City Assembly CEDC Meeting Summary - December 11, 2025
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City Assembly CEDC Meeting Summary - December 11, 2025
The Committee on Economic, Community, and Development (CEDC) convened on December 11, 2025, to receive departmental updates, discuss planning initiatives, and review code change proposals. The meeting featured significant personnel transitions, including the departing leadership of Planning, Development, and Public Works. Key topics included the replacement of the permitting software system with a cloud-based solution, a comprehensive rezoning of 9,000 acres to "parks and recreation" status, downtown speed limit reductions, and a critical review of the 2024 Building Code Change series regarding elevator controller placement.
Consent Calendar
- No specific consent calendar items were voted on as a separate block during this transcript; routine reports were accepted and discussed under their respective agenda items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Representatives from the National Elevator Industry (NEI), Otis, Schindler, and TK Elevator: These industry representatives expressed strong concern that Code Change Number 22, as currently drafted, contains ambiguous language that could be misinterpreted to restrict the installation of machine-room-less (MRL) elevator configurations that have been safely used in Anchorage for decades. They argued that the current language lacks clarity and creates unnecessary risk for delays and customer turnover. Consequently, they petitioned the committee to remand Code Change Number 22 back to city staff for further discussion and clarification before final adoption.
Discussion Items
- Departing Leadership & Departmental Status: Lance Wooler (Director of Planning, Development, and Public Works) announced this was his final meeting, expressing gratitude for his team's mentorship and the collaborative support of the assembly members. He noted his upcoming return to City Hall to assist with finance. Director Kent Colha (Public Works) and Director Craig Soule (Development Services) echoed sentiments of appreciation for Wooler's leadership.
- Software System Replacement:
- Project Description: The department is seeking to replace the current on-premises permitting software (Infor) with a cloud-based solution (proposals include Bluebeam and SmartGov) to facilitate online permitting, payments, and plan review coordination. The system is expected to be live in 2027.
- Positions: Staff and the assembly expressed support for modernizing the system to improve user-friendliness and remove bugs in the legacy system.
- Planning Department Updates:
- Rezoning Projects: The department is utilizing a new abbreviated rezone process to move 6 properties from lower to higher density housing districts and is proposing the rezoning of approximately 9,000 acres of existing park properties to "parks and recreation" status to add legal protection.
- Position on Valuation: When asked if rezoning to park status impacts property values, the Planning Director stated it is a "guess" but expressed the position that it would likely improve neighborhood value due to the added layer of security for green spaces, noting the properties are already dedicated parks.
- Legacy Code Cleanup: The department is preparing to present clean-up projects for old Title 21 zoning districts and a wetlands management plan update to accommodate recent Supreme Court rulings (Sackett decision) to the Planning and Zoning Commission by April.
- Public Works Updates:
- Infrastructure Projects: The department is working to lower downtown speed limits to 20 mph by Spring 2026 and is addressing railroad crossing updates required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to maintain quiet zones. The cost for these crossing updates is estimated to be a couple hundred thousand dollars, paid by the municipality.
- Vision Zero & Pedestrian Safety: The department is struggling to fill a vacant Vision Zero Coordinator position. They are also planning to install 10–20 new post-mounted speed feedback signs and upgrading Audible Pedestrian Signals (APS) on Lake Otis.
- City Hall Maintenance: With the pending purchase of City Hall, the Public Works maintenance team will assume responsibility for existing contracts (custodial, snow plowing, etc.) and plans to re-advertise them in the long term.
- Real Estate & Economic Development (ACDA):
- Micro-units: The launch of 32 micro-unit housing units was celebrated, with the final 8 units expected within a week.
- Fireweed Flats: An RFI has been issued for a minimum of 24 housing units. An RFP for the Denali View RV resort is in final stages, targeting a Spring 2026 groundbreaking.
- Modular Housing: Four modular capsule units arriving from China are being inspected for potential deployment at the Fireweed lot.
- H3 Faith Group: Demolition of the H3 Faith Group building has commenced.
- 2024 Building Code Change Series (Code Change Number 22):
- Proposal Description: The proposal seeks to delete and revise language restricting the location of elevator controllers, intending to require them be located outside the hoistway for safety.
