Mayor says multifamily permitting doubled year over year; administration to introduce rehab tax-incentive ordinance
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Summary
At the rules committee meeting the mayor reported a doubling of multifamily permits for the first half of 2025 compared with 2024, said ADU permitting is up, noted the prosecutor’s office staffing improvements and previewed an ordinance to create a Chapter 12.80 for rehabilitation tax incentives for vacant and abandoned buildings.
The mayor told the Anchorage Rules Committee on July 10 that permits for multifamily housing in the first half of 2025 have doubled compared with the same period in 2024 and that accessory dwelling unit permitting also is higher.
“We have doubled the number of multifamily housing units permitted,” the mayor said, adding the increase reflects a collaborative effort across the administration.
The mayor also said the municipal prosecutor’s office is now fully staffed at the frontline level, with the only remaining vacancy a deputy municipal prosecutor. “We are prosecuting shoplifting charges…that we haven't been able to do in the past,” the mayor said, noting that handling lower-level charges is a sign of increased prosecutorial capacity.
As a forthcoming legislative item, the mayor said the administration will place on the addendum an ordinance to create a new chapter 12.80 to provide a tax incentive for rehabilitation of vacant and abandoned buildings, intended to address feedback received since adoption of the existing tax abatement code earlier in the year.
The mayor closed by reminding assembly members that administration staff are available to advise on amendments and to help prepare for budget season; he introduced his chief of staff and other senior staff in the room.
The remarks were a report and preview; the committee did not take any formal vote on the items presented.