Andres Spinelli
Chair · Planning and Zoning Commission
20 articles · 20 transcripts · 8 clips
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Planning commission backs rezone to legalize Chugiak house built on industrial land
A Chugiak house built without permits in 2006 sits on industrial land. Planners backed rezoning it residential; its industrial neighbors aren't thrilled.
Planners urge dropping or rechecking Anchorage's Academy-Vanguard road project
A South Anchorage road project first flagged as a need around 2009 has more than doubled in price. City planners now say drop it or recheck it.
Planning commission backs Anchorage's $88 million bond request after memo dispute
Planners backed Anchorage's $88 million bond ask Monday, after a city director told them to disregard their own staff's memo questioning the project list.
Anchorage commission backs code change so Centennial campground and Russian Jack greenhouse fit park zoning
Anchorage's own campground and greenhouse don't fit its new park zoning. A commission voted to change the code so the parks can be zoned as parks.
Soldotna planning director drafts code change to replace court citations with civil fines
Soldotna's planning director is drafting a code change to replace court citations for unpermitted rentals with staff-issued civil fines, which could speed enforcement.
Anchorage commission weighs 12.5 acres of heavy-industrial rezoning
Anchorage's planning commission will consider recommending that the Assembly rezone 12.5 acres to heavy industrial.
Anchorage Assembly ordinance restores parking permit rule its planning commission voted 8-0 to cut
Anchorage's planning commission voted unanimously to drop a parking lot restriction. The Assembly sponsors put it back in and will take it up Oct. 20.
A fourplex would install no landscaping under this Anchorage ordinance
A builder putting four homes on an Anchorage lot would install no landscaped buffer under an ordinance up for public hearing Oct. 6.
Anchorage moves to clarify its wetlands permitting, though some say it doesn't go far enough
“the municipality has been ignoring its municipal wetlands jurisdiction since the expiration of the authorities granted to it by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2021”
Anchorage Planning and Zoning bumped its entire August docket to September
“so if you're here to testify on those, those cases will not be heard tonight”
Anchorage planning commission approves Chugach substation rebuild over neighbor's objection
Anchorage planners approved Chugach Electric's Campbell Lake substation rebuild despite a neighbor's objection to transformers 25 feet from their home.
Girdwood's new parks plan rests partly on land the town doesn't clearly have the right to use
Anchorage's commission approved Girdwood's parks plan though parts sit on land the town hasn't secured: a lot on state ground and trails crossing the airport.
A planned Anchorage road would cut into a Hillside couple's yard — so the commission hit pause
A planned Hillside road would cut 45 feet into an Anchorage couple's yard and move their well, so the commission paused the design pending a fresh survey.
As federal wetland protections recede, Anchorage rewrites its own rules
After the Supreme Court pulled federal protection off more than half the nation's wetlands, their fate now falls to states and cities — and no state has more wetlands than Alaska.
Anchorage moves to allow homes on commercial land
“I think they prevent development. They prevent people from purchasing the land to get to the point where they would apply for the conditional use. They stop projects in their tracks before they're started, even though there is a way forward.”
Anchorage would drop landscaping buffers for three- and four-unit homes
Anchorage would drop landscaping buffer requirements for three- and four-unit homes. The current rule calls for a 15-foot planting bed with trees and shrubs.
Anchorage P&Z recommends rezoning 7.9 acres of port land to parks
“we heard no public opposition, and the replat will resolve DOT's comments on the rezone.”
Planning commission recommends removing density requirement from Eagle River greenhouse property
Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended removing a minimum-density requirement from an Eagle River greenhouse property, allowing duplexes or triplexes instead of 13 required units. The Assembly will make the final decision.
Planning commission postpones wetlands plan update over staffing gaps
Anchorage's Planning Commission postponed wetlands plan updates Monday after staff admitted no one on payroll can use the technical tools needed to manage wetlands permits.
Planning Commission accepts DOT concept for Tudor Road interchange redesign
Anchorage's Planning Commission approved a redesign of the aging Seward Highway and Tudor Road interchange that will add protected bike and pedestrian paths, following five fatalities in the corridor.
