Housing

Dillingham City Council adopts 2036 comprehensive plan, replacing its 2010 plan

Dillingham City Council unanimously adopted its 2036 Comprehensive Plan Sept. 3, replacing the 2010 plan guiding zoning and development decisions.

by Walter AlaskaNews1h ago2 min read

USDA moves to end a SNAP policy Alaska believes is helping its error rate

USDA wants to end a SNAP eligibility policy Alaska adopted last year. A state official believes it's helping cut the error rate that could cost Alaska $45M.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read

Anchorage permits more new housing than in any year since 2015, mayor's office says

Anchorage permitted 532 new homes through October, more than any full year since 2015, the mayor's office says. But permits aren't homes, and the bar was low.

by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min read

USDA proposes rules for Alaska's SNAP work-limit reprieve, which must end by 2028

USDA proposed rules for Alaska's SNAP work-limit reprieve, which by law ends by 2028. The state says its old eligibility system is one reason it needs it.

by Bill AlaskaNews2d ago3 min read

Follows: USDA proposal could undo Alaska's SNAP eligibility expansion

USDA proposal could undo Alaska's SNAP eligibility expansion

USDA proposed ending the rule letting an Alaska family of four earn up to $6,876 a month, with no savings limit, and qualify for SNAP. Nothing changes yet.

by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read

Kodiak weighs selling a vacant city lot for a building with six apartments over six shops

A Kodiak company wants six apartments over six shops on an empty city lot by the airport. The council takes its first vote on the $200,000 sale Thursday.

by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly delays Missing Middle housing vote again, this time to Dec. 1

The Anchorage Assembly scheduled its Missing Middle housing vote for a Friday at noon, then unscheduled it. It's now Dec. 1, the second delay in four weeks.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago4 min read

Follows: Planners say Missing Middle overlay fits Anchorage's comprehensive plan

Cordova council approves lease-to-own land deal that requires three new homes

Cordova voted to lease city land to a builder who must put up three 3-bedroom homes within five years. Do that, and he can buy it for about $102,500.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage commission backs rezone to replace two Ivan Drive homes with duplexes

Anchorage's planning commission backed letting a couple replace two Ivan Drive houses with duplexes. Nobody testified. The Assembly gets the last word.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Alaska towns have a month left to apply for up to $850,000 in federal block grants

Alaska towns have until Dec. 4 to apply for up to $850,000 each in federal block grants, and housing now qualifies. The state's last workshop is Tuesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage builders group says the building code already accounts for quake risk

Anchorage's home builders group wants the city's highest-hazard quake zones kept in a housing overlay, saying codes account for them. Vote's Wednesday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Anchorage overlay developers would pay full cost of water and sewer extensions, AWWU says

Anchorage's water utility says Missing Middle builders would pay for new water and sewer lines themselves, and the price can change across a street.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago3 min read

Planners say Missing Middle overlay fits Anchorage's comprehensive plan

Anchorage planners say the Missing Middle overlay fits the city's comprehensive plan, a plan they also say contradicts itself. The Assembly gets the final word.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read

Defense Department official who toured JBER dorms says poor housing drains readiness

A top Defense Department official says moldy, leaky base housing hurts readiness. The department illustrated his speech with a photo from his JBER dorm tour.

by Melinda Communities.News1w ago2 min read

Coast Guard's top enlisted leader tells Congress he's unfamiliar with any housing bonus plan

Asked about a housing bonus for Coast Guard members in pricey posts like Sitka, the service's top enlisted member told Congress he hadn't heard of one.

by Alaska News1w ago2 min readFrom Sep 16

Anchorage Assembly leaders propose keeping multifamily design rules on hold through 2035

Anchorage Assembly leaders want to keep design rules for new apartments and townhouses on hold through 2035, more than seven years past the current end date.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Few Alaska households just above the poverty line got SNAP in 2024, United Way report says

Only 18% of Alaska households that earn too much to count as poor but too little to cover the basics got SNAP in 2024, a United Way report says.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Juneau manager seeks Tlingit & Haida partnership to house Coast Guard crews

Juneau's city manager says the icebreaker Storis won't make Juneau home without housing. She wants to team up with Tlingit & Haida to open land at Kowee Creek.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Juneau Assembly to weigh how it will pick a developer for Telephone Hill housing

Juneau is about to go shopping for a developer to put up to 155 homes on Telephone Hill. The Assembly gets one shot Monday at changing how it picks.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Anchorage developers still build parking without a mandate, planners say

Anchorage stopped requiring parking in 2022. Developers kept building it anyway, mostly about as much as before, a city Planning Department memo says.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly vote could decide whether new housing rules reach quake-hazard zones

