Housing on the Tozier Tract would likely close off a planned road

Anchorage wants to open a 9.6-acre city-owned parcel on Tudor Road to housing. The state's own area planner says that would probably end a road connection the city has had on its books for years. He did not object to the change.

The proposal before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday would give the Tozier Tract a single future land use designation aimed at town-center density near transit, replacing three designations that currently cut across the lot without following property lines. It does not rezone anything and does not by itself allow anyone to build. Staff recommends it, citing the Assembly's housing plan and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance's goal of 10,000 homes in 10 years.

The road in question is the Tudor-Elmore connectivity project, shelved over environmental constraints, effects on nearby homes and a partnership that fell apart. It would have extended Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue through the property and tied into Piper and Grumman streets. Mark Eisenman, the state transportation department's Anchorage area planner, wrote that residential redevelopment there "would likely preclude or substantially limit the feasibility of these previously planned connections," and that whatever gets built should not take direct access from Tudor, which is built for through traffic. He suggested alternatives: a public right-of-way east to Tudor and access west to 46th Avenue.

The parcel has a second future in play. The city has proposed trading it to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation for four downtown lots, and the Assembly takes testimony on that Oct. 6.

Monday's hearing is at 6:30 pm at Loussac Library. Written comments close Friday afternoon. The commission only recommends; the Assembly decides.