[Music] call us back to order um this is the January 23rd meeting continued to January 24th it is now 58 p.m. sorry about the late start Madam clerk would you please take the role member Myers here member Martinez present member Rivera present member branga here member Johnson here chair constant here Vice chair zelot here member cross here member ven happy to be here member Broly here member stt here member Perez Ria you here thank you um me youth representative Tyrell is absent Mr chair you have a quorum all right thank you um so for the for the purposes of being kind to our CFO I am going to ask the members to uh change the order of the day briefly to uh go back to item yeah item 14 e is that right so um 14e which I don't have either but I bet it's here it's right here just take it thanks 14e is AO 20 24-8 an ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified voters of the Municipality of Anchorage Alaska the question of issuance of not to exceed $4 M60 th000 of General obligation bonds the Municipality of Anchorage to pay the cost of areawide Public Safety and Transit improvements so yesterday we concluded this item by adding an additional $500,000 and then an additional $60,000 of um operations and maintenance on M and we did not reconsider this item and so is there any objection to quickly taking this item up to have that reconsideration vote I'm not hearing or seeing any objection to that so um the CFO assembly Council and the clerk worked through the process they came up with the final numbers Bond Council was um involved in the conversation and the determination has been made that the clerk has everything she needs and it is in order and so uh is that a fair assessment yes clerk says yes and so with that um I would entertain a motion for immediate reconsideration and urge a no vote so moved second so a motion to reconsider is made by Mrs alel seconded by member vand is there any discussion so again a no vote is urged in this case we're going to have to do a Voice vote because this item is not published on the agenda Madam clerk member Myers no member Martinez no member Rivera no member branga no member Johnson no chair constant no Vice chair zalel no member cross no member vand no member broy no member sult no member pres Ria are you there Mr pres Veria what's the tally 11 on a vote of 0 to 11 the reconsideration vote has failed on item 202 24-8 S as amended Mr th you can reclaim your night with that we'll be back on item 13B so I'm not sure who had the floor when we adjourned or not adjourned when we um recess to this continued meeting so um Mr Johnson yeah thank you Mr chair um I've had a lot of conversations about this proposal in in the last few weeks and even before that I've spent a fair bit of time talking to the team at Cy talking to the folks from the Girdwood Board of Supervisors the Girdwood housing and economic committee and a lot of engaged citizens and and I think in those conversations probably almost everyone has gotten angry or frustrated me at some point um and that's okay because that's what I'm here for but I'll say this you know through all that there are two sentiments that have been almost Universal everyone or very nearly everyone wants more housing for Girdwood residents and everyone feels as if as if their voice has not been heard at times I've heard M yoshimura's frustration hav't been working through this process for over two years now I've heard from the Girdwood community and their frustration as they've struggled to have their questions answered or their concerns addressed this proposal has worked its way along through significant changes in hlb leadership the municipal manager's office the assembly and the fact is that is not conducive to fost in good communication or a clear understanding of the process it's not to say that it's this or that person's fault it's just the reality of this situation and and the Hand we've been dealt the question remains in my mind does this proposal as it stands today do enough to achieve that shared goal creating more housing for the community will the current conditions on the development be adequate to ensure a high ratio of primary residences will it meet the goals we've out lined in the housing action plan how many Lots could or should be set aside for a Housing Trust or a nonprofit and I think importantly where does this fit in a broader conversation around a cohesive plan to address the community's housing needs to be honest I believe there is a middle path forward frankly I imagine it would probably leave everyone somewhat dissatisfied but that's often the sign of a good compromise and I do believe that if we we give ourselves some more time to work on it we might get there I can't say that for certain but I am genuinely hopeful uh but I'll say I am not ready here tonight to say this proposal deserves our support so with that I would make a motion to postpone action to the meeting of February 27th move to call a question first we need to have a motion in a second so we have a motion second on my motion second to call the question on the motion that is debate that's the calling the question would call the question on the ordinance MH the whole ordinance like End discussion on Holton Hills yes sir the question has been called Mr Johnson there wasn't a second I'm sorry point of information Miss BR um thank you uh if we uh vote to call the question obviously if it passes we would just vote if if it fails um then that would simply mean that we continue debate on the item is that correct okay thank you yeah uh Mr chair this is Mr Sal I I did second if you didn't hear me yeah Mr Sal it was after I'm sorry so but that's okay we'll let's see what happens with this question the question having been called it's not debatable Mr salt on calling the question no Mr perz verdia un calling the question no Miss branga un calling the question no on a vote of six to six the motion to call the question has failed Mr Johnson uh do I need to remake my motion to postpone I think it would be in order well then I would make a motion to postpone action to the meeting of February 27th so there's a motion to postpone made by Mr salt Mr Johnson seconded by miss branga any discussion I'm sure miss Alon thank you um so I moved to call the question um and I'm opposed to the uh postponement for a couple reasons um one um this is not a new item um it is basically a resurrected item um and just to put into context uh how we got here um the original Holton Hills proposal I was very dissatisfied with and I heard Girdwood we went to Girdwood we heard Girdwood um and I along with Miss L France and Miss Quinn Davidson at the time um worked through um a number of of things um the whereas Clauses in this ordinance really reflect a lot of the work and context Miss lefrance wanted to put in um and I had a lot of conversations with Cy Investments not always uh Pleasant conversations but we really worked through some hard pieces um conversations with the administration and hlb at the time um about the dissatisfaction of the process um and I ended up at that time with the S2 version even um which I was fairly s isfied with not being secure in knowing that it could be carried out um and so I moved to postpone it at that time um because there wasn't I didn't feel continuity within the Heritage landbank or the administration to see the deal to fruition particularly if we're making a promise to Girdwood that the profits will be used for a lot for them at least one and now under the amended version it's at least two um and so took steps to rectify that and there's an RFP out for third party consultant to really walk this through um on behalf of the assembly um to ensure our promises are carried out um so I think this has had considerable time um I noticed that