Anchorage Housing and Homelessness Commission Meeting - March 6, 2026
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Anchorage Housing and Homelessness Commission Meeting - March 6, 2026
The Anchorage Housing and Homelessness Commission held a regular meeting on March 6, 2026, to discuss a resolution supporting a municipal sanctioned campground pilot program, review updates on housing and homelessness initiatives, and hold a public hearing on a new residential rehab program. The meeting was called to order at an unspecified time and adjourned after approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the agenda and minutes were moved and seconded without opposition.
- No disclosures or conflicts of interest were reported.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sam Longing Crew (United Way of Anchorage) commented during the public hearing on the residential rehab program, suggesting that rent caps be tied to the HFC payment standard and/or require properties to accept vouchers to keep them accessible.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 2026-01: Sanctioned Campground Pilot Program – The commission debated a resolution supporting a municipal sanctioned campground pilot program, which recommends establishing three separate campgrounds for men, women, and families, with features like secured fencing, 24-hour security, allotted spaces, secured storage, and rigid tents. The resolution references the 2025 report of the Sanctioned Camp Task Force and Ordinance 2025-04, which prohibited camping on public premises but allowed alternative sites. Key points of discussion included:
- Commissioner concerns about investing in a seasonal pilot versus year-round solutions, and whether the resolution should recommend rather than mandate.
- An amendment was offered and added: a whereas statement acknowledging the program is not a permanent solution to homelessness but can meet the needs of some individuals.
- Kimberly White (Housing Services Division Manager) provided context, noting that the task force recommendations partly inspired the micro-units project (Willow Commons), which was built quickly but faced operational challenges. She stated the 2026 budget has no funding for new projects, and the pilot cannot happen in summer 2026. She suggested exploring alternatives like changing Centennial Park’s 14-day limit rule or partnering with private entities.
- Laila (Housing and Homelessness) emphasized the need for lower-barrier options and noted the resolution’s purpose is to open broader conversation.
- Commissioner Singletary expressed safety concerns and asked if the commission could instead prioritize indoor shelter.
- Updates from Housing and Homelessness – The commission received updates on:
- Willow Commons (micro-units): still in process for a provider.
- Surge beds: 200 at East 56, 150 at Linda’s Place, 100 at the non-congregate shelter (Alex), all still active due to cold weather; no definite decompression timeline.
- New initiatives: a voucher carve-out program with AHFC for ~40 vouchers/year; a supportive housing RFP for $1.35 million; 2026 action plan process starting with first public hearing on March 18, 2026.
- Mayor’s Office updates (Jed): Safety center still operating; overflow location open with 25 extra beds; efforts to re-engage evacuees from the Tyonek fire; focus on increasing very affordable housing through code changes and exploring modular/micro units.
- Public Hearing: Residential Rehab Program – The commission held a public hearing on substantial amendments (2021 Action Plan Amendment #5 and 2025 Action Plan Amendment #1) to reallocate ~$500,000 in CDBG funds and ~$200,000 in HOME funds for a new Residential Rehab Program. The program aims to revitalize existing housing, prevent homelessness, and may include grants, forgivable loans, deferred loans, or amortized loans. Commissioner questions focused on caps, prioritization of safety/efficiency over curb appeal, income requirements, and coordination with existing weatherization programs. Comments noted that $692,000 total is modest and will require careful structuring.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 2026-01 passed with a vote of 7 in favor and 1 opposed (Commissioner Singletary). The resolution supports the sanctioned campground pilot program as a recommendation to the Assembly and administration.
- The commission decided to postpone discussion of 2026 goals and annual report preparations to a future work session, which staff will schedule via email.
- Meeting was adjourned slightly early after routine commissioner comments.
Meeting Transcript
Roll callers we may just go around looking board. Also, parts commissioner. Laura Rains, Commissioner. Um Julie from Commission. Daniel Singer Commissioner. Shine Williams Commissioner. General A and the Troll Department. Choose Brewers for Angridge Health Department. Town OK and Chelsea's department. Frankie Doll Commission staffer. And online. Kimberly White, Program Manager, Housing and Homelessness. I'm the Housing Services Division Manager with the Anchorage Health Department. Any of the guests, uh Sam or Taylor want to unmute and introduce yourself. This is Sam Longing Crew with the United Way of Anchor. Hi everyone, this is Taylor Donovan with Royal Camp. All right. This is the uh I give them the mayor's office. I'm on my way over there. Thanks, Thea. All right, moving through our agenda. Um we have uh approval of the agenda, the order of business. Can we get a motion to approve the agenda? I have a motion. Second. Any opposition to approval of that motion? Hearing none. Our agenda is approved. Uh next we have approval of the minutes. They're attached on the back here. Thank you so much, friendly, for the packet. Any edits or uh notes anyone would like to propose. Any opposition to approval of the motion to approve the minutes. Doing none. That is also approved. Disclosures just conflicts of interest. Yes. All right. Anyone have any disclosures or conflicts of interest to um share prior to moving into our action items? We have one action item. Uh we have a resolution that uh was drafted that is a resolution from our commission that is supporting a municipal sanctioned campground pilot program. We have a draft of the resolution here in front of us. It's resolution 2026-01. Uh, we had some conversation about that, about this particular item um last year and into the start of this year uh about support for the findings of the uh sit our sanction camp or allowed camps uh community task force uh that was stood up and had uh a report in 2025. So this uh resolution just has um somewhere statements that talks about that history of um sanctioned or allowed camping in our community talks about the ordinance 2025 death would be four, which prohibited camping on uh public premises, but allowed this as an alternative uh to that to allow places for campers to go. And the recommendation is laid out in this resolution is that there be uh three separate campgrounds established. Uh those campgrounds would be divided up into uh some populations of uh men, women, and families, and then there's uh some statements about uh what services and what amenities would be offered at that particular site based on our recommendations, uh a secured fenced area, 24 hour security, um uh section doc allotted space uh for each client along with secured storage, and then providing uh rigid tents for um people to be staying in uh some guidance on some rules and how uh referrals and connection to those services would be made. So open the floor to any discussion, or should we have a motion first? Motion to approve and then discussion and any changes would be subsidiary a motion, yes. Are there any is there a motion to approve this resolution for conversation and discussion?
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