Anchorage muni quasi-judicial board hearing zoning variance requests and code interpretation appeals.
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0:06
Ellen McKay
“There are 7 votes in the affirmative, no votes in the negative, and the variance is granted.”Anchorage Assembly: Zoning Board of Examiers and Appeals - July 9, 2026 - 2026-07-09 18:30:00 · Jul 10, 2026
0:43
Jason Norris
“if we're saying that, well, they could just redesign it to have a smaller floor plate, then I think that that's going to force a lot of redesign, and they may not be able to actually make it commercially viable. And the applicant is saying they're going to have 3 units of commercial with 3 units of residential on top. I don't think that we can just flippantly say that this would be perfectly fine if you just take that 8-foot chunk out.”Anchorage Assembly: Zoning Board of Examiers and Appeals - July 9, 2026 - 2026-07-09 18:30:00 · Jul 10, 2026
0:27
Jason Norris
“I think it does revolve all around the proposed footprint of the building itself, but it does beg the question of what is minimally needed to— is this the minimum variance required, right?”Anchorage Assembly: Zoning Board of Examiers and Appeals - July 9, 2026 - 2026-07-09 18:30:00 · Jul 10, 2026
0:14
Jason Norris
“if you have to reduce it so small to fit it within it that it's not going to be developed, then that doesn't feel like the minimum. That feels like below the minimum.”Anchorage Assembly: Zoning Board of Examiers and Appeals - July 9, 2026 - 2026-07-09 18:30:00 · Jul 10, 2026
0:41
Jason Norris
“I did send an email, a follow-up email to staff asking them to take a look at the dimensional standards, because if we're going to look at what is reasonable for a minor modification, I felt it was reasonable for us to look at the dimensional standards themselves and see if they were still applicable and still serving us well.”Anchorage Assembly: Zoning Board of Examiers and Appeals - July 9, 2026 - 2026-07-09 18:30:00 · Jul 10, 2026
0:34
Elizabeth Appleby
“if you're a single-family owner, it's $710 to come for a public hearing here”Anchorage Assembly: Zoning Board of Examiners and Appeals - June 11, 2026 - 2026-06-11 18:30:00 · Jun 12, 2026
A zoning board overruled its own staff to green-light a Girdwood building
Anchorage's zoning board voted 7-0 to grant a Girdwood mixed-use building a setback variance, overruling planning staff and questioning whether the zone's rules fit the development they're meant to encourage.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAIGirdwood, Alaska