that likelihood was possible back in April when we got the money for the consultant and put in the budget um it took some time to get that effectuated um through Community Economic Development and so here we are now um and I think here we are now with a lot full a lot of thoughtful consideration having been put into this um not having been in control of this process from step one and that's not our role um this process was on its way before things ever get to us and there's only so much we can do to um Rectify a process of people are unhappy with it what I think is time is to get this going because as I've shared through the clerk's office or legislative staff is there's considerable work to do just after the land disposal there is the entitlement process which is very lengthy um and if we continually push and wait and wait um and let perfect become the enemy of good and still beneficial we'll never do anything the perfect deal doesn't exist but deal that results in two fully developed lots for Girdwood to then just need to build on is a substantial Improvement of where we were when this deal was originally proposed and so I don't want to wait for that to happen if we say that there's housing urgency today why do we wait to tomorrow um also I think it's really important that this doesn't preclude other actions from moving forward I mean hlb has already identified additional lots that could be be used for investment I know there's some other work being done to effectuate um the requests being made for the lot that was um you know to be set aside there's momentum here let's continue to be a part of the momentum moving in the direction of our number one goal which is housing so for those reasons um I postpone I I uh oppose the postponement I think we need to go ahead and get this done um and I think it's it's a good thing for the community um and and I don't think everyone's happy with this and that's okay because sometimes making the right policy Choice isn't popular thanks Mr Rolland thank you Mr chair well you I I certainly Echo that I think that a uh the sometimes making the right policy Choice isn't popular and I think we've seen that with other issues related to housing including in um some of the conversations in in my own District around small multif family development um I do not support the motion to postpone and in fact I I see it as dilatory um Holton Hills this project has been through extensive public process in fact this is something that was being talked about when some of the members who are on this body now were running for office we had several work sessions where we involved the gwood community in fact we all drove down to Girdwood and had a work session there at the community center multiple versions we've worked through as brael detailed all the way up to an S2 version and there were folks in the gwood community including on gboss who were involved in the drafting of those subsequent versions just last night we moved amendments that were responsive and reflective to input so multiple Lots we've indicated that we are are willing to set aside for Workforce housing in novel effort to use hlb profits for Workforce housing a new paradigm we're trying something new that is aligned with our our goals in the Strategic housing action plan so I I I guess just I'm wondering how many car bouts just are we going to do how how much more process do we need our email inboxes are full of emails both in support and in opposition to the project we've had months now to weigh in to bring forward amendments um and so I think we need to get this done tonight the time is now you know some of of the testimony saying we we we support housing just not this housing well I'll tell you the one thing that we can do to make the situation even worse in Girdwood and make housing even more expensive is to not allow more housing to be built in gwood let's get this done thank you all right I have a number of people in the queue Miss branga thank you chair I I support the motion to postpone this I really if I was there to look Connie in the eye I completely believe that this development will be awesome but the way this was rolled out was not right it in my opinion was done sneaky and I think thew I think the member is speaking to motive so a point of order was raised uh the point of order was I believe the member with the floor was speaking to to the motive of the members who introduced it or member and I think that I'm going to um I think you need to let me finish I am trying to say outa you are out postponed you are out of order a point of order has been raised it is not for you to debate until I have ruled the members may move to override the ruling of the chair but it is not your place to start shouting over the chair so what I was going to say is that I believe the member could find a way to speak that does not impune the motives of others and we can proceed so you're letting me talk as long as I don't say that anyone brought this forward in a way that did not make people feel uncomfortable that's a I think we should Miss brona what you just said was very different than what you said the first time and what you just said was in fact I believe 100% within the Rules of Order okay so in May of 2024 the land use plan in Girdwood will be complete and that will give the people of Girdwood an opportunity to be heard I feel like Connie's project Miss yosha Mar's con project is fabulous but I want the people of Girdwood to believe that we gave them every opportunity to weigh in on all of these issues we have pomoy development going in that hasn't been mentioned at all 72 Workforce housing spots have been made Apartments have been made and I have been told that they are $1,000 a month that is the start to Workforce housing Miss yam's project is going to be a fabul fabulous addition with housing for families but let's do it with Girdwood on board with us thank you Miss broy thank you um just briefly I do not support the motion to postpone I believe that um that this is something that we can take care of tonight there are other M I'd like to make but I'll save those for the main motion thank you Mr salt I believe I have you in the queue thanks I'll stick to the to the main motion other than just a comment I don't know delaying for the the plan if we delay to the plan it's it's going to be initial plan it's going have cost further delay I think um I I think I'm probably in the place of let's try to get through this tonight thank you thank you Mr Martinez thank you chair I just wanted to uh speak to not postponing this tonight I think um in the lens of the way it was described earlier I don't I don't see myself as trying to find perfection this evening U but I do see myself as trying to find practical steps forward now that's not to the outcome of how I'll uh land with respect to the the actual question but I just think that um delaying is unnecessary at this point and uh we can dispatch this and and um and move forward thank you so you took yourself out all right thank you on the question to postpone to the meeting of February 27th members May proceed to vote Mr assult on the motion to postpone no Mr pres verdia no Miss branga yeah on a vote of 2 to 10 the motion to postpone has failed we are now back on the main motion um I don't have anyone in the queue right now miss broley thank you I and I will keep this brief um I do want to respond to um and I appreciate member aa's Amendment last night if we remember adding reference to the housing action plan and I know that we've had more than one comment on how this fits into or doesn't fit into the plan um as one of the the primary authors of this plan um I I do see that this fits in and and here's a couple reasons why um One is because and I want to point to the last uh uh set of