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Apartment homes under construction near downtown Anchorage in 2023. (Bill Roth \/ ADN archive) <\/p>\nApartment homes under construction near downtown Anchorage in 2023. (Bill Roth \/ ADN archive) <\/p>\n
In a yearlong debate over where the municipality should allow denser housing, some Anchorage residents want to limit future development based on earthquake risk. <\/p>\n
The Anchorage Assembly earlier this month delayed a decision on a proposal intended to use added density as a means of combating Anchorage\u2019s housing shortage. The zoning policy, called the Missing Middle Housing Opportunity overlay, or MMHOP, would allow more, and in some cases taller, units on a single lot. <\/p>\n
Anchorage property owners have voiced a variety of reasons why they don\u2019t want additional density in their neighborhoods: additional traffic, noise and congestion, lowered property values and a fear of change to neighborhood character. <\/p>\n
In Anchorage, earthquake risk has emerged as another reason cited by some to stymie the development of new multifamily housing units in certain areas of the city. <\/p>\n
Among the proposed changes to MMHOP, residents have asked the Assembly to exclude seismic hazard zones four and five<\/a> from the housing overlay. These hazard zones encompass most of downtown and portions of the South Addition, Turnagain, North Star and Government Hill neighborhoods, and they have a high susceptibility to ground failure \u2014 liquefaction, landslides and cracking \u2014 in the case of a large earthquake. <\/p>\n The areas, highlighted in red and orange on the maps, sustained the most damage in the 9.2 magnitude Good Friday Earthquake that shook Southcentral Alaska in 1964. <\/p>\n Removing these zones from MMHOP would only reduce the number of lots by an estimated 13%, according to Planning Director M\u00e9lisa Babb. But these areas are some of the \u201cmost valuable\u201d because they are close to existing infrastructure like water and sewer utilities, sidewalks and transportation corridors, Babb said. <\/p>\n The removal of zones four and five is not an \u201canti-housing request,\u201d but about protecting life and property, North Star resident David Wigglesworth said during a September public hearing on MMHOP. Building codes should only be part of the solution, and while homes, schools and other developments already exist in these areas, it doesn\u2019t change the underlying geology, he said. <\/p>\n City officials have said restricting construction in certain areas based on natural disasters like earthquakes, wildfires and floods would be a departure from the norm for Anchorage\u2019s zoning regulations. <\/p>\n MMHOP co-sponsor Erin Baldwin Day said if the city deems adjustments are needed, then they should be made on a broader scale.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concern (about seismic risk) itself is valid,\u201d she said in a Monday interview. \u201cI do not think it is appropriate to limit that concern only to a contentious zoning proposal.\u201d <\/p>\n Baldwin Day on Tuesday introduced an Assembly resolution<\/a> to establish a working group to evaluate seismic and other natural hazards in Anchorage and advise \u201cresponsible development practices.\u201d The Assembly unanimously approved her request.<\/p>\n \u201cThe potential inclusion of seismic risk considerations in Title 21 (land use code) and zoning is a policy decision that should not be undertaken without careful study by municipal staff, community experts, and emergency management professionals,\u201d the resolution states.<\/p>\n Baldwin Day compared it to the idea of restricting development on the Hillside because it\u2019s one of the areas of the city most at risk to wildfires.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are we dealing with all of these different hazards which we know exist in our community and are we treating some of them differently than others? And if so, why?\u201d she asked Assembly members. <\/p>\n Anchorage\u2019s seismic maps, initially developed in 1979 using data from the Good Friday earthquake, are currently under revision by municipality, the resolution states. Updated maps are anticipated before the end of 2026. Within six months of their publication, the new working group will assess building codes in high hazard areas and deliver policy recommendations to the Assembly, the resolution states. <\/p>\n Baldwin Day\u2019s resolution mirrors an Oct. 1 request<\/a> from the city\u2019s Geotechnical Advisory Commission for the establishment of a committee to implement the new earthquake hazard maps. <\/p>\n Over the last month, the commission held two special meetings specifically focused on the MMHOP proposal. <\/p>\n Different opinions on risk management emerged at the Sept. 29 meeting. <\/p>\n Since the commission\u2019s inception, one of its major goals is to provide risk mitigation advice to the community, said John Thornley, who has been a member since 2009. Part of that advice is not increasing the density of seismic hazard zones four and five, he told the commission.<\/p>\n Referring to the city\u2019s current comprehensive plan, this idea \u201cpermeates throughout a lot of the documents and dialogue that the municipality has,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n In the past, seismic hazard zone five has experienced significant ground displacement of up to 18 feet, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Geotechnical Advisory Commission has long stated, don\u2019t build in these areas. … Accept the fact that we have built in these areas, but don\u2019t increase the density,\u201d Thornley said.<\/p>\n Commissioner Amy Steiner said she was hesitant to say engineering risk mitigation is a \u201czoning problem.\u201d She pointed to the engineering regulations already in place in Anchorage\u2019s building code to ensure safe building practices. <\/p>\n \u201cThere should absolutely be a higher level of oversight,\u201d she said. \u201cBut straight up saying, \u2018Thou shalt not build anything else in this area,\u2019 feels harmful to the community at large and detracts from the purpose of, let\u2019s find engineering solutions, buy down risk and let people make choices based on their personal risk tolerance.\u201d <\/p>\n Babb said treating hazards as an aspect of zoning would be a \u201ctotal policy shift\u201d for Anchorage\u2019s current zoning code. To date, the municipality has generally identified known hazards in an area and any development in those areas may be subject to additional site-specific review and engineering requirements set by the building department, she said. <\/p>\n Significant building and reinvestment has occurred recently in seismic zones four and five, including the construction of Inlet View Elementary, which opened to students<\/a> earlier this year; the Downtown Edge condos near the port; and in downtown, a new library at the Historic City Hall building as well as a transit center. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/KYIYJ6GKMZBSXHF6A75R4WEBQE.jpeg\")
Aerial view of the Turnagain area in Anchorage, after the 1964 earthquake. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/J5TQIH3UCZDYVJGEJJQ4QDATZM.JPG\")
Bookcases emptied and a desktop was cleared in a West Anchorage home following a 7.1 earthquake on Nov. 30, 2018. (Bob Hallinen \/ ADN archive) <\/p>\n