Anchorage planners put off a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter until December

Anchorage's Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 19 put off deciding whether Linda's Place, a homeless shelter for up to 150 people on East 5th Avenue, can operate permanently. Neighbors described fires and assaults, and two commissioners spoke against approving it. The commission will take it up again Dec. 14.

The shelter already operates under an emergency order from the city's health director, which staff told commissioners has no set end date and gives the commission no role. Commissioner Alma Abaza argued for postponing rather than denying the permit, saying it's late October and the building holds a significant share of the winter's shelter beds.

Planning staff had recommended approval, finding the shelter met all nine review criteria. Commissioner Edith McKee moved to approve the permit, then said she would vote against it because four criteria weren't met. "People are being assaulted in their homes," she said, and noted that the shelter's contract says patrols "should," not "shall," happen. Commissioner Brandy Eber said the use shouldn't be allowed on the site.

Nine people testified, and none supported the permit as filed. A representative of Castle Megastore, next door, cited dumpster and parking lot fires and a 17% drop in customer traffic this year. Air Source Alaska said it pays $1,400 a month for security after a shelter guest assaulted an employee, and a co-owner called the shelter's patrols "just a volunteer in a vest." The business asked the commission to deny the permit or, failing that, cap the shelter at 100 beds and require a 6-foot fence and a review after one year. The operator offered to build an 8-foot fence along the east property line.

Shelter operator Sheldon Fisher told commissioners the city's contract bars requiring clients to be sober, contradicting the staff report's statement that clients "must be sober." Vice Chair Radhika Krishna asked staff for legal guidance and for conditions the commission could enforce on its own, apart from the health department's shelter license.