strategies in our plan that's really I believe might be one of the goals um to make the mun a better development partner um and I believe that this project squarely fits in there and I think there's multiple Dimensions to that but one of them is something that disturbs me as a planner that I've seen happen in this community over several years um and that is really that a project that goes through the legal process that goes through the um development process and follows those steps granted with any project you can talk about um you know the the any particular issues with that but fundamentally what's happened multiple times is that when it gets to the political process to this body um for for various reasons many of them good reasons the project is significantly changed and I think that is that has a chilling effect on business it has a real problematic effect on development um and it is something that that we've seen for example projects will have the number of housing units cut in half due to community concerns and I understand the need to be responsive to community but at some point it becomes overreach and not allowing a development to move forward and so I do have a lot of concern about that and I have a concern about it here that isn't to say the community concerns aren't valid but there is a legal process and then there is a planning process and when you're dealing with land use and when you're dealing with Land Development um that that really is a high bar and so in terms of being a good partner I believe that we need to see through projects um and not just simply delay them not make significant changes on the floor to the project um granted I think the Amendments that we've made are good but I think when you start really messing with someone's business model because essentially each development is a business model so um so that becomes problematic the other thing to mention just briefly is I I did speak with hlb staff um on Monday to ask about this project and to just have a bigger conversation because I think what really needs to happen in this community is to repair the relationship that that's developed over many years between hlb and Girdwood um and so this project it's not unique to this it's it's several projects it's several plans um there is internal division within the community which I think we've seen play out not just in this project in other ways um and all of that is um addressable and it's not it doesn't land on this project whether this project goes forward or not to fix those bigger problems and I think there is a path forward and when I talked to hlb staff I asked them what what are the biggest hurdles to development in Girdwood um you know is it zoning are there other things that we can do and they said by in way it is the lack of water and sewer infrastructure it makes it almost completely infeasible to develop in Girdwood and so I appreciate the desire to to have other things would to have other developments but the economic reality is that we rely on the market we can have influence on the market as the public sector but we have to address those infrastructure issues and why I think this project is really exciting is because it attempts to do that it attempts to make a project feasible by addressing again what is otherwise infeasible to develop and so um so for all those reasons I do think it fits into the plan and I think it is important to recognize that when we are a development partner that that this process where it gets delayed we D we drag out it it becomes this whole big thing that is not good for business in our community and that is important because we have a serious lack of development in this community and that includes the entire Bowl um it includes Girdwood it includes Eagle River and so that is something that we need to address and every time that we do this to a project it makes that worse so I will be supporting this for those reasons thank you next in the queue I have Mr salt thank you Mr chair so I want to add to the recor the last seven months gw's been busy working other avenues to make Holton Hills a pal palatable to the residents Holton Hills is still a commercial residential development and was never proposed as anything else it is there as development not econ not affordable Workforce housing the issue is there's limited developable land in gwood and it is a desirable set of parcels that is not addressing the needs of gwood for affordable Workforce housing so what is now an ideal property is being disposed of and we have two separate issues we heard yesterday that approximately 38 new homes have been built in gwood with a medium assessed value of these homes at 940,000 only seven of those 38 homes has become a primary residence 31 will be empty dark or vacation homes the community does appreciate the compromises that have been made around multif family lot and potentially more additional lots for housing the limitations placed on short-term rentals during that 11 months since this last appeared before the body gwood deos has been busy they created the gwood housing and economic committee they have worked viable Parcels for Workforce housing they have gathered accurate data on gwood housing including short-term rentals they have made potential incentives to convert ad used to long-term housing they have been working on gwood comprehensive plan and only 5 weeks away from releasing the draft and we also have the hob annual and fiveyear plan due here for hearing on February 22nd they also plan on interaction with hlb on six identified potential sites or roughly 47.5 usable acres to include in the annual plan to help address Workforce housing some plans are simple as an RV or camping space to allow the workforce that is currently living in vehicles and camping in in the Town Square a place to live with utilities and modest Services what I need to get me to yes tonight and I would like to thank members alel for her guidance and help and assistance over the past couple days is inclusion in the hlb annual and Five-Year Plan these six Parcels or some compromise there in between put into the control of good wood Board of Supervisors or other appropriate entity to be used to help solve some of the workforce house housing issues in gwood which again is not a Holton Hills issue the disposal tonight is not the proper time to make those amendments I will submit written comments on the 2024 work plan suggesting the partials identified by Girdwood and the process for including those in the plan to be available for current and future municipal or local community needs and or transfer the gboss or appropriate entity I have asked for an AR to be prepared for February 13th providing an accurate clear and specific recommendations for the hlb annual and fiveyear plan and if passed I will reach it'll reach hlb prior to February 22nd hearing so again what I need and kind what I'm asking for is support of this body to seriously consider um future suggestions and amendments to the hlb plan to help solve the need of affordable Workforce housing in gwood and I will say probably going out on a limb since they don't line up at this time but I urge your support for those amendments in the next couple weeks thank you thank you U Mr Cross yeah thank you it's interesting because you know one thing for us to keep in mind is I I heard some comments and I didn't necessarily agree with them or I would say I didn't agree with him at all is that they say if you know if we do this development Girdwood is only getting one or two lots no every one of those lots is for Girdwood this you know what's interesting is we see this play out in different vectors in in Girdwood it's higher end homes but I will tell you in other areas of Anchorage they don't want low-income housing they don't want