Planning commission postpones wetlands plan update over staffing gaps

The Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission voted Monday night to postpone updates to the city's wetlands management plan after staff acknowledged the municipality has no designated personnel to oversee the program and no current employee qualified to use key technical assessment tools.

The commission delayed Phase 1 changes that would have reassigned implementation responsibilities and updated permit application procedures. Commissioners said the proposed changes assigned duties generically to the Municipality of Anchorage rather than to specific departments or qualified individuals.

Anchorage has operated without a dedicated wetlands coordinator since 2021 when environmental planner Dee Tobish departed. Staff said the municipality has since relied on a collaborative approach between the Planning Department and Development Services Department, with personnel holding bits and pieces of the needed expertise.

Commissioner Rahn moved to postpone the updates to a date uncertain, citing three findings: current conditions have existed for some time since the coordinator position was lost, staff indicated no negative consequences to development if the updates did not move forward, and updates need to be made driven by both changes in wetlands jurisdiction and organizational interests at the municipal level.

"It's my impression that the municipality has been ignoring its municipal wetlands jurisdiction since the passing of the expiration of its authorities granted to it by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers back in 2021," the commission chair said. "And if we're going to start paying attention to the municipally regulated wetlands, I think we need to make some more changes than just what's outlined in this case."

Rahn raised related staffing concerns. "While I can appreciate Long Range Planning's interest in a team approach, I'm concerned that not having someone running point in this will create new confusion," Rahn said.

Staff had recommended approval of the Phase 1 changes as a stopgap while the municipality works on a more comprehensive Phase 2 update expected to take two summers. Staff argued the changes would help clarify public contact information and the current permit application process even if broader issues remained unresolved. But commissioners questioned whether the changes addressed fundamental problems. One reviewing department commented that with elimination of the wetlands coordinator position, there would be many responsibilities not designated to an individual or department.

When asked directly whether anyone currently employed has qualifications to use the Anchorage Wetlands Assessment Methodology, a key technical document for evaluating wetlands, staff said no.

"To the best of my knowledge, no," a planning official said. "So we have personnel with bits and pieces of these skills. And so we sort of like take a collaborative approach to addressing questions from the public as well as permit applications."

The Anchorage Wetlands Management Plan was adopted in 2014. Staff said changes were needed to reflect the loss of the general permit in 2021, the 2023 Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA that redefined waters of the United States, and departmental reorganization within the municipality.

Staff said nothing would go wrong if the Phase 1 ordinance did not move forward, but that the changes would make official the current way of implementing the plan and ease confusion for the public.

Commissioner Krishna said she supported the postponement but encouraged staff to find alternate methods of communicating permit process information to the public that do not require plan updates.

"I don't believe that Plans that are updated once a decade or less are the appropriate place to have contact information or outline a permit process, maybe even," Krishna said.

No members of the public testified on the item.

Staff indicated a Phase 2 comprehensive update would include field verification work and clearer assignment of roles and responsibilities. The commission's recommendation will go to the Anchorage Assembly, which has final authority over changes to the wetlands plan as an element of the comprehensive plan.