Fairbanks commission hears rezone that would resolve 50-year zoning mismatch near Noyes Slough

Eleven properties near Noyes Slough have carried a zoning designation that does not match their actual use for nearly 50 years. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Commission held a legislative hearing June 23 on an ordinance sponsored by Mayor Hopkins that would rezone the area to reflect existing land use.

A Mismatch Decades in the Making

The Charles Slater Homestead Subdivision properties have been zoned Light Industrial since 1976. According to the staff report, all but one lot currently have nonconforming uses under that designation. The lots facing Charles Street have always been used residentially, but their use became nonconforming with the 1976 rezone. The lots fronting Minnie Street historically had commercial or light industrial uses such as plumbing and electrical shops, though one building was later converted to multi-family residential.

The staff report notes the existing zoning "has made it difficult for property owners to develop or sell their lots." The ordinance would rezone northern lots to Two-Family Residential and Minnie Street lots to Light Commercial. Staff also presented an optional amendment that would rezone three Minnie Street lots, including one with a roughly 22,656-square-foot medical office building, to General Commercial, because the proposed Light Commercial zone's building size limits would leave that structure nonconforming.

Opposition and Overlay

Staff received feedback from owners of 8 of 13 properties in the rezone area, and most feedback was supportive. As of the staff report's publication, no objections had been received from surrounding property owners. One Charles Street property owner wrote in opposition, citing concern about commercial rezoning at the end of Charles Street and traffic and pedestrian safety risks for children and dog walkers.

A 25-foot Waterways Protection overlay along Noyes Slough is included in the ordinance. Staff said the overlay supports riparian habitat, can reduce erosion of the slough, which affects water quality in the Chena River, and can reduce structures located within the floodway, which the staff report describes as particularly hazardous for development.

What Comes Next

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly holds the binding vote. The Planning Commission's June 23 role was legislative, not final.