that and what's interesting is it's we say we want housing options for all but do we I mean what I hear is we want housing options but we just don't want those fill in the blank in my neighborhood and I don't think that's fair someone shouldn't be demonized or shouldn't have less of an opportunity more of an opportunity based on you know uh economic status and so we say housing options for all and and and if you want to buy the lot and you want to develop a a smaller affordable property Connie isn't building the house you can also sell your house if you live in Girdwood take your Equity build on one of the new ones and sell your house at a discount to a teacher if you want there's nothing stopping people but the only way you solve the housing problem is it's supply and demand it's more Supply and we're saying well we want to solve the problem but if you're not willing to address the supply and demand you're never going to do it and multi Family Properties if you're going to do low income or you're going to do I just say affordable but we know affordable in Girdwood is not necessarily what's considered affordable I showed you the metrics and maybe you Zach maybe you uh and Karen if you can hear online I ran the numbers on building a new construction multif family out of there considering the cost of labor cost of Transportation infrastructure improvements and basically for a two-bedroom one bath to break even I think it was like $2,600 a month just because of the land value and everything that went into it that's not an affordable rental which means the only affordable rental is going to be subsidized well she's not building subsidized housing means the only thing that's going to be that that somebody that that works at the you know the CIS Mark or something or something like that can afford is going to be something that either we give away the land and then subsidize the rents that's not what this is about that's that's a totally different separate project or that's these other lots that we do but I think we're we're conflating two different issues and so you this adds Supply where Supply Supply is needed and they can use the income they're and I hope they come up with a plan in order to figure out what they're going to do in order to subsidize the affordable housing that their Workforce desperately needs but even if you buil I mean I don't know how you would do that with the cost of construction in Girdwood unless you know they're looking at yurs and tree forts as options to try to get stuff that's affordable I don't think this is the you know yeah I don't I don't think Holton Hills was intended uh for your construction but um so be it uh I I would encourage support of it and every lot that Gres up in Girdwood is for a Girdwood resident maybe not someone who lives here now but will live there in the future thank you Mr Johnson yeah thank you um just wanted to to speak to a couple issues and then including some that were thoughtfully raised by m broy um in terms of the the chilling effect we're worried about having on dev development I I hear that and it's something to be mindful of but I I don't think that's the reality here um I would speak you know particularly to the fact that we've seen Pomroy come forward with a pretty ambitious development plan which by and large has been I think fairly well received by the community and I look at that example somebody who took lessons learned from this debate and thought about how to come forward with a different um different approach when that includes you know Workforce housing when that includes a community center and a daycare center and things that create value for the community so I don't think we've seen major developers necessarily discouraged from projects in gwood I don't think we've seen small Builders either you know it's been pointed out 38 new uh homes which is about an equal mix of of single family and multif family built in the last two years on a per capita basis that's 10 times better than the rest of Anchorage um so yeah we're we're seeing building happen there happening there but the challenge we're dealing with is I think we started out 2023 you know with here around 50 people who work in the community or employed but have to live in their cars or other inadequate shelter because there was nothing for them and I think we ended 2023 with about the same number of people in those circumstances despite the fact that we were seeing new construction um and then finally I just want to touch on this you know we we hear members up here saying that they've heard from Girdwood sugges they're listening to Girdwood you know we we heard from Girdwood again last night I talked to Girdwood a lot and would say that I think the message resoundingly has been not yet not ready with this project and I I suggested that week should take more time obviously we're not going down that road but we had a strong voice um outpouring from the community asking for more time we've had the elected body of Girdwood the Board of Supervisors asking for more time and we've had both of the assembly members who represent that District suggesting not this not now and so I I think it's just I I'm trying to be polite here but I think it's hard to say that we are listening to Girdwood when the conclusion of the body is so contrary to I think almost every voice um both in the community and their uh representative leadership um say different and then just finally I would just ask people to be mindful of the fact a lot of the decisions we make we have to frame it in terms of what are the impacts to the broader Community we have to weigh what does it mean for for the people in my district or this particular part of it against the interests of of Anchorage but I think notably um that's not really applicable here whatever good or bad comes of this will almost entirely be felt no not just almost will entirely be felt by the community of Girdwood and so I just I I that weighs me towards more mindfulness of those Community concerns when we're weighing this so anyways with that I'll I'll stop Mr pres Foria thank you Mr chair um just a few things to add I I voted uh against this originally and and have listened carefully to the arguments on both sides and there's really strong arguments on both sides uh you know there's there's an incredible need for housing um the process will allow the Girdwood Community to continue to have a role in shaping this project if if this passes um and and there's good reason to move move forward but I'm also compelled by the fact that the that you know this this impacts primarily Girdwood and the people who live there and and we're five weeks away from seeing a a report that that's been in the works for for some some time and and and as much as I know that there's opportunities after this to to continue to shape the project once once this vote happens um there is a lot that is uh lost in terms of our opportunity to to shape and and and voice this this project so all that being said I I uh I think that the most important thing in our role is to not just make decisions but to make the right the decision and I'm I'm compelled to um to vote no to give Girdwood more time to finish the work that they are doing and to and to make sure that when we do uh dispose of this plan that it's done in the right way thank you Mr chair thank you next in the queue is Mr wand thank you Mr chair I am going to submit to my colleagues um that I think every time nearly every time we are looking at bringing added housing density to a neighborhood whether it's Girdwood South Edition other neighborhoods we are going to be asked and pressed again and again for more time we want more time and all the while the housing crisis Looms in the background and goes unaddressed so I I think the time