Southcentral Foundation seeks business zoning for 4.3 campus acres on Tudor Centre Drive

Southcentral Foundation is asking the city to rezone 4.3 acres on Tudor Centre Drive from residential office to general business, and the Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission will hear the request at 6:30 pm Monday, Oct. 19, at the Z.J. Loussac Library. The commission will make a recommendation. The Anchorage Assembly makes the final decision.

The two parcels sit at the northeast corner of the Alaska Native Health campus. They hold the Nuka Learning and Wellness Center and the Bird Ridge Building childcare facility. University Lake Park lies to the north, and single- and two-family homes lie to the east. The foundation's application says these are the only residential office parcels in the eastern part of the campus.

Both current uses are allowed under the existing and proposed zoning, according to the Planning Department staff analysis. The foundation wants long-range planning flexibility and to match the zoning on the rest of the campus, the report said. The application says no redevelopment is planned. It says setbacks and landscaping required next to homes under the new zoning would keep a buffer with the neighborhood.

City code describes the residential office district as meant for professional, business and outpatient medical offices, or a mix of offices and homes. The parcels also carry special limitations that list permitted uses and cap building height. General business, or B-3, zoning is meant mainly for commercial uses and allows a wide range of offices, retail and services, plus housing, community uses and mixed-use projects.

The Planning Department recommends approval, finding the request meets all three approval criteria. The Anchorage 2040 Land Use Plan, after an Assembly amendment to the land use plan, designates the land a Main Street Corridor, and B-3 is one of the zones that carries out that designation.

State and city reviewing agencies raised no objections, according to the agency comment packet. The department mailed 147 hearing notices Sept. 24 and has received no public comments. The UMed/Tudor Community Council passed a resolution supporting the rezone. The Campbell Park Community Council was also notified.

Written comments are accepted until 1 pm Friday through the city's Planning Cases Online system. People can also testify at the hearing in person or by phone.