allow more flexibility for small forms of housing and relocatable dwelling units and manufactured home parks and all residential zones.

0:45

We are on the schedule from 1205 to 105.

0:48

I don't know why we did 1205, but we did.

0:51

We will start with it is now 1208.

0:53

We'll start with introductions, Mr.

0:55

Martinez.

0:55

George Martinez.

0:56

Aaron Baldwin Day.

0:57

Zach Johnson.

0:58

Scott Myers.

1:00

Anna Brawley.

1:00

Christopher Constant.

1:01

Yarrow Silvers.

1:03

We're joined by Mr.

1:04

McKenna Foster from the planning department, as was Ms.

1:07

Lang from the Department of Law or the Municipal Attorney's Office.

1:13

And this work session was requested by Ms.

1:15

Brawley.

1:16

So Ms.

1:16

Brawley, you have the floor.

1:17

Yeah, thank you.

1:18

I'll be brief.

1:19

So there's two ordinances here, and then I'll I would turn to uh the planning staff to talk through the details of those.

1:25

And then I do have amendments on one of them, but I I'll frame both of these as um one, as we know there are a lot of challenges in our zoning code that we are revisiting and trying to address because we have found several barriers to building.

1:39

Um, but also the issue of what we do with buildings that already exist, um, many of which uh may predate a a particular zoning code and or um our current zoning codes make it more difficult to uh rehab those structures, put a new accessory dwelling unit on the same structure, right?

1:55

It's just it's getting in the way of folks trying to do something with our aging housing stock, which we know half our buildings were built in the 70s and 80s, residential buildings, um, and so it's a huge problem.

2:05

And we're we're we are old enough as a city that we need to look at what happens when we have codes that are newer than our buildings.

2:11

Um, so this is maybe not the first time we've been here, but much older cities have already dealt with this um even before zoning existed.

2:18

So, anyway, all that to say um I think these are both related topics.

2:23

I think my amendments only relate to one of the ordinances, but but the topic of what to do with setbacks has come up in both of the mobile home discussion and this discussion.

2:33

Um, but with that, I would actually turn to planning staff to really educate us on what these do, and then we maybe we can come back to my amendments at the end.

2:40

Mr.

2:40

McKenna Foster.

2:45

Uh thank you, members.

2:47

Thank you, Mr.

2:48

Chair.

2:48

Uh, thank you, Madam Vice Chair.

2:49

This is Daniel McKenna foster long range planning.

2:52

I will go through uh a quick overview of the relocatable dwelling units ordinance, AO 2025-112.

2:58

Um so what problems is is this AO attempting to solve?

3:05

It's trying to do a lot.

3:06

There's a lot that went into this um and we spent a lot of time working on it, but there's been a lot of um collaboration with fire department or fire safety review and development services and coming up to this and mayor's office and working with some other projects.

3:18

So this ordinance is doing a lot.

3:20

Um, so first thing clear up confusion about and standardize code language about mobile homes, manufactured homes, tiny homes, modular homes.

3:27

Currently, in the code, it's not always clear.

3:28

It's especially not always clear for the public when people come in and say, Can I do a tiny house?

3:32

Can I do a modular house?

3:33

So that was one of the initial uh pieces of this to make it easier.

3:37

Oh, and and I should say that it it's also introducing a new definition, the relocatable dwelling unit.

3:42

So um that is sort of taking all those terms and saying if it's relocatable to relocatable dwelling unit.

3:47

Um, so a manufactured home.

3:48

If now if it's on a uh foundation, it's just a home.

3:52

Um so I'll be referring to them as RDUs or relocatable dwelling units or relocatable dwelling unit communities.

3:57

So uh this ordinance would also make it easier to repair existing relocatable dwelling units um or replace them with other safe forms of housing.

4:04

That's a big thing um throughout this process, and I'll talk about a little bit later, or in the next slide about the time under getting here.

4:11

Um, is that currently the code does not allow you to put anything in a mobile home or manufactured housing park except for a HUD certified mobile home.

4:19

Um, and the problem is in Anchorage, there just aren't that many of them in Alaska.

4:23

There aren't that many of them.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Land Use Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████83%

Housing█████████17%

Summary of Proceedings

Work Session on AO 2025-94 and AO 2025-112 - October 3, 2025

The Anchorage Assembly held a work session on October 3, 2025, to discuss two ordinances aimed at increasing housing flexibility and addressing zoning code barriers. The ordinances are AO 2025-94, which amends non-conformity rules to allow easier reconstruction and rehabilitation of non-conforming structures, and AO 2025-112, which updates regulations for relocatable dwelling units (RDUs), mobile homes, and manufactured home parks. Planning staff presented details, and Assembly members raised questions about foundations, setbacks, and potential unintended consequences. No votes were taken; the session was informational with planned further work on amendments.

Discussion Items

AO 2025-112 – Relocatable Dwelling Units (RDUs)

Staff described the ordinance as addressing confusion over terms like mobile homes, tiny homes, and modular homes by introducing a new category: "relocatable dwelling unit" (RDU). The ordinance would allow older mobile homes to be repaired or replaced with other safe housing, permit RDUs on foundations in more zones, reduce minimum lot sizes in existing parks, and expand allowable uses in public lands (PLI) zones. A key change: originally, RDUs as accessory dwelling units (ADUs) could be without a foundation, but building code concerns led to a requirement for a foundation. Staff noted that if a primary structure burns down, an unfounded ADU could become the main unit without a foundation, creating safety issues.
Assembly Member Brawley connected this to the need for uniform terminology to track progress toward the city's goal of 10,000 new units. Assembly Member Martinez asked about why foundations are required, and staff clarified it relates to both building code and property assessment. Assembly Member Baldwin Day inquired about the potential for faith communities to use RDUs for transitional housing; staff acknowledged that the use table changes open that possibility but additional work is needed.
Staff noted that the ordinance originated from a 2023 feasibility report on new mobile home parks, which found new parks infeasible due to high infrastructure costs. Instead, the focus shifted to repairing existing units. The ordinance was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission on June 9, 2025.

