Anchorage developers still build parking without a mandate, planners say

Nearly four years after Anchorage stopped requiring parking for new buildings, developers are still building about as much as they used to, according to a city Planning Department memo.

"Generally all new developments still provide off-street vehicle parking," staff wrote. Southcentral Foundation built a large parking structure at its new health care facility on Tudor Road, and the YMCA has proposed a bigger lot at its Lake Otis facility.

Planners know of one project that would skip parking for any unit: a proposed triplex on a corner lot where one of the three units would have no on-site space. It doesn't appear to have been built yet.

Dropping the requirement gave builders more room for units and leasable space, the memo says, and helped the former Barratt Inn open as low-income housing. The department said it "has not heard of or observed any measurable negative impacts."

The one cost staff flagged came from the same 2022 ordinance, which expanded the city's disability parking rules beyond federal standards. Those can add significant expense, the memo says.

Long Range Planning Manager Daniel McKenna-Foster wrote the memo for Assembly Vice Chair Daniel Volland of North Anchorage. It's in the packet for the Assembly's Nov. 4 meeting, when members are set to vote on the missing middle housing overlay.

The memo also points to the city's July street parking strategy, which found residential street parking almost never more than half full and open spaces downtown even at the busiest times.