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Sen. Dunbar’s bill would add a housing development plan to local comprehensive plans as guidance, not a mandate
Summary
Senate Bill 50 would add an optional “housing development plan” element to the statutory list of items that first- and second-class cities and boroughs may include in comprehensive plans. Sponsor: Sen. Forrest Dunbar. The committee heard invited testimony from a planning professional who said the change would encourage local prioritization of
Senator Forrest Dunbar presented Senate Bill 50 to the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee on March 25, 2025, proposing that state law list a “housing development plan” as one of the components a local comprehensive plan may include.
What the bill does: SB50 adds a suggested housing-development component to AS 29.40.030(a) (the statute describing comprehensive-plan contents for first- and second-class cities and boroughs). The bill is explicitly nonmandatory: it uses the existing statutory language “may include but is not limited to,” and it does not require communities to rewrite current comprehensive plans outside of their normal review cycle.
Why it matters: The sponsor and invited testimony framed the bill as a way to elevate housing as a discrete planning priority so that municipalities and boroughs will consider housing strategies—zoning changes, infrastructure coordination and implementation steps—when they next update comprehensive plans.
Hearing highlights - Sponsor’s description: Senator Forrest Dunbar said planners told his office many local plans already address housing but that an explicit housing-development component could serve as a guidepost without imposing state mandates. - Scope and limits: Dunbar stressed SB50 would not force local governments to redo their comp plans before their scheduled cycle; most localities update comp plans roughly every 10 years and could add the housing element at their next update. - Applicability: Dunbar noted the bill applies to first- and second-class boroughs and cities; it does not apply to Anchorage (a home‑rule municipality), a point he made when responding to Representative Kai Holland’s questions about district and neighborhood plans. - Invited testimony: Anna Brawley, a planning professional testifying as an individual, supported the bill and said elevating housing as a distinct component helps communities set clear goals and implementation steps. “SB 50 is not a mandate, but a positive call for local planning and local action on housing,” Brawley testified.
Committee disposition: The committee held SB50 over for further consideration and public/invited testimony at a later hearing.
Ending note: The bill is framed as a modest, nonbinding encouragement to localities to prioritize housing within existing comprehensive-planning processes; the committee will take additional testimony before further action.
