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Record of Proceedings

City Council Meeting Summary - November 14, 2025

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Friday, November 14, 2025
BodyAnchorage, Alaska
SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings
DateFriday, November 14, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:38

We'll start in just one minute for the folks on the phone.

4:32

All right.

4:33

Are we ready?

4:44

Oh, today is November 14th.

4:49

We're on the record from eleven fifty to twelve fifty.

4:53

Eleven fifty-five right now.

4:55

We're here to discuss AO twenty twenty-five dash one twenty-eight in ordinance amending increased remissible code.

5:01

Chapters 2105 and 2115 to make shelter units allowable structures for developing particular land uses to increase the time allowance for temporary uses.

5:09

Developed Planning and Zoning Commission review.

5:14

This item was introduced by the mayor.

5:16

Department of Wow.

5:17

We'll start with introductions, Ms.

5:19

Baldwin Day.

5:20

Aaron Baldwin Day.

5:21

Jared Gierker.

5:22

Mr.

5:22

Myers is around the corner on the phone.

5:24

Ms.

5:24

Silvers.

5:27

I'm here.

5:28

Thank you.

5:28

Thank you, Mr.

5:29

Johnson.

5:31

Sure.

5:32

Thank you.

5:32

Mr.

5:32

Martinez.

5:35

Present.

5:35

Thank you, Chair.

5:36

All right.

5:37

So at this point, that's everybody.

5:39

Uh, other than our friends, department of law clerks office and planning department, department of law upstairs.

5:44

So somebody counsel, I should have said.

5:47

So since this is coming from the administration, we'll let you take the floor.

5:53

Thank you, Mr.

5:54

Chair.

5:54

Uh, this is Daniel Kenna Foster from Longrange Planning.

5:57

So I'm Alison Lang from the municipal attorney's office.

6:03

So uh thank you for having us.

6:05

We'll be just providing a brief overview of this ordinance in context of some of the other ordinances and also um some of the specific issues this ordinance seeks to address.

6:15

Um so again, this is AO 2025-128.

6:18

It's amending uh title 21 chapters 2105, which is uses and 2115, which is definitions to make shelter units allowable structures for specific land uses with extended temporary use status.

6:29

Next slide, please.

6:31

So as I'm sure everybody is aware, uh the MUNI's uh undertaking a pretty exciting project to look at a new type of shelter unit.

6:39

These uh they're being called the recovery residences, they're being built over at the Tudor campus off of uh Elmore and Tudor.

6:46

Um these are being funded with opioid settlement funding.

6:48

Um, the expectation is long term that they'll be uh, you know, they'll run based on Medicaid building.

6:53

So it's kind of an innovative um way of doing things.

6:57

It's a new project, the muni just trying to stand up these units in a short time.

7:01

Um you know, it's over where we work, the I think the electrical is in and the water is in, so the the pedestals are up.

7:08

So it's been pretty cool to see these um get produced, they're being produced off site, and then they're being going to be moved to the site for so that it's a temporary use on that piece of property.

7:18

And because the current temporary use code only allows uses for up to 90 days and maybe with a 90-day extension, and these are intended to be a much longer um project to see if they're viable or not.

7:28

Um the the code needs some changes.

7:30

Um, and so going through this, we there was a lot of discussion about do we change all temporary uses, do we change just for certain types of use types, or do we you know, sort of do it a little bit in between where we're sort of regulating structures but not the use types as much.

7:45

Um, and what we all came up with working with the building department, uh department of law, um, mayor's office, and everybody is this sort of compromise.

7:53

Excuse me, next slide, please.

7:55

So in this, we'll be talking about both building code and zoning code.

7:58

Of course, building code regulates the materials designs of how structures are built in space, what kind of wood, what kind of wiring, you know, if how many, you know, fire safety, that sort of thing.

8:08

Zoning code generally regulates what uses are allowed in different parts of the city, where uses are placed on a lot, and what uses look like.

8:14

So this ordinance is talking about the zoning code piece because the building code piece is addressed in a different way.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Affordable Housing███████████████████25%
Procedural███████████15%
Summary of Proceedings

City Council Meeting - November 14, 2025

The November 14, 2025, City Council meeting convened to discuss and address Ordinance Amendment AO 2025-128. This measure Amends Title 21, Chapters 2105 and 2115, to classify "shelter units" as allowable structures for specific land uses and to extend the time allowances for temporary use permits. The primary drivers for this amendment include expediting the "Recovery Residence" project at the Tudor campus and providing flexible temporary housing for evacuees from Western Alaska. The ordinance aims to streamline the permitting process by bypassing the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) review to ensure rapid deployment, while harmonizing zoning regulations with existing building code exemptions for these portable structures.

