Legislature(2017 - 2018)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/31/2017 03:30 PM Senate COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB39 | |
| SB9 | |
| SB39 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 39 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 9-MILITARY FACILITY ZONES
[CHAIR BISHOP announced the consideration of SB 9.]
3:39:34 PM
SENATOR JOHN COGHILL, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of SB 9,
related that Fairbanks is host to two military bases that have
approved military facility zones. Setting up these facility
zones entailed the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs
(DMVA) approving a comprehensive plan that takes more time to go
through than a zoning ordinance. This makes it a less valuable
tool for this purpose. So, SB 9 proposes that the DMVA does not
have to approve this comprehensive plan. He said these two
issues in SB 9 and SB 39 have a huge impact on his district, but
they would be helpful anywhere else in the state that deals with
military issues.
3:43:21 PM
CHAD HUTCHISON, staff to Senator Coghill, said SB 9 deals with
military facility zones related to the decision to place 54 F-35
aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base. This bill is about
maximizing the benefits for the local community and the
surrounding areas next to a military installation - more is
going on than just the F-35s - particularly in the Interior.
He said some of the action points in the presentation came from
the Fairbanks Tiger Team made up of Senator Murkowski, Senator
Sullivan, and Congressman Young's office, Fairbanks North Star
Borough Mayor Karl Kassel, Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly, and the
North Pole Mayor, Bryce Ward. Other representatives include the
Chamber of Commerce and the Fairbanks Economic Development
Corporation headed by Jim Dawson.
3:45:19 PM
MR. HUTCHISON said the F-35 is a thirsty aircraft and a lot of
communities will benefit by having refueling facilities for it.
He added that the military industry is an important part of the
Fairbanks economy generally, but it also affects other areas of
the state. The ones getting the attention now are Eielson Air
Force Base and Fort Wainwright that just received the Apaches
and the Grey Eagle Squadron, which is the unmanned aerial
vehicle that houses the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR).
Fort Greely also has 14 new missile interceptors. All these
facilities will be a potential benefit to Delta, to Anderson,
Fairbanks, North Pole, and a lot of communities around Joint
Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).
He displayed slides of planned military construction projects
given to them by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) saying their
number illustrates the need to move quickly, because there is a
short window in 2017 in which to maximize the benefits.
3:47:40 PM
He explained that military facility zones are designated areas
established by the Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs
(DMVA), usually close to a military installation, with the key
purpose of ensuring that the industrial and economic development
capacities in the surrounding area are maximized to the greatest
extent possible. If the project is deemed to be helping the
greater military mission, it can open up public and private
financing, credit guarantee programs, and grants in those zones.
MR. HUTCHISON explained that the DMVA considers a number of
different factors in the applications from the local
communities; one of them has to do with the comprehensive plan.
The last time the Fairbanks North Star Borough did a
comprehensive plan was in 2005, which was before military
facility zones were analyzed. The problem with comprehensive
plans is that they are resource-intensive and take a lot of time
and the window of opportunity now is very limited. The suggested
change adds the four words: "or local zoning ordinance" because
they are quicker than comprehensive plans and will be a better
fit for the window of time needed to maximize this benefit for
the $561 million allocated military construction spending in
September 2016.
3:50:43 PM
CHAIR BISHOP said he would hold SB 9 for a future hearing.
3:51:58 PM
JIM DODSON, Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation,
Fairbanks, Alaska, said he supported SB 9. Not only does the
current statutory authority cause undue time constraints, he
said, but it also causes money constraints that no one has to
take. In an effort to be more efficient and diversify the
economy, they support the bill.
3:52:54 PM
SENATOR GARDNER asked if there is any opposition to this bill.
MR. HUTCHISON said he wasn't aware of any.
3:53:22 PM
JEFF STEPP, staff to Karl Kassel, Mayor of the Fairbanks North
Star Borough, Fairbanks, Alaska, supported SB 9. He said the
statutory authority for municipalities and the DMVA to create
military facility zones was established in HB 316 by the 27th
Legislature in 2012. By design these zones are designated areas
in close proximity to a military installation where increased
industrial activity, economic development, workforce
development, or training and educational activities will
directly enhance the base's ability to fulfill its mission. That
is what makes them so appealing to a community.
Promoting expansion of infrastructure, such as Civil Defense and
Homeland Security, can encourage increased private sector
activity near these installations opens the door to state and
federal business development tax credits, loans, and other
funds. So, military facility zones can help facilitate economic
growth and development in communities, regions, and the entire
State of Alaska. The synergy created by shared knowledge and
leveraged resources focused on these common concepts and goals
can yield greater benefits for both the community and the
military.
MR. STEPP said the reason adding the language about planning and
zoning to this particular legislation is so important is that
currently a military facility zone must be determined to be
consistent with the comprehensive plan for the area and those
have broad land use designations and a wide variety of goals and
policies. Military facility zone designation proposals are site-
specific locations, which are generally smaller in scale than
the broad generalized categories of different types of future
land use listed in comprehensive plans. Site selection for a
military facility zone is intended to be optimized for
civilian/military interface and public/private partnerships.
He explained that comprehensive plans address a wide range of
land use elements, and many Alaska communities including the
Fairbanks North Star Borough have plans that are outdated and
did not anticipate a land-use type such as military facility
zone designation and/or do not address military facilities, and
sometimes not even economic development at all. Unfortunately,
the process to amend a comprehensive plan is lengthy and can be
expensive and often difficult.
MR. STEPP said that zoning, however, is a regulatory tool that
identifies the appropriate use of each specific parcel of land
and the applicable process for obtaining a land use permit.
Zoning regulations are required to be adopted in accordance with
local comprehensive plans. Zoning is a better, quicker, more
specific method for a community to evaluate a specific
development proposal, a building site plan, or a military
facility zone by applying the detailed standards that are found
in both local zoning regulations and the military facility zone
legislation. Greater flexibility in how to qualify for the
military facilities zone designation provides communities around
the state and the Fairbanks North Star Borough with more local
control to decide the best location and process for determining
compatibility. That is why this legislation is important to
them.
3:58:04 PM
BOB DOLE, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Military & Veterans
Affairs (DMVA), said he supported SB 9 and that since the
passage of the original bill they have had "exactly zero
applicants for these sorts of zones." They believe the time and
expense it takes to get one authorized is why Alaska doesn't
have military facility zones. This measure provides a way to
make it happen faster, is an opportunity to diversify the
economy, and makes Alaska's bases more cost-effective and
viable.
3:58:53 PM
SENATOR MACKINNON joined the committee.
CHAIR BISHOP closed public testimony on SB 9 and held it in
committee for future consideration.