The Auke Bay Area Plan’s main vision is set: to make sure future growth in recreation, commerce, housing and marine transportation in the area is responsible, sustainable and desirable. It’s the technicalities that are up for debate.
After months of public planning, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly adopted the Auke Bay Area Plan in 2015. Parts of the plan have already been put in place, like the expanded parking at Don D. Statter Memorial Harbor, the roundabout and redone portions of Glacier Highway.
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The next step is getting into the details of how to create and zone a village-like mixed use neighborhood, said Allison Eddins, a Community Development Department planner for the city.
“We are proposing a new zoning district for a portion of Auke Bay,” Eddins said. “We’re calling it the Town Center.”
The proposed new zoning was drafted in a two year public process, with a steering committee and dozens of meetings to try to incorporate the ideas adopted by the Assembly in 2015. Now the committee is taking the drafted plan to the subject experts — the residents — to make sure they got it right.
The main features of the town center zoning include a street grid, high density mixed use buildings, parking behind buildings, canopies and pedestrian walkways. The goal is that these features will cause land value to rise, while making Auke Bay a more cohesive, accessible and desirable place to live.
In order to encourage developers to implement these building and design standards, the plan will offer bonuses for height and density from 30 units per acre to 50 units per acre.
Any new property developments or additions will have to comply with new regulations if adopted, but existing structures will be unaffected.
There are 60 condominium units that are currently under construction in this new zoning district. Alaska Legacy Partners also seeks a conditional use permit for a 32-unit condominium project behind the Jetty.
“The area is prime for development,” said Garret Schoenberger, co-founder and head of real estate at Alaska Legacy Partners. “We hosted a Jetty event earlier this year and got a lot of feedback from potential buyers, so it’s been great. We’re excited to get our condo project up and open.”
The proposed condominiums would have covered parking, ocean views, and quick access to the new neighborhood brewery Forbidden Peak, which is set to open in May in the Jetty. The Jetty is owned by Alaska Legacy Partners and located in the former University of Alaska Southeast bookstore.
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Skye Stekoll, a partner of Forbidden Peak Brewery, is also a partner in Aukeness, a company that hopes to find investors to help develop a three- acre waterfront parcel in Auke Bay. Eddins said there are a few other property owners who have shown interest, but she was not at liberty to name them.
Interested members of the public are invited to the meeting Dec. 6 at the UAS Recreation Center from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
• Contact reporter Mollie Barnes at 523-2228 or mbarnes@juneauempire.com. Follow her on Twitter @holyguacamollie.
Businesses, schools, churches and public facilities line Veterans Memorial Highway running through Auke Bay on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The Planning Commission’s Auke Bay Implementation Committee is in the midst of drafting an ordinance to create a Community Mixed Use zoning district and an Auke Bay Overlay district. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Businesses, schools, churches and public facilities line Veterans Memorial Highway running through Auke Bay on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. The Planning Commission’s Auke Bay Implementation Committee is in the midst of drafting an ordinance to create a Community Mixed Use zoning district and an Auke Bay Overlay district. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