The Assembly votes Nov. 4 on letting more duplexes and townhomes into much of Anchorage. Open question: whether that includes the ground that slid in 1964.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Housing agency has no set plans for proposed state land transfers, CEO tells senators

AHFC has no firm plans yet for over 400 acres of free state land DNR proposes giving it for housing. Legislature's lawyers say such giveaways are likely unconstitutional.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Anchorage planners put off a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter until December

Anchorage planners put off a permanent permit for the Linda's Place shelter until Dec. 14. It operates under an emergency order with no set end date.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readFrom Oct 19

Follows: Planners back a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter as neighbors raise concerns

Ketchikan planners to rehear parking variance for KIC's planned shelter after notice error

Ketchikan planners will rehear KIC's request to build a four-story shelter with one parking space instead of 24, after some neighbors weren't mailed notice.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Begich tells AFN Southcentral Foundation land transfer is law; Sullivan lists his bills

Begich told AFN the Southcentral Foundation land transfer was signed this week, and he and Sullivan walked delegates through their other laws and stalled bills.

by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Alaska expands child care aid to more working families and raises provider rates Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, a family of four earning up to $11,257 a month can get Alaska child care help, and providers get paid more. Ketchikan parents feel shorted.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Willow Commons stays full in its first six months, health department says

Willow Commons' 32 units have stayed full since March, and 27 of 58 residents finished treatment. The city's startup money for the operator ran out in July.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago3 min read

East 56 shelter will reach 200 beds by Nov. 30, a month earlier than last year

Anchorage will add East 56 shelter beds every other week to hit 450 citywide by Nov. 30, about a month before it reached 200 at East 56 last winter.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Seward planning commission backs letting 3- to 5-unit housing skip conditional use permits

Seward's planning commission voted 5-0 to let 3 to 5 unit housing skip conditional use permits if builders meet set rules. The City Council still must approve the change.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Lease extension to 2094 would let Chugiak senior project add rentals open to all ages

Anchorage Assembly holds a hearing Oct. 20 on extending Chugiak Senior Citizens' land lease to 2094 for new apartments. Phase two could open units to renters of any age.

by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read

Planners back a permanent permit for Linda's Place shelter as neighbors raise concerns

City planners say Linda's Place should be a permanent shelter. The city and the shelter's paperwork give different schedules for its security walks.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly approves Tozier Tract land swap with nonbinding housing targets

Anchorage agreed to trade the Tozier Tract, land it spent decades trying to get, for four downtown parking lots. Its housing targets are only recommendations.

by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago3 min readFrom Oct 6

Follows: Anchorage proposes trading the Tozier Track to the state housing agency for downtown parking lots, with housing required

Kodiak planning commission set to decide Oct. 21 on Beaver Lake land sale

Kodiak's planners still say keep the Beaver Lake land as open space. The commission punted in September, decides Oct. 21, and said no to a similar sale in 2019.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Ketchikan planners may redo approval for KIC shelter after some neighbors weren't notified

Ketchikan's planned permanent shelter got its parking variance in September. Now the borough may redo the vote because some condo owners were never notified.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly sets Oct. 20 hearing on Chugiak senior housing lease

Anchorage Assembly will hear testimony Oct. 20 on extending a below-market ground lease for Chugiak Senior Citizens to 2094, enabling about 60 affordable rental units for seniors and disabled adults.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Kodiak Assembly member asks for monthly short-term rental counts, citing Coast Guard housing crunch

Kodiak's borough counts about 165 short-term rentals, same as last year. One Assembly member wants monthly updates as Coast Guard growth squeezes housing.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

State proposes giving 220 acres near Ester to AHFC for housing, drawing trail concerns

Alaska DNR is giving 220 acres near Ester to a housing corporation for free, but the land is now used for hunting, trapping, and trails, and a Senate committee says locals oppose it.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly postpones missing middle housing vote to Nov. 4

Anchorage Assembly delayed a vote on Missing Middle Housing rules to Nov. 4 to review amendments that would allow duplexes and triplexes on about 28,000 residential parcels across the city.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Anchorage Assembly approves $2.8M in state money and more winter shelter beds

Anchorage spent most of its state check on shelter beds, some of them from last winter. Without it, the health director said, shelters could have closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Alaska rent growth slows overall, but Mat-Su and Kenai post record jumps

Rents in surveyed Alaska areas rose 2.6%, the smallest increase in five years. But Mat-Su and the Kenai Peninsula saw record jumps of 12.8% and 11%.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read