The Juneau Assembly voted 7-2 on Feb. 9 to overturn a Juneau Planning Commission decision that had blocked construction of an apartment complex in Lemon Creek. The proposed complex would be built at 5200 Commercial Boulevard, near Home Depot, where a composting facility and waste transfer station are planned nearby.
Both Mayor Beth Weldon and Deputy Mayor Greg Smith voted against the proposal, citing concerns for industrial land.
“The fact of the matter is we basically have two spots left of industrial land here and out at Sherwood Lane,” Weldon said. “Housing is important, but so is preserving the very little industrial land we have.”
While sharing Weldon’s concerns for industrial land, Assembly Member Christine Woll spoke in favor of the proposal, “when you ask people what we need more, they say housing.”
The apartment building, proposed on the 3.79 acres of land, will bring up to 120 more units of housing to Lemon Creek, though Assembly members raised concerns about odors and land-use compatibility due to nearby industrial uses, including a planned waste facility and composting plant
The Planning Commission had denied a request to rezone the land from industrial to light commercial use, which would allow the proposed apartment building to advance.
“It’s based off of things like noise, noxious odors and non-complementary uses,” Assembly Member Nano Brooks said of the planning commission’s decision. “There’s already precedents that break those non complementary uses all across the community.”
The Assembly overturned a second planning commission rejection at the meeting on Feb. 9 that also proposed the building of up to 120 more units of housing. In total, up to 240 units of housing were advanced at the meeting.
Assembly members allocated more than $2 million for four affordable housing projects during the meeting as well.
