Assembly advances six proposed housing projects, including one near planned waste facility

Members overturn two Planning Commission zoning rejections involving proposals for about 240 residences in Lemon Creek; four Affordable Housing Fund projects get unanimous OK

A red marker shows 3.79 acres of land across from Costco and The Home Depot where an apartment complex with up to 120 units is being proposed. (Google Maps image)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This story has been corrected to note four, not five, Affordable Housing Fund projects were approved during Monday’s meeting.

Would you buy a home near a new municipal waste facility?

A majority of the Juneau Assembly is sold enough it voted Monday night to overturn the Juneau Planning Commission’s rejection of a rezoning allowing the construction of an apartment complex with up to 120 units on land across the street from Costco and The Home Depot. A primary concern of planning officials is the site is in an industrial area close to where the city is planning a waste transfer and a composting facility.

Assembly members similarly overturned the commission on a rezoning of land at Mile 7 Glacier Highway where another residential development with about 120 units is proposed. They also approved grants or loans for four Affordable Housing Fund projects with a total of more than 40 residences intended for low-income occupants.

The rezonings were subjected to nearly three hours of scrutiny by Assembly members who raised a wide range of questions about the projects, particularly the one near the planned waste facilities.

The rezonings don’t mean housing will be built on the properties since, among other things, the projects themselves still have to go through the permitting process. Community Development Director Jill Lawhorne also warned Assembly members that reclassifying each of the properties to "light commercial" means numerous types of businesses could be built in addition to — or instead of — housing.

But the Assembly approved both by solid margins despite concerns raised about each project. The primary argument of supporters for both projects was the rezonings offered the highest probability the land will be used for housing, since a shortage of it is among the city’s biggest ongoing issues.

Charles Donart, appealing the Planning Commission’s rejection to rezone 3.79 acres along Commercial Boulevard to "light commercial" instead of "industrial," told the Assembly his proposed development calls for 114 to 120 studio and one-bedroom apartments. Geoff and Marcy Larson, who own the property, told city leaders there’s already a mix of retail, industrial and residential buildings in the area.

"We've had that property for sale now for 10 years," Marcy Larson told the Assembly. "We’ve never had someone come to us and want to do anything industrial with it. We’ve had a lot of people come to us and say, ‘Gosh, this is a great property for putting housing on.’"

The Planning Commission’s rejection of the project included a finding that "changing the zoning to Light Commercial opens the area to many uses that are not complimentary to the noisy, noxious, odorous uses found in industrial zones."

Assembly Member Nano Brooks, among the supporters of the rezoning, said a broad portion of Lemon Creek is already exposed to odors from Juneau's existing landfill and there’s already people living in transitional housing facilities close to where the proposed apartments are.

"Likewise, with the prison and the training grounds for the officers, at multiple times throughout the day you'll hear a bunch of machine guns going off and bullets rippling around, and that's heard throughout all those residential areas too," he said.

Lawhorne said while others living and working in Lemon Creek may have to deal with odors from the landfill, "they're not right there on top of it."

"They're not walking by it," she said. "They're not having to drive by it. Children aren't having to catch the school bus by it."

If residents are living in the area it also could affect plans for the waste transfer and compost facilities that are still in the planning stages, Lawhorne said.

"You can't predict the future, but going off the past I think there's a fair chance that you would receive opposition," she said. "And I think anytime a permit receives a lot of opposition then there's a chance it wouldn't get approved."

The Assembly voted 7-2 to overturn the Planning Commission and approve the zoning, with Deputy Mayor Greg Smith and Mayor Beth Weldon dissenting. Weldon said her concerns include the city having relatively little industrial land left and the need to have it for certain purposes.

The other rezoning, approved with less controversy, changes 4.03 acres at 7170 Glacier Highway from D18 to light commercial. Lawhorne said the Planning Commission rejected that application because the city’s Comprehensive Plan calls for medium-density development of five to 20 units, while a light commercial

zoning would allow 30 units per acre — or businesses with no housing.

Josette Duran, appealing the rejection on behalf of Duran Construction Co., told Assembly members updates affecting the Lemon Creek area since the Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2013 include provisions matching the project her company is proposing.

"It doesn't behoove us to build, or anybody to build, all light commercial because the commercial market is soft since the pandemic happened," she said.

While some Assembly members expressed concern the rezoning doesn’t assure housing will be built at the site, Christine Woll said the odds will be better if the developer has greater freedom to build the project as envisioned.

"I know that means no housing might be built there, but no housing will likely built there if we do nothing," she said. "So I'm willing to provide that flexibility."

The Assembly approved the rezoning on Glacier Highway by 6-3 vote, with Smith, Maureen Hall and Paul Kelly dissenting.

Approved quickly near the end of the meeting with little discussion were four projects totaling just over $2 million from the Affordable Housing Fund. The fund established five years ago has awarded a total of about $12 million to help fund 257 housing units, 189 of which are classified as affordable to individuals with incomes of 80% or less of Area Median Income (AMI), according to the City and Borough of Juneau’s website.

Some past funding has been controversial, such as a Ridgeview subdivision project where units were sold at market rates, prompting city leaders to state they would pay closer attention to affordability requirements in future projects.

The four Affordable Housing Fund projects approved Monday are:

• A $900,000 loan to Brave Enterprises LLC to convert the long-shuttered Bergmann Hotel downtown into an apartment building with 18 units affordable to individuals with incomes of 80% or less of AMI.

• An $800,000 grant to the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority for the first phase of a mixed-income, multi-unit complex at Pederson Hill. Plans for the first phase call for 16 units affordable to individuals with incomes of 80% or less of AMI.

• A $250,000 grant to the Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority for the first phase of mixed-income, multi-unit housing in North Douglas, with five units affordable to individuals with incomes of 80% or less of AMI.

• A $200,000 loan to Southeast Endeavors LLC for construction of a new fourplex in Auke Bay affordable to individuals with incomes of 80% or less of AMI.

One project not approved, due to a clerical error, was a $150,000 allocation to St. Vincent de Paul Juneau for long-term maintenance of its Teal Street facilities, which include low-income and senior housing.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.