Juneau commission to decide permit for Guardian Flight hangar already being built

Juneau's Planning Commission will decide Tuesday, Nov. 10, whether to grant a conditional-use permit for a 21,600-square-foot hangar for Guardian Flight medical jets. The hangar is already under construction at Juneau International Airport. City staff recommend approval with conditions.

A conditional use is one that may or may not fit a zoning district, depending on its character, intensity or size, so the commission reviews each case and can attach conditions.

The building would house the medical aircraft, an ambulance bay, offices, a training space and crew bunks for shift rotations. The applicants say it would be the base of operations for Northern Southeast Alaska for GMR, which is known locally as Guardian Flight and moves patients between the airport and Bartlett Regional Hospital.

The building permit for everything above the foundation is on hold until the commission acts, according to Planner Brandon Robinson's staff report. A June 5 city note in the packet says the foundation permit "was mistakenly issued" through a software error, without zoning review, and that construction "has begun without a permit being issued."

Airport Architect Ke Mell reported the building enclosed Aug. 5. The applicant team told the city in August it faced a November occupancy deadline.

Staff conditions would require full-cutoff exterior lighting that does not glare onto roads or neighboring properties, an oil-spill containment device and cleanup supplies stored within a 15-minute round trip of the site.

The meeting starts at 6 pm. Written comments are due by noon Friday, Nov. 6. The staff report says the city had received no public comments when it was written.