Mayor LaFrance touts early housing permit gains; administration introduces tax abatement for rehabilitating vacant homes
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Summary
In her July 15 report to the Anchorage Assembly, Mayor LaFrance described a rise in multifamily permits in early 2025 and introduced an ordinance to allow property tax abatements for rehabilitated vacant and abandoned residential properties on the municipal registry.
Mayor LaFrance told the Anchorage Assembly on July 15 that permit activity for multifamily housing has accelerated in 2025 and that administrative and assembly policy changes are enabling development.
“In all of 2024, we permitted around 70 units of multifamily housing. In just the first 6 months of 2025, we’ve already doubled that number,” the mayor said, noting permit totals in the first half of 2025 had risen to “over 140 units” (reported by the mayor). She said accessory dwelling unit (ADU) permits also doubled during the prior year and highlighted a first applicant under the assembly‑approved multifamily tax incentive that plans 58 new units next year.
LaFrance also described current and planned projects by housing providers: Cook Inlet Housing Authority’s Baxter Family Housing Development and SEHA’s planned 24 units there in 2026. She credited assembly actions — multifamily property tax incentives, a design‑standards moratorium, and a site‑access rewrite — with improving project feasibility.
Tax abatement for vacant properties The administration introduced an ordinance to provide a 10‑year property tax abatement for residential properties on the municipality’s vacant and abandoned registry if the owner restores the property to habitable condition and meets specified requirements. The mayor framed the measure as a supplement to enforcement and code efforts to return neglected homes to the market.
Why this matters The mayor framed the steps as part of a broader effort to reach a municipal goal of 10,000 new and rehabilitated homes in 10 years. Assembly members and staff say the policy package — tax incentives, code changes and administrative reforms — aims to increase housing supply and speed projects toward construction.
What the transcript shows The mayor’s report and the introduced ordinance were presented during the regular meeting; the assembly reserved time to hear a public‑safety report from APD later in the agenda.
Next steps The new ordinance was introduced for consideration and will proceed through committee review and public hearing as required by assembly rules.