Dive Brief:

Anchorage, AK, lawmakers have proposed a package of land use ordinances that will update the city's recently adopted regulations in an attempt to clarify existing laws and spur redevelopment in the city, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.

Developers and architects have complained, the News reported, that the recent changes to regulations concerning new apartments, townhouses and condos are too burdensome and expensive.

The updated regulations would allow apartment buildings up to 70 ft, change a rule that limits construction of tall buildings next to shorter ones and ease building parking and landscaping requirements.

Dive Insight:

Not everyone in Anchorage is on board with the updated regulations, and their gripe is one that might only occur to someone living in Alaska. Anchorage residents receive, on average, about seven hours of sun a day during the winter months, so the prospect of a building blocking that precious commodity has some residents concerned.

"It's premature to put six-story buildings in two-story residential neighborhoods," Cheryl Richardson, director of the Anchorage Citizens Coalition, told the News.

Nevertheless, most developers support the changes, and city officials are excited about the development they could bring.

In a statement introducing the ordinance last month Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said, "The proposed ordinance provides clarity and certainty for builders, while maintaining the standards that make our neighborhoods great places to live."