Anchorage Opening Up to ADUs Due to Housing Shortage

Anchorage, Ala. is the latest city to change its zoning regulations, allowing homeowners to build smaller backyard cottages and accessory apartments inside or next to existing homes. 

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz's office pushed for these changes, including units in single-family neighborhoods for the first time, to generate income for residents, and to meet pent up demand for housing. A committee of architects and developers in the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. also supported the regulatory changes. Several residents, on the other hand, did not. Rogers Park neighborhood residents have expressed concern about parking, property values, and overcrowding. The Anchorage Daily News reports, "some questioned whether it was a quiet attempt to provide housing to people who were homeless, though city officials have said that is not the case."

The worries mirrored controversies that have played in other cities in the Lower 48 that have adopted similar reforms, including Lawrence, Kansas; Santa Cruz, California; and Portland, Oregon. But Alaska community development officials say there's little choice: They say the state needs to have more types of housing, period. "The (accessory dwelling unit) is the truly sustainable option to meet affordable housing," said Michael Scarcelli, the director of planning and community development for the city of Sitka. "Plus, I think it is more realistic in a place like Sitka, where we probably don't want a big high-rise blocking the view."

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