Consent Calendar

  • No formal consent calendar items were presented in the transcript; the meeting proceeded directly to the discussion of the ordinance amendment.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alison Lang (Municipal Attorney) and Daniel Kenna Foster (Longrange Planning) presented the ordinance details. Lang emphasized that the ordinance balances regulatory preservation with the need for nimbleness, noting that shelter units are exempt from building permits under AMC 23.110.0416 but remain subject to building code safety standards. She clarified that this is not intended to allow shelter units to be classified as "relocatable dwelling units," which are intended for permanent occupancy.
  • Councilor Baldwin Day requested that the presentation slides be uploaded to the city website for remote members, noting discrepancies in the Municode.org version regarding the Planning and Light Industrial (PLI) zone status.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance AO 2025-128 Details: The amendment permits shelter units (defined as small, portable, rigid structures) to be used for three specific use types: Habilitative Care Facilities, Transitional Living Facilities, and Homeless and Transient Shelters. It does not create a new use type in the use table but rather allows these specific uses to be physically implemented using shelter units.
  • Timeline Extension: Current code limits temporary uses to 90 days with one 90-day extension. The amendment is necessary because the Recovery Residence project and potential housing for evacuees require a duration significantly longer than 120 days to determine viability and stabilize residents.
  • Waiver of PZC Review: Council members inquired why the item was not referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Staff explained that bypassing the PZC was a strategic decision to accelerate the process from a potential six-month timeline to two months, addressing urgent housing needs for both the Recovery Residence project and Western Alaska evacuees. While acknowledging the loss of extended community notification and deliberation time, the council recognized the necessity of the urgency.*
  • Use Table Clarification: Discussion clarified that while Habilitative Care (medium: 9-25 residents) recently became a permitted use (P) in the PLI zone via AO 2025-112, this ordinance allows shelter units to be built for those uses where they are permitted, rather than expanding shelter units into zones where those underlying uses are not allowed.
  • Future Standards: A council member suggested that while the code provides a broad extension policy, it would be wise to contemplate future standards to determine when a shelter unit has reached its useful end or begun to negatively impact the neighborhood, to be potentially added via director approval or future ordinance.

Key Outcomes

  • The Council was briefed on AO 2025-128. The meeting concluded without a recorded vote on the final ordinance in this specific transcript segment; the item was referred for further action (implied by the statement "This item is before us Tuesday night," noting the next scheduled meeting).
  • Next Steps: The Planning Department committed to updating the presentation slides to reflect current Title 21 changes (specifically regarding the PLI zone) and uploading them to the website.
  • The ordinance seeks to allow shelter units under habilitative care, transitional living, and homeless shelter uses, exempting them from standard unit-specific zoning standards while relying on the Building Department for construction and safety compliance.

Meeting Transcript

We'll start in just one minute for the folks on the phone. All right. Are we ready? Oh, today is November 14th. We're on the record from eleven fifty to twelve fifty. Eleven fifty-five right now. We're here to discuss AO twenty twenty-five dash one twenty-eight in ordinance amending increased remissible code. Chapters 2105 and 2115 to make shelter units allowable structures for developing particular land uses to increase the time allowance for temporary uses. Developed Planning and Zoning Commission review. This item was introduced by the mayor. Department of Wow. We'll start with introductions, Ms. Baldwin Day. Aaron Baldwin Day. Jared Gierker. Mr. Myers is around the corner on the phone. Ms. Silvers. I'm here. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Sure. Thank you. Mr. Martinez. Present. Thank you, Chair. All right. So at this point, that's everybody. Uh, other than our friends, department of law clerks office and planning department, department of law upstairs. So somebody counsel, I should have said. So since this is coming from the administration, we'll let you take the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, this is Daniel Kenna Foster from Longrange Planning. So I'm Alison Lang from the municipal attorney's office. So uh thank you for having us. We'll be just providing a brief overview of this ordinance in context of some of the other ordinances and also um some of the specific issues this ordinance seeks to address. Um so again, this is AO 2025-128. It's amending uh title 21 chapters 2105, which is uses and 2115, which is definitions to make shelter units allowable structures for specific land uses with extended temporary use status. Next slide, please. So as I'm sure everybody is aware, uh the MUNI's uh undertaking a pretty exciting project to look at a new type of shelter unit. These uh they're being called the recovery residences, they're being built over at the Tudor campus off of uh Elmore and Tudor. Um these are being funded with opioid settlement funding. Um, the expectation is long term that they'll be uh, you know, they'll run based on Medicaid building. So it's kind of an innovative um way of doing things. It's a new project, the muni just trying to stand up these units in a short time. Um you know, it's over where we work, the I think the electrical is in and the water is in, so the the pedestals are up.

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