is now um we've taken a lot of time on this and again have moved multiple versions and amendments that are reflective to feedback at the end of the day not everybody's going to be happy not everybody's going to get everything that they want um you know and I'll just say short-term rentals okay that's a conversation we're having right now as a community not only in Girdwood but in the Anchorage Bowl as well um and as has been discussed there's the the HOA for this project that would um largely prohibit short-term rentals and we we made that apply with one of our amendments to the multif Family Properties as well however in terms of wanting attainable housing Workforce housing for long-term renters I guess I don't really see what's stopping a wealthy GD woodan from buying one of these developed lots and building affordable housing on it I'm also very curious and and I'm just going to say this because I I believe it to be true I think there's been a lot of hypocrisy from the gwood community on the issue of short-term rentals and I am very curious about what a ven diagram would look like if you take those who are opposed Hills and those who would be opposed if we were just to suggest an outright ban on short-term rentals in Girdwood many of the people that we've heard speak in opposition to this project because it's all going to be dark homes or home shaped objects or short-term rentals own multiple properties themselves own short-term rentals themselves multiple short-term rentals so I I would reiterate member cross's Point offload some of your properties make the situation better I you know like I said I think the time is now I will just add a couple more points I don't believe it's true that almost every voice has been in opposition over the past couple weeks I've received a lot of emails from the community in support of this project and in particular I think we received one piece of public testimony that I found very compelling from someone I'm not going to name them because you know they're afraid of retaliation from their Community but someone who changed their mind who was an outspoken critic of this project and involved in their views and now supports it and part of that reason is because they said you know what the community is just spinning their wheels they say yeah we want we want to identify other other lots that could be used for housing and they're not doing it so I I don't believe it's true that there's this sort of unilateral opposition to this project even in Girdwood and one more point is that Girdwood is part of Anchorage they're not a standalone I understand there's different housing needs but this project we need to think about the benefit not only to Girdwood but also to Anchorage as a whole and hb's profits and how that can serve the entirety of Anchorage thank you I'd like to ask for a motion to extend by uh 30 minutes so moved second motion by Mr ven seconded by miss alel any objection we have all those other items okay thank you I'm seeing no objection so we are extended at least to 6:30 should we need the time next in the queue um Miss Al go ahead thank you I gave most of my reasons for voting for this um on the motion to postpone when I spoke to it um but I want to follow up on this idea of affordable housing um because I believe in affordable housing I help develop affordable housing in U my day job um I believe it is truly needed and it is the Cornerstone to any um truly robust and functioning Community um and affordable housing is can come in lots of shapes and sizes and forms from one end of Hotel conversions where you spend um about $18 million and get 271 units for about a $77,000 per door price for a single room occupancy a converted hotel room to you know cook inlets uh chabala Corners 2 which is 48 units at $2.3 million that's $423,000 a door and it's affordable housing it has set asdes for low income people with disabilities and that Nets three eight plexes three fourplexes and one duplex and I think the best way to think about affordable housing is this quote an Alaska business article by president and CEO Gabe Blan of Cook Inlet housing affordable housing financing is complex and multi-faceted it is a terrible terrible tangle of various programmatic requirements and set asdes and reports and eligibilities and frankly affordable housing financing is a prod big part of the problem in developing affordable housing what I am hoping though is that while maybe that's not the type of development that will ultim Ely happened in Girdwood that we have made at least for two Lots at least two lots more affordable to develop that result in more attainable housing it brings that price point down because there is a large spectrum of housing that is I think somewhat the boogeyman worst Spar to that $77,000 converted hotel room there is a lot in between there and it's all up to creativity perseverance getting an expert who can help you understand how to navigate those things and frankly just sheer grit and and it's terrible that it's like that but it's how it is all of the housing units I have had the privilege of helping develop have all been a very small group of really dedicated people willing to put in the work be creative Google things honestly and just figure it out out so um I am happy to be a thought partner with Girdwood or anyone in the Anchorage community in any capacity because affordable housing and attainable housing is what will make our community vibrant and sustainable for the years to come thank you thank you I have myself in the que Mr constant thank you um I have quite a few things to say about this process this three plus year process um but I'm going to ask a question first Miss Yura would you please come the microphone is off so you have to touch the little green button to turn it on so public process you're no stranger to it you've been around a little while doing this work you've sat up up here the Planning and Zoning commission you've developed a lot of housing units a lot of housing units in this town we might actually someday try to get a list of all of the developers of neighborhoods and scale them to see who in the hundred-year history of the city who's done more to provide a place for people to live and of course you know how scard your reputation gets in the process because people who are emotional people who are um willing to say anything despite the facts uh will come at you and manufacturer falsehood that's just what happens some of us get leather skin been out long enough so I do have a question for you um what is your Phil philosophy and approach what are you planning to do if this is approved today well I'd like to go back to a group around a small conference table when we were looking at the RFP and we came away with a vision actually for what we thought would be appropriate for Girdwood no one wants to destroy uh all the things that people love about Girdwood um the trees the the streets the vibe for I'm looking for a better word to describe it but you know I am I am not a skier I don't even look like a skier but what I tell you I love about gwood is I love the orange cinnamon roll at the bakery you know so I do visit Girdwood I have once owned a condo there but as far as the vision is concerned I believe in mixed density um I have I live in a mixed density Community which is South Edition uh and Girdwood is a mixed density community and it feels a lot different really quite frankly than the subdivisions and the new home communities that I've built and that I currently build because I'm forced to build a certain type of property due to zoning restrictions so you take a a track of property and um it's zoned a certain way and then you have to build to that and my goal with Girdwood because it already is mixed density it has you know uh cabins