Capital Improvement Plan, 2005-2011
Appendix D
Site Selection Procedure
Anchorage is a city characterized by fluctuations in population size,
shifting residential
settlement patterns and a changing age structure. Due
to these factors, planning for the
provision of needed school sites and facilities in
appropriate geographic locations is
critical. The planning process involves the cooperation
of many persons and agencies.
The Anchorage School District works closely with appropriate
agencies of the United
States Government, the State of Alaska and the Municipality
of Anchorage. Private
individuals, community groups and agencies are also
involved in this process, whenever
appropriate.
Policy-making bodies involved specifically in the school site selection
process are the
Anchorage School Board, Planning and Zoning Commission,
and Municipal Assembly.
Members of these policy-making groups participate
in a joint school site selection
committee that guides staff efforts. The staff
for school site selections comes from the
Anchorage School District and its consultants,
and the municipal Departments of
Community Planning & Development and the Heritage Land Bank.
Identification of Needs
The first phase of a school site selection is identification of the
need for a school. The
School District identifies geographic areas where additional
schools will be needed,
based on membership projections. These projections
are updated yearly, based on
historic and current memberships as well as population
trends. This is one of the
functions of the Six Year Capital Improvement Plan
document.
Site Selection Process
The second phase of a school site selection and acquisition process
may be one of two
formats and either is authorized under Title 25
of the Municipal Code.
- The Standard Process involves the identification and evaluation
of alternative sites for each geographic area that needs
a new school. The steps involved include:
- A site search performed by municipal planning
staff in order to identify
potential school sites. The search
takes note of site size, land status,
surrounding land use and zoning, access,
topography and other physical
characteristics. Planning and school
district staff review the findings of the
initial site search and then determine
the number
and location of alternative
sites that will be further evaluated.
This task requires approximately four
weeks to complete.
- Obtaining engineering evaluations and real
estate appraisals for all site
alternatives. These documents evaluate
technical questions in more detail
than could be undertaken by municipal
or school district staff. The
engineering evaluations are prepared
by an engineering consultant under
contract to the District. The purpose
of these evaluations is to ensure that
any selected site can be feasibly developed
for school use. After receiving
rights of entry for soil tests, several
weeks are spent on investigation,
analysis of engineering characteristics
(including soil testing), estimation of
site development costs, and preparation
of a report documenting these
findings. Throughout this process,
school district and planning staffs are
involved in coordinating and directing
consultant work. These tasks require
approximately twelve weeks to complete.
- Preparation of the site selection report
by municipal planning staff after the
engineering recommendations are finalized.
The report consolidates and
evaluates available information on
the alternative sites and presents a
recommended site to the decision-making
bodies. Engineering
recommendations, land use planning
considerations, relative value of the
sites and other factors are considered
in the site selection report. This report
requires approximately four weeks to complete.
- Request for Proposals (RFP) Process involves developing the
criteria for the RFP and
taking the following steps.
- Proposals for land, design, and construction
are solicited from the area wide
community for possible school sites.
- An RFP evaluation committee reviews the
proposals and makes a
recommendation. Next, the Department
of Community Planning and
Development prepares a comparative
report on all sites proposed, including
its recommended site. Planning then
forwards their recommendation to the
Anchorage School Board, Planning and
Zoning Commission, and the
Anchorage Assembly for final approval.
This selection process is anticipated
to take approximately nine months to
final acceptance of selected proposal.
Site Approval
The third phase of a site selection is the approval process. When the
report is available
for public distribution, notice is given of a joint
public hearing before the School Board
and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Notices are
mailed to nearby property owners
and advertisements appear in newspapers three weeks
prior to the hearing. Notices are
also mailed to community councils. Prior to the public
hearing, an informational meeting
on the site selection is held with area community councils
and representatives from the
school district and municipal planning staffs. After
one or more public hearings, the
School Board and Planning and Zoning Commission make
recommendations on their
preferred site. These recommendations are forwarded
to the Assembly for action. The
Assembly ultimately selects a site for the school.
This decision may be made without a
public hearing. This process requires approximately
ten weeks to complete.
Site Acquisition
The final phase of the selection process is acquiring the site. When
purchase of a site is
necessary, the Real Estate Division of the Municipal
Heritage Land Bank obtains a full
appraisal and negotiates the purchase of the property.
If condemnation is required, a
document is prepared that outlines the decision process.
The matter returns to the
Assembly to authorize the expenditure of funds prior
to purchase or condemnation. This
action requires approximately twenty weeks to complete.
Each phase of this process requires a certain amount of time to complete.
The time can
vary depending on various circumstances, therefore
the number of weeks required for
each phase are approximations.
Schedule of Site Selections
2005-2006:
- Chugiak/Eagle River Elementary School
- Districtwide ABC School
- Southeast Elementary School
2006-07:
- South Anchorage Middle School
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