The first 96 residences of a proposed 444-unit housing complex at 7400 Glacier Highway were approved by the Juneau Planning Commission on Tuesday, although a growing assessment of traffic flow in the area is adding to concerns of neighbors who are expressing worries about other impacts.
The project known as the Ridgeview Subdivision also got a boost earlier this week from the Juneau Assembly which approved a $1.2 million loan to the developer from the city’s Affordable Housing Fund for 24 of the residential units. Local leaders and the developer have called the complex – consisting of 370 apartments and 74 townhomes in about 30 buildings – a major step toward improving Juneau’s critical shortage of housing.
A total of 72 mixed-housing units were proposed when the commission first considered the matter in October, but the higher Phase 1 total matches the number of homes included in the affordable housing loan and are included with other adjustments since they will be among the first built in any event, Garrett Johnson, a partner in Rooftop Properties LLC, told the Planning Commission. The Phase 1 homes will be built on about three acres of land, while the full complex is slated to occupy about 20 acres.
Three other changes described by Johnson as minor were also made to the proposal to meet requirements specified by the commission, including adjustments to parking, open space and a vegetative barrier along an adjacent neighborhood.
“I think what our goal is here today is to come back and say we’ve stayed true to what was approved a month ago, and solved challenges,” he said.
The intention is begin construction as early as possible in the spring of 2023, according to one of the applications submitted by Rooftop Properties.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the revised Phase 1 development with little discussion, expressing the same enthusiasm for the concept as when members asked the developer to address concerns raised by neighbors during October’s hearing.
“I think I speak on behalf of the commission when I say we’re excited to see the project proceed,” Chairman Michael LeVine told Johnson after the vote.
Among the people expressing concerns in October and returning to testify Tuesday was Tim Storbeck, a resident of the neighborhood along Vista Del Sol Drive just north of the new complex. Emphasizing his comments were mostly limited to issues about Phase 1 since it was the specific agenda item, he said some concerns such as specifics about the vegetative barrier remain even though much has been resolved, but a more significant issue is the projected number of daily vehicle trips in the area has increase from 2,577 in an October assessment to 2,905 now.
“The traffic impact analysis, noting as it stands that intersection’s already failing without adding on the additional traffic, so that of course remains one of our main concerns,” he said. “While I realize it’s not directly the applicant’s responsibility or purview because they can’t make the roads in Juneau better that is a major safety concern for us getting into our neighborhood.”
A traffic analysis of the full development this fall by the local engineering company Dowl states an additional 161 morning and 362 afternoon/evening trips are likely to occur at the complex’s Glacier Highway intersection. The assessment suggests the extra traffic will worsen an already poor situation.
“(The Glacier Highway) and Old Dairy Road intersection is failing today and is expected to fail in 2032 with or without the development (high delay is expected for the eastbound and westbound left-turn movements),” the assessment notes. “In addition, this intersection experiences a disproportionate number of angle and high severity collisions. Given the operational and safety concerns this intersection should be examined as part of an intersection specific traffic study conducted by DOT&PF to determine the long-term solution for this intersection.”
The initial assessment of overall traffic was before Dowl did on-site studies, Jill Maclean, director of the city’s Community Development Department, told the planning commission. She said the concern about the impacts of the full complex should not be an issue for the Phase 1 housing.
“Phase 1 should not have any effects or impacts that are felt by the community at this time,” she said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com