um um that were built in the 1970s or' 60s and 50s and they're next to a million doll house and so you have this creativity as far as the socioeconomic uh Community is concerned um and I frankly believe in that um mixed density eliminates economic segregation and that's what I saw when I looked at Girdwood and that's what was important to me but really I never thought about the public private partnership uh too much uh I wanted to make a contribution uh I thought that I looked at all the other uh uh actually the other uh attempts at at uh Holton Hills and they didn't make Financial sense so I was looking for a way that would make Financial sense so that we could have entry level and I'm going to call it Market entry level uh it's not affordable I think uh uh Miss zotel did a very good job describing that affordable housing is now subsidized housing in some way shape or form you can't do it as far as Market is concerned but I was committed to entry level as well as uh single family homes and that's town houses that's condos and that sort of thing but really what I was looking at well how how the street should look you know what the um where the trail should be what sort of landscaping should be I what should the structures look like I never thought I would be standing here today after a three-year process uh having to go through all of this really quite frankly I have another question for you um we've heard much ad do about some parts of the project um we hear Girdwood is in support of housing we're yes in my backyard guard people butt and there's like this long list of buts I think one of the most um compelling butts that I've heard in all of this has been what about the infrastructure how does the road system work how is that how does that work in a new development in this particular case I am financially responsible for the installation of the roads the water the sewer the gas and the electric uh that is possible in part as far as financing is concerned because Heritage land bank is Crea is is providing the land to do that in exchange for 50% of the profits I am personally responsible for uh that financing to um provide the roads water and sewer gas and electric right so that does get resolved when a development happens right it gets built once you're subdivided and you get the construction those ele ments are baked into the system yes funded by the developer okay so now we have heard at least from the petitioner and this is I don't know if anyone in the administration would like to um suggest it's any different but that's how development is done in our town that the developer puts the bill and the infrastructure goes in as the development does so that matter to me is resolved there are some arguments about the grocery store not being able to handle it what happens when a market gets 60 or 80 new clients in your experience Miss yosar well if you want to have a larger grocery store or you want to have a hardware store or you want to have uh other Support Services in uh a town the first thing you have to have is rough tops you have to have a population to support it and um if I may um I would tell you that the valley is a good example of that because the first thing that happened out there as far as growth was concerned is they built subdivisions and as a result of building subdivisions they have the highest grossing Fred my Fred Meyer store in the chain um and you can look and you can see every restaurant's there all the services are there including a large medical component as well okay so I think that's all of my questions for you I could ask in get answers to a lot of questions but I think I I'm going to Pivot to um more of my comments at this point and um I know you're a Survivor you've been through this ringer and I appreciate your determination to stick it through um so I have been watching this process now for three years am I excused you are others might have questions for you but um all right thank you um in my opinion we have heard the last day from the exact same faction who spread misinformation across the municipality the last time they resorted to Major attacks on reputations of people and what I would like to call unpleasantry but it's just the unpleasantry of this work that we have to face when we make tough decisions I believe that the argu ERS against this development have sacrificed their credibility and in fact it does not Merit the time we have already spent let alone future time there have been voices from Girdwood who have said consistently to me I support this plan but I'm afraid to speak because the people in my community who have organized this argument against have acted like bullies and have made life very painful for those of us who have a different opinion now I'm going to read one thing very briefly and it's a selection from an article that was published Yesterday by the Alaska landmine and it goes to I think the ultimate point of absurdity of where we are right now you know the same people who have been organizing a very aggressive misinformation campaign across the municipality one of their leaders when a woman who's experiencing homelessness in Girdwood one of their leaders who has multiple properties testified to us that they rent into the market in Girdwood instead of offering that person a home or a hand up said you should come and testify against this ordinance I think that the quote I'd like to read is that nothing so perfectly captures the hypocrisy and cynicism of halt Holton Hills like the spectacle of multi-millionaire short-term rental owner co-opting a request for housing from a homeless individual into an attempt to help shut down new housing I think that just crisply captures the origin of all of this opposition unpleasantry Mr Myers thank you Mr chair I think everybody knows where I'm headed I don't think anybody's going to change their mind here and uh I'm ready to call the question we've been discussing this since long before five of us have been on this body Mr Myers has moved or excuse me has called the question and it has been seconded by Mr V thirded by Mr Cross I think I just heard M clerk Mr Sut yes Mr pres Veria he I just he asked me to text him when we get to the next vote so I've texted him he's not back yet miss Bron [Music] no on a v excuse me on a vote of 9 to2 the question has been called the question is now before us yes please members May proceed to vote Mr Sut on the main motion as amended yes Miss branga no Mr perz verdia on the motion to approve Pro as amended no on a vote of 9-3 ao2 23-37 as amended has passed the body next we're on to item [Applause] 14j item 14j is AO 202 24-6 an ordinance of the Anchorage Municipal assembly waving or modifying certain Provisions the Anchorage Municipal Code including title 21 land use planning and title 15 Environmental Protection to allow for temporary snow disposal sites due to large volume of snow and insufficient locations to play Snow reading thank you the public hearing on this item is now open welcome please state your name what part of town you're from you'll have three minutes you you just turn it off hi Irene qu now Sand Lake so I find this very interesting you passed an ordinance like this last year when we got dumped with snow dumped on with snow and I'm actually quite confused so a lot of the text is the same but in 2023 in this ordinance you remove the direct of Community Development from decision making you removed the municipal manager from decision making and you removed the mayor from decisionmaking in that change that you made and you put yourself into that spot in all places that were in that ordinance which would be another example that Mr um Cameron Paris Ria pointed out where you took the power away from the administration and gave it to yourself now when I look at the