The Anchorage Assembly voted Tuesday night to waive certain building design requirements in an effort to spur more housing construction.
The change, approved by a 9 to 2 vote, is temporary, lasting until the end of May 2028. Essentially, buildings will no longer have to conform to residential design standards. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance spoke in favor of the ordinance, and said it won’t get rid of standards for safety and won’t allow for multi-family homes to be built in new zones.
“This is a pause, not a repeal,” LaFrance said. “This is all about testing whether removing cost-adding rules helps build more housing get built.”
Assembly members broadly supported the measure, noting the importance of adding more housing, rather than making sure they look a certain way.
Assembly member Zac Johnson voted against the measure. He said he supports the idea of allowing for more housing to be built, but he doesn’t like that the ordinance was amended on the same day as the vote with further code change language.
“I've been pretty consistent about my reservations about seeing these sorts of changes come to us at the last second on things as complicated as this,” Johnson said. “ And so I'm just, I am frustrated.”
Member Daniel Volland was the other no vote.