- Positions: While Building Staff and the Building Board supported the change for safety reasons, the elevator industry stakeholders argued the current language is too broad and ambiguous. City staff acknowledged the request for time, stating they are willing to revisit the language with industry stakeholders to ensure clarity while maintaining the intent of the safety requirement, aiming to finalize the update for January presentation to the Assembly.
Key Outcomes
- Software Vendor Selection: The department will await the appropriation of projected unexpended funds (available after December 16) to execute a contract for vendor selection (Bluebeam or SmartGov).
- Code Change Number 22: The committee effectively agreed to request a remand of Code Change Number 22 back to city staff for further alignment with industry stakeholders to clarify language, though the safety intent to move controllers outside the hoistway remains.
- Parkland Rezoning: The proposal to rezone 9,000 acres of existing park properties to "parks and recreation" status was presented for future Assembly consideration in January.
- Speed Limit Reduction: The goal to implement 20 mph speed limits in downtown Anchorage by Spring 2026 was confirmed.
- Railroad Crossing Costs: The municipality confirmed it will bear the cost (estimated $200,000+) for necessary infrastructure updates at railroad crossings to comply with Federal Railroad Administration requirements.
- Acquisition of City Hall: The sale of City Hall is in the final closing stages.
- Personnel Transition: Lance Wooler's tenure in his current role concluded; Mr. Dole is acknowledged as the incoming leadership for the affected departments.
Meeting Transcript
Scott Myers. I think first of all sooner checking sound sound. All right. Are you there with us? Yes. Thank you. If there are any other members, feel free to uh shout out, or text me if you want to get us in the cube. We have a pretty quick uh meeting today. I appreciate it, and want to send my appreciation to the members of the staff for participating in a reschedule C E D C meeting. Our normal rule is being renovated and updated, which is part of our update today, so that's good news. Maybe just to piggyback on a status update of the room that you normally meet in. And so looking forward to working with that approved audio, visual, and things like that. So thanks to some support from Shea Troop and the facilities team to get it the room prepped and to uh Miss Marshall in IT to help us get support we needed to get that worked out. A couple other big things going on in planning development public works. Um we're working with uh development services, and you will see on the agenda on Tuesday night. We have some um uh projected unexpent on remaining funds in 2025. We are going to ask the assembly to set those aside, and we're going to be using those for the update to our permit software system. That'll be the first step in that process. So you will see that on uh Tuesday night's agenda. The next step will be we have um uh Mr. Soule can brief you later, but we're working to uh get a vendor on board, line up with uh IT, make sure that as we go through the project process, all of the things that we need to do to connect to SAP for payment and all of the other things that we're going to be able to do will be done. So working on a project plan for that. Hopefully, that will begin very early in 2026. A couple of other things as the assembly approved the purchase of City Hall. We are in the process of closing those documents. Um, and Miss Riggs is working that to get done. The Holton Hills project, the uh applicant um CY Investments, Connie Yushimur in partnership with um uh HLB. They have submitted their um planned unit development conditional use. It is in the planning department. The uh public hearing is scheduled for the first meeting in January. So um look and uh meetings uh information has been posted in Girdwood. So if you're looking forward for some information on that, uh last two things is the administration has scheduled uh meeting with the leadership of limited road service areas, and so we're gonna be talking about um we have a lot of new members on the service areas. Uh just you know, sort of um, and if they have questions about uh doing capital work, working with their contractors in the case they have vacancies, making sure they do that. We have Miss Jones and the clerk helping us with some information about um communications open meetings training. So looking forward to doing that later. I think that is next week. Um, Mr. Chairman, this will be my last meeting as uh at this position here. And I, you know, I was reflecting on all of the things that I we could have done in 2025 in the departments, and I just couldn't stop listing them all. I know that you've got uh an amazing team uh here. I I appreciate the the mentorship and the the leadership of not only the the staff that I have, but also of the committee members here working with us and and making sure that we have the ability and the time to get to the information that you're looking for. Um I think uh Mr. Dole, I know Mr. Dole has worked with the department before. Um he's in very the departments in very good hands, even with the uh uh planning, development, and public works departments. And again, my thanks to Mr. Colhay's, Mr. Coy, and all of the other directors that I've been working with for the last basically two years as I've had this position. Looking forward to um moving in back into City Hall and helping the folks in finance. And so uh that's all my report for today.
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