new ordinance that we have before us tonight um on site page three section two in this ordinance it says again only upon concurrence of the municipal manager or mayor that was something that you took out a year ago so was the taking out of the decision making for the administ ation temporary I don't remember but it's very curious um and like I said the the ordinance from last year was an example of where you took the decision- making away I'm glad that it says Municipal manager or mayor but I'm wondering if that is a mistake or if the um granting of permission to yourself to make the decisions was temporary I was not able to figure that out if somebody can give um possibly give me an answer for that in an email that would be greatly appreciated thank you anyone else wish to be heard on this item anyone at all seeing hearing none public hearing is now closed what's will of the body approve second moved by Miss zotel seconded by Miss broy Miss zelel thank you um so we have a couple of amendments and I want to provide a little context for this ordinance um this is one that um comes back before us each year because it is temporary um and this year it was submitted by the planning department um and they actually asked us which route we wanted to take whether or not um The Authority would rest in the planning department or by approval of the assembly um last year was the first time we were asked to do this um and we didn't necessarily understand or know what it would look like and no um no permits for temporary snow were brought before us um and so in thinking about how we might want to do it this year um I think the Amendments will make it clear that um we're likely comfortable with the planning department handling this as long as we can stay in the loop and we can ensure um certain protections so with that um I would move zotel amendment number four second motion to amend by Miss zotel zotel amendment number four seconded by Miss broy Miss Al thank you um amendment number four requires an environmental remediation plan that aderes to the Moa standards for the operation of permanent s disposal sites um to be a part of the application so the operator who's proposing to do a temporary snow disposal site has to say well how are you going to take care of any environmental impacts um in speaking with folks um over at development services their primary concern is water runoff um and any trash that could blow off of the site um and so they know what they do now they're going to ask and start with the site um operator proposed site operator saying this is my plan compare that against their permanent s Snow disposal site requirements um and work together to come up with something that works thank you m broy thank you yeah I had a conversation with the planning department as well um and I guess I'll save other comments for later but um I would support this ordinance or this amendment thank you any further discussion on the amendment hearing seeing none members May proceed to vote Mr pres Ria Mr Sut Miss [Applause] branga on a vote of 10 to zero the amendment passes Miss alel um thank you actually miss Broly has the next Amendment Miss broy yeah thank you I'd like to move Broly amendment number two second motion to amend by m Bry barley Amendment two seconded by Miss elel Miss broley yeah thank you and and here I'll I'll finish my point about the planning department um I spoke with them and really uh said that that I believe it's important for the public to know because you know we may get questions for example as assembly members if if someone gets wind of this happening so this amendment really um adds a notification requirement it does say that it needs to be submitted as an informational report on the next regular assembly of meeting so I'm contemplating as I noted this could be a late on the table item because it is informational to make sure that it is timely and then it gets to us um knowing that we have pretty frequent meetings but there can be some time between them so I would urge your support I would briefly speak to that um I'm not sure why a notification like this would be sufficient to pass the late on the table procedure um nothing in it would change so I don't believe it would rise to the level of being laid on the table I think it should be hit on the addendum they can notify Us by email but I want us to ensure we're hueing to the principle that the lay it on the table procedure is for items that are very timely and must pass not just because and so an email notification would be sufficient rather than eight votes and all that time process in the last minute so but otherwise I strongly support the amendment anyone else members May proceed to vote on the amendment we expecting do that Miss branga on a vote of 10 to zero that amendment has passed for now back on the main motion Mr Mr constant thank you and I'll just briefly speak reiterate that um when the department approached me for um the consideration of introducing this item they came with two versions one that had the assembly and one that had the department director making the decisions and um we opted to go with the department head making the decision because last year it didn't turn into a nightmare and um this year though we added a requirement that we are notified and that the snow disposal sites that are set up temporarily have to ensure the same environmental mitigation for me the issue of the environmental mitigation was primary because we have strong controls on what happens at a snow disposal site and the next property owner will know that that happened there and we don't want to um lad in a piece of land with pcbs that might be collected and then not have it mitigated so that the next buyer becomes the owner of an environmental Nightmare and so to me that was the only only concern that remained this is temporary it will expire and it's only in consideration because we've had record snow so I urge your support I don't see anyone else members May proceed to vote this is on the main motion right on the main motion Mr salt is still here Mr sut Miss [Applause] branga on a vote of 11 to Z ao20 24-6 as amended has passed the body now we roll back to the beginning of our agenda 106 we we take uh so the administration wanted to postpone and definitely 10 D6 so there's no need to take up that item or do anything on it so we'll just let it die for lack of a motion next we have item 10 d19 am12 d224 Anchorage report commission dick trainy what's all the body moveed to approve second moved by Mrs alel seconded by Mr Rivera and I think that's all fitting um Miss zotel thank you um I move the amendment number one second so there is an amendment proposed by Miss zotel it's been distributed and seconded by miss broy it just clarifies the um term date yep I'll just say briefly that us going into a second day made this possible instead of having to wait to the next meeting so there we go I guess the delay helped a little bit so any further discussion on the amendment hear I can see none members May proceed to vote Miss brona yes Mr sutz yes on a vote of 11 to zero the amendment has passed we're now back on the main motion any discussion hearing seeing none wait wait till she gets back I don't know where she went Miss elel where is she oh there you are okay on this members May proceed to vote miss alel you you can speak it Miss alol votes yes don't do that Mr stt Miss branga yes so on a vote of 11 to Zer am2 d224 as amended has passed the body next we have item 11b 11b is am number 12 2024 Urban Design commission Julia falland what's will the body move to approve second moved by Miss alal second by member of Walland any discussion hearing and seeing none members May proceed to vote Miss branga yeah Mr [Applause] Sut on a vote of 11 to0 am 12-22 24 has