03/25/2025 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS

         SB  50-MUNICIPAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS: HOUSING                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:57:14 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT announced  that  the next  order of  business                                                               
would be CS FOR SENATE BILL  NO. 50(L&C), "An Act relating to the                                                               
comprehensive plans of first and second class boroughs."                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:57:33 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  FORREST  DUNBAR,  Alaska  State  Legislature,  as  prime                                                               
sponsor,  presented CSSB  50(L&C).   He  paraphrased the  sponsor                                                               
statement  [included  in the  committee  packet],  which read  as                                                               
follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska is experiencing a housing  crisis. The people of                                                                    
     our  state have  been  stretched past  their limits  by                                                                    
     rapidly  increasing costs  and a  scarcity of  adequate                                                                    
     housing. Our population is  stagnant and rapidly aging.                                                                    
     An  exodus of  working-age  people has  left the  state                                                                    
     with chronic  labor shortages. Housing  is a  crisis in                                                                    
     every  Alaskan community,  urban and  rural, and  every                                                                    
     community needs to be part of resolving it.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     SB 50 adds  a new section to  the statutory description                                                                    
     of  first-  and  second-class  boroughs'  comprehensive                                                                    
     plans,   encouraging  the   inclusion   of  a   housing                                                                    
     development  plan.  Title  29  already  recognizes  the                                                                    
     importance  of  community planning,  with  longstanding                                                                    
     requirements  for  cities  and boroughs  to  adopt  and                                                                    
     periodically update  comprehensive plans. In  the past,                                                                    
     housing has  often been considered  a general  land use                                                                    
     issue, but  the topic has  reached a degree  of urgency                                                                    
     that   necessitates   its   own   consideration.   This                                                                    
     legislation  will  prompt  boroughs  to  give  specific                                                                    
     attention  to the  housing  needs  of their  community,                                                                    
     critically examine  their housing policies,  and engage                                                                    
     the public via the comprehensive planning process.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     SB  50 is  a way  to broaden  Alaska's response  to the                                                                    
     housing crisis.  By prompting  discussion, examination,                                                                    
     and  strategizing at  the local  level some  challenges                                                                    
     will   be   resolved    without   State   intervention.                                                                    
     Simultaneously,  communities  will  identify  remaining                                                                    
     obstacles  and local  priorities, which  will make  any                                                                    
     subsequent State  action more effective  and efficient.                                                                    
     I  urge  your support  for  SB  50  so we  can  develop                                                                    
     locally driven  initiatives to repair  Alaska's housing                                                                    
     environment.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
9:00:26 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HAHLEN  BEHNKEN,  Staff,  Senator Forrest  Dunbar,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  on   behalf  of  Senator  Dunbar,   prime  sponsor,                                                               
presented the  sectional analysis  for CSSB 50(L&C)  [included in                                                               
the   committee  packet],   which  read   as  follows   [original                                                               
punctuation provided]:                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1: AS 29.40.030(a): Adds  a new subsection 5 to                                                                  
     AS  29.40.030(a)  stating  that a  housing  development                                                                    
     plan  will now  be one  of the  components that  may be                                                                    
     included  in  a  comprehensive plan.  Redesignates  the                                                                    
     former subsection 5 as subsection 6.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:01:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HOLLAND  spoke  to his  experience  creating  the                                                               
Hillside  district plan  in Anchorage  and the  interplay between                                                               
comprehensive plans  and district plans.   He asked how  the bill                                                               
would bring light to the  importance of district and neighborhood                                                               
plans.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DUNBAR  clarified that  the bill  only applies  to first-                                                               
and second-class  boroughs, so it  would not apply  to Anchorage.                                                               
He  said the  bill  is  a relatively  modest  reform intended  to                                                               
maximize local  control while still encouraging  new construction                                                               
and   would   not   address  conflicts   between   district   and                                                               
comprehensive plans.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:05:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ANNA BRAWLEY,  representing self,  stated her  support for  SB 50                                                               
because it would take action  on community needs like housing and                                                               
engage with  communities to create  a clear vision and  set clear                                                               
goals to  achieve it.   There is already  a process in  place for                                                               
this  function, otherwise  known as  a comprehensive  plan, which                                                               
she defined as a big picture,  wide ranging plan that serves as a                                                               
20-year  roadmap for  communities.   She  pointed  out that  it's                                                               
sometimes  hard to  see how  housing  fits into  these plans,  as                                                               
housing  intersects with  many topics  while  being distinct  and                                                               
different.     Given  the  challenges  Alaska   faces,  [housing]                                                               
deserves local  attention and  local solutions.   She  shared her                                                               
experience as a  planning consultant and gave the  example of the                                                               
City  of Valdez's  comprehensive  plan  update, which  identified                                                               
housing as a top priority.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:08:29 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT announced  that  CSSB 50(L&C)  would be  held                                                               
over.