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Frame from "Anchorage Assembly: PlanningandZoningCommission: Live" · Photo source
Planning commission backs rezone to legalize Chugiak house built on industrial land
The Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission voted Monday to recommend that the Anchorage Assembly rezone a 1.33-acre Chugiak lot from light industrial to low-density residential, a change that would make a house on the lot legal.
The house was built in 2006 without permits, and a permit wouldn't have been issued for it then, said Paul Hatcher of the Planning Department. Hatcher said he believes the current owner bought the property in 2019. There's no current enforcement violation, he said, but "variances are not an option for illegal uses." The rezone, he said, "will bring the structure into compliance with code."
The owner applied through his real estate agent, Garrett Moore, who told the commission the current zoning makes financing challenging. Their application says the rezone would let future homeowners get traditional mortgages.
The staff report recommended approval. The area's 2006 comprehensive plan update already calls for homes on the parcel, and state and city agencies raised no objection.
Three owners of neighboring industrial lots objected, saying the area can't spare industrial land and a house next door would crowd their businesses.
Noah Groskreutz, who owns a lot in the subdivision and started his construction business 20 years ago, said industrial land outside the Anchorage Bowl is "severely lacking" and the city needs more of it, not less. "Once you start pulling a lot at a time, it's kind of a slippery slope," he said.
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About Chugiak
Chugiak is a community in the Municipality of Anchorage, north of Eagle River along the Glenn Highway. It sits near Birchwood and Eklutna on the northern edge of the municipality.
Because Chugiak is part of the municipality, many decisions about it come before the Anchorage Assembly, including the city land lease that supports senior housing built by Chugiak Senior Citizens. Water supply from Eklutna Lake and the agreements that govern it affect the area, and Chugiak is served by its own volunteer fire department.
Chugiak shares road maintenance and service areas with Eagle River and is linked to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough by the Glenn Highway. Community gatherings and services held there draw people from across the region.
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