passed the body next we have item 11 C am 13-22 24 Urban Design commission Allison Gordy what's the will of the body move to approve moved by Mr Al is there a second second second by Mr Cross any discussion seeing hearing none members May proceed to vote Miss branga yes Mr Su we did I think yes on a vote of 11 to zero uh yeah I yeah I'm sorry I skipped an item so 11b has passed the body that's um I think we need to redo both of those I think I read them wrong so I'm sorry you guys Madam clerk so um start at 11 from the top yeah why don't we roll back up I missed one it's 11a let's just go there I'm sorry 11a is am20 d 2024 Anchorage Equal Rights Commission Sharon Gibbons what's the will of the body move to approve second moved by Miss elel seconded by Mr Martinez any discussion heing seeing none members May proceed to vote hold on hold on I I sent you a message I'm sorry chair okay uh go ahead the call has the okay I I'm sorry I just wanted to clarify I was the one who pulled this and I did have a conversation with Miss Gibbons and completely confident that she's going to be a great addition to the Equal Rights Commission and I wanted that on record all right thank you very much um then if there's Noone else members May proceed to vote Miss branga yes Mr Sut so on a vote of 10 to1 a 20-22 24 has passed the body now we'll go to 11b sorry madam clerk um 11b is am12 d224 Urban Design commission um Julia falland what's is there what's body approve second moved by m zelel second by Mr Walland any discussion hearing and seeing none members May proceed to vote Mr salt yes Miss branga yes on a vote of 11 to Z Item 11b am2 d224 pass the body now we have item 11 C am1 13-22 24 Urban Design commission Allison Gordy what's with the body move to approve moved by Miss seconded by Mr wand any discussion hearing and seeing none members May proceed to vote Mr stt yes Miss branga yes on a vote of 11 to Z am 13-20 24 has passed the body that brings us I believe to our last item actually no we have a couple more so item uh 14h is resolution ar202 24-15 a resolution of the Municipality of Anchorage appropriating amount not to exceed $1,300,000 from unrestricted net equity to Solid Waste Services refuse collection utility operating 5600 solid was service department for debt payments Miss alel thank you uh hold on the public hearing is now open now okay thank you uh move to continue the public hearing to February uh 13th second so there's a motion to continue by Miss alel seconded by Mr Walland Miss thank you that's at the request of the administration any discussion seeing hearing none members May proceed to vote yes Mr salt Miss branga yeah on a vote of 11 to0 ar202 24-15 has been the public hearing has been continued to the meeting of February 13th next we have item 14i 14i is ar22 4-16 a resolution of the Municipality of Anchorage appropriating operating projects committed general fund 1 19000000 fund balance in an overall amount not to exceed 3,622 550 .92 the operating projects committed general fund 190000 to continue previously appropriated project purposes in 2024 within multiple departments public hearing on this item is now open any wish to be heard on this item anyone at all seeing hearing none public hearing on this item is now closed what's will the body can you turn to me first Miss thank you um I just want to make a quick disclosure um some of this rollover money is specifically for homelessness shelter and housing um the Coalition is not recipient of it and it is in a broader package um traditionally as long as there are no amendments to this I've been able to vote on a Omnibus package um but I wanted to make that disclosure thank you for that disclosure and if there's no objection it's fine I don't see a conflict or um a substantial personal or financial interest so on this then members what's the to approve second moved by Mr ven second by Mr broy any discussion hearing see none members May proceed to vote there we go Mr salt Miss brona yes on a vote of 11 to Z ar22 4-6 has passed the body now it brings us to our last item item AO 223-1336 an ordinance of the Anchorage Municipal assembly amending building codes at Anchorage Municipal Code 2310 Anchorage Administrative Code 2018 addition to allow optional independent plan review structural design for commercial building permits public hearing on this item is now open oh I wanted to move to continue the public hearing to the meeting of February 13th so there is now a motion to continue the public hearing to the meeting of February 13th made by Mr Cross seconded by Miss Broly uh we discussed this briefly at the work session last week uh at the last CDC meeting um uh building uh development services Ross singer brought forth uh his version of a more expanded approach we're looking to incorporate that or amend ours and so um which is great for me because it actually is a greater reach of uh third party opportunities in previously anticipated so if you'll allow us the opportunity to amend and come up with a more conclusive s version by that time greatly appreciate it thank you Miss prob yeah thank you and just to add to that um my intent as one of the co-sponsors is not only to work with the co-sponsors but um that we would like very likely continue the public hearing again um to either the meeting of the 27th or March 5th but we know the 27th is busy so uh the intent is not to um necessarily take up that item but to continue the public hearing and give people an opportunity to see a new version of the item thank you sol thanks um I'm not for the serial continuances so if you're not wanting to take it up till the 27th or the 5th please just move it out to that point um also if you don't need me then take it up on the 13th but if you would like my input then um after the 13th thanks Miss branga I just wanted to uh show um Mr Cross I appreciated continuing this whether it's the 13th or whatever get it um organized before it's on the floor I think it's helpful for everyone Thanks so um Mr Cross uh yeah I just talked to Ann real quick and so we'll just go ahead and move to the meeting of the continue the public hearing on the 27th we should be done by then okay do one and done iur okay good so now the motion before us is continue to the public hearing to the meeting of the 27th of February any further discussion hearing and seeing none members May proceed to vote Miss branga yes Mr salt on a vote of 11 to zero the um AO 20231 36 has been continued to the meeting of February 27th thank you and we have less than a minute left for audience participation so hurry on down but it's less than a minute speak fast welcome hi my name is Brian wisky I go by Bri here pronouns 14 years trans female residing out of the Alex I just wanted to take a moment and say you know there there's a lot of arguments back and forth yesterday and there's continue on today it's always good to see that we practice our approaches and the assembly and the administration to the public so great participation on all parts I also wanted to make sure that we bring awareness as the year has changed into the new years's that we are mindful of everybody's spaces and try to be more pleasant this year I hope everybody has a good start to the year I know we have many things and we're a little bit beyond the beginning of the first year I hope our cold weather shelters uh continue and that we find ways to not have a repeat of last year with our homeless situation so I continue to encourage you guys to work towards that and the city to come together as the community and back all that so I appreciate everything you guys have done I appreciate the direction we're going and I would like to see us continue to move forward in healing our city so thank you and with that we are adjourned thank you everybody [Music]