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Record of Proceedings

Anchorage Zoning Board of Examiners and Appeals - July 10, 2026

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Friday, July 10, 2026
BodyAnchorage, Alaska
SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings
DateFriday, July 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:40
Transcript — Verbatim
0:15

Good evening and welcome to the municipality of Anchorage Zoning Board of Examiners and of Examiners and Appeals, July 9th, 2026 meeting.

0:26

Will the Secretary please call the roll?

0:28

Ellen McKay.

0:29

Here.

0:30

Craig Bennett.

0:31

Here.

0:32

Jason Norris.

0:33

Here.

0:33

Jonathan Lang.

0:34

Here.

0:34

John Relaka.

0:35

Here.

0:36

Mark Mazley.

0:37

Here.

0:37

Chris Shuddy.

0:38

Present.

0:39

Andrew Ramerdal and Brian Bennett are excused.

0:41

You have a quorum.

0:42

Thank you.

0:43

Thank you.

0:44

Next item of business are minutes.

0:46

We have minutes for Thursday, June 11th, 2026.

0:52

May I have a positive motion, please?

1:00

Moved by Mr.

1:02

Lang.

1:04

Seconded by Mr.

1:05

Bennett.

1:06

Are there any corrections of the minutes?

1:10

Mr.

1:11

Lang.

1:12

Yes, on page three of four, about halfway down.

1:17

There's the comment.

1:18

Vice Chair Lang noted while the committee of the whole, the board required more data, information, and a legal opinion.

1:24

I'd like to change required to requested.

1:30

Thank you.

1:31

Are any objections?

1:36

Any other corrections?

1:38

Mr.

1:38

Shooty.

1:39

Thank you.

1:40

One more correction.

1:41

This is on page two of four.

1:47

It's in the lengthier section that begins, board member shooty.

1:52

If you go down about four lines, it's a sentence that starts given the lengthy philosophical the board.

1:59

I think it's missing the word discussion.

2:02

So please insert the word discussion after the word philosophical and before the board.

2:11

Any objections?

2:14

Seeing none.

2:16

Are there any objections to approval of the minutes with the corrections?

2:22

Seeing none, the minutes are approved.

2:24

And we move on to the next item.

2:26

Special order of business disclosures.

2:29

Are there any disclosures this evening?

2:33

Mr.

2:34

Mazley.

2:35

I abstained from the approval of the minutes because I was not at the last board meeting.

2:42

Thank you.

2:45

Any other disclosures?

2:48

Seeing none.

2:50

Nothing on the consent agenda.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████61%
Procedural█████████████17%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████10%
Environmental Protection███████9%
Economic Development██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Anchorage Zoning Board of Examiners and Appeals Meeting Summary - July 10, 2026

Note: The transcript references July 9, 2026, but the provided date for the meeting is July 10, 2026. The summary uses the provided date as instructed.

The Anchorage Zoning Board of Examiners and Appeals met on July 10, 2026 to consider two variance requests and other administrative items. The board approved both variance requests unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes from June 11, 2026, approved with corrections (two wording changes).
  • Mark Mazley abstained from voting on minutes as he was absent at the previous meeting.

Unfinished Business

  • Case 2026-0076 (Municipality of Anchorage Current Planning) postponed to September 10, 2026, per staff memo, approved unanimously.

Public Hearings

Case 2026-0068: Brogan Variance Amendment (Stream Setback)

  • Applicant: Casey and Kirsten Brogan, represented by Jeremy Hearst.
  • Request: Amend a previously granted dimensional variance to allow the front cabin to encroach up to 9 feet (additional 2 feet) into the 25-foot stream setback due to as-built piling location.
  • Staff recommendation: Approval subject to conditions (standards A-F, H met; G not applicable). No reviewing agency objections.
  • Public comments: Kevin Jensen and Jim Mendenhall spoke. Both expressed no objection but raised concerns about glaciation and drainage issues from the stream, requesting review of drainage.
  • Board discussion: Members expressed sympathy with glaciation issues but found all variance standards substantially met. Staff noted the unusual winter contributed to glaciation.
  • Outcome: Motion by Mr. Shuti, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to approve with conditions. Unanimously granted (7-0).

Case 2026-0074: Benson Variance (Secondary Front Setback)

  • Applicant: Mr. Benson, represented by Jeremy Hearst.
  • Request: Dimensional variance to allow a commercial building to completely encroach into the 8-foot secondary front setback on Stumpy Way (a dedicated right-of-way used as a parking lot).
  • Staff recommendation: Denial recommended because standards A, B, C were partially met and H was not met (building could be redesigned to comply).
  • Public comments: None.
  • Board discussion: Staff noted utility constraints and lot narrowness. Applicant argued the variance is minimal for reasonable use, that the lot is unique, and that redesign would not be commercially viable. Board members discussed the uniqueness of the lot, the 12.5-foot buffer between the building and the right-of-way, and that the variance is the minimum needed for a viable mixed-use development consistent with zone intent. Several members noted the applicant sought permission rather than taking a violation.
  • Outcome: Motion by Mr. Norris, seconded by Mr. Mazley, to approve with conditions. Unanimously granted (7-0).

Board Member Comments

  • Mr. Norris requested staff review dimensional standards for the district to assess if minor modifications are reasonable.
  • Meeting adjourned.

Key Outcomes

  • Case 2026-0068: Variance amendment granted (7-0) to allow 9-foot stream setback encroachment, subject to conditions.
  • Case 2026-0074: Variance granted (7-0) to allow commercial building to exceed secondary front setback, subject to conditions.
  • Case 2026-0076: Postponed to September 10, 2026.
  • Minutes approved with corrections.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the municipality of Anchorage Zoning Board of Examiners and of Examiners and Appeals, July 9th, 2026 meeting. Will the Secretary please call the roll? Ellen McKay. Here. Craig Bennett. Here. Jason Norris. Here. Jonathan Lang. Here. John Relaka. Here. Mark Mazley. Here. Chris Shuddy. Present. Andrew Ramerdal and Brian Bennett are excused. You have a quorum. Thank you. Thank you. Next item of business are minutes. We have minutes for Thursday, June 11th, 2026. May I have a positive motion, please? Moved by Mr. Lang. Seconded by Mr. Bennett. Are there any corrections of the minutes? Mr. Lang. Yes, on page three of four, about halfway down. There's the comment. Vice Chair Lang noted while the committee of the whole, the board required more data, information, and a legal opinion. I'd like to change required to requested. Thank you. Are any objections? Any other corrections? Mr. Shooty. Thank you. One more correction. This is on page two of four. It's in the lengthier section that begins, board member shooty. If you go down about four lines, it's a sentence that starts given the lengthy philosophical the board. I think it's missing the word discussion. So please insert the word discussion after the word philosophical and before the board. Any objections? Seeing none. Are there any objections to approval of the minutes with the corrections? Seeing none, the minutes are approved.

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