AO 2025-94 – Non-Conforming Structures

Staff explained that the current non-conformities code requires properties to gradually come into conformity with current zoning. The ordinance raises the threshold for triggering full conformity from 10% of property value (or structure value) to 50%, making it easier to make small repairs without major upgrades. For example, a $100,000 house with $40,000 in repairs would not be required to fix other non-conformities.
Assembly Member Brawley provided background on her proposed amendments, noting that non-conformities, especially setback encroachments, are a major barrier to building ADUs. She reported that in 2020-2024, several dozen ADUs were not built due to failing to get non-conforming determinations in time. She explored historical codes, finding that 20-foot front setbacks date back to 1946. Her amendments aimed to:
1. Add a purpose statement balancing conformity with practical realities.
2. Allow foundations existing before 2014 (the date of the Title 21 rewrite) to be considered conforming.
3. Allow a waiver for as-built surveys for small setbacks if staff can verify using aerial imagery from before 1968.
Staff provided feedback: Amendment 1 might be redundant; Amendment 2 could legalize a wide range of pre-2014 non-conformities, including serious encroachments, and would allow rebuilding in the same location if a structure is destroyed; Amendment 3 is problematic because aerial imagery lacks precision and may not exist for some years (e.g., before 1990). Staff noted that the planning director plans to meet with Brawley to work through the amendments.
Assembly Members expressed concerns about unintended consequences. Assembly Member Constant asked about non-conformities on public rights-of-way, and staff confirmed that zoning cannot legalize encroachments onto public land. Assembly Member Johnson questioned the distinction between non-conformities that are life-safety issues vs. aesthetic preferences. Staff replied that it varies case-by-case.
Staff mentioned a new policy from the director that merely notes non-conformities during investigations without requiring immediate fixes, shifting away from enforcement unless triggered by property sale or major changes.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken. The work session was informational.
Assembly Member Brawley will continue working with the planning director to refine her amendments before the next meeting (scheduled for October 21, 2025).
Staff will circulate a memo from Building Services regarding the foundation requirement for RDUs.
Both ordinances are expected to move forward; the Assembly will receive updated language on the amendments at a future date.

Meeting Transcript

Today, October 3rd. First Friday, if you get a chance to go out tonight downtown, it's a lot of fun. We are here convened to hear a work session or have a work session on 02025-90 for an ordinance amending anchorage municipal code, chapter 21.03 review and approval procedures in chapter 13, nonconformities to allow more flexibility for reconstruction or rehabilitation of non-conforming structures, as well as AO 2025-112 and ordinance amending Anchorage Municipal Code chapters 2103, 2104, 2105, 2106, 2107, 211, 2113, and 2115 to allow more flexibility for small forms of housing and relocatable dwelling units and manufactured home parks and all residential zones. We are on the schedule from 1205 to 105. I don't know why we did 1205, but we did. We will start with it is now 1208. We'll start with introductions, Mr. Martinez. George Martinez. Aaron Baldwin Day. Zach Johnson. Scott Myers. Anna Brawley. Christopher Constant. Yarrow Silvers. We're joined by Mr. McKenna Foster from the planning department, as was Ms. Lang from the Department of Law or the Municipal Attorney's Office. And this work session was requested by Ms. Brawley. So Ms. Brawley, you have the floor. Yeah, thank you. I'll be brief. So there's two ordinances here, and then I'll I would turn to uh the planning staff to talk through the details of those. And then I do have amendments on one of them, but I I'll frame both of these as um one, as we know there are a lot of challenges in our zoning code that we are revisiting and trying to address because we have found several barriers to building. Um, but also the issue of what we do with buildings that already exist, um, many of which uh may predate a a particular zoning code and or um our current zoning codes make it more difficult to uh rehab those structures, put a new accessory dwelling unit on the same structure, right? It's just it's getting in the way of folks trying to do something with our aging housing stock, which we know half our buildings were built in the 70s and 80s, residential buildings, um, and so it's a huge problem. And we're we're we are old enough as a city that we need to look at what happens when we have codes that are newer than our buildings. Um, so this is maybe not the first time we've been here, but much older cities have already dealt with this um even before zoning existed. So, anyway, all that to say um I think these are both related topics. I think my amendments only relate to one of the ordinances, but but the topic of what to do with setbacks has come up in both of the mobile home discussion and this discussion. Um, but with that, I would actually turn to planning staff to really educate us on what these do, and then we maybe we can come back to my amendments at the end. Mr. McKenna Foster. Uh thank you, members. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, thank you, Madam Vice Chair. This is Daniel McKenna foster long range planning. I will go through uh a quick overview of the relocatable dwelling units ordinance, AO 2025-112. Um so what problems is is this AO attempting to solve? It's trying to do a lot. There's a lot that went into this um and we spent a lot of time working on it, but there's been a lot of um collaboration with fire department or fire safety review and development services and coming up to this and mayor's office and working with some other projects. So this ordinance is doing a lot. Um, so first thing clear up confusion about and standardize code language about mobile homes, manufactured homes, tiny homes, modular homes. Currently, in the code, it's not always clear. It's especially not always clear for the public when people come in and say, Can I do a tiny house? Can I do a modular house? So that was one of the initial uh pieces of this to make it easier.

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