Monday\u2019s City and Borough of Juneau Assembly meeting could have effects on both sides of Gastineau Channel.<\/p>\n
One of the ordinances open for discussion and public comment would change the zoning of downtown Juneau and Douglas in order to make it easier for property owners to add onto their property.<\/p>\n
As Senior Planner Jill Maclean explained at the June 12 Committee of the Whole meeting<\/a>, both Juneau and Douglas were built long before current zoning regulations existed. As a result, the current zoning doesn\u2019t fit well with plans to expand for the future, and makes it difficult for neighborhoods to be walkable and compact as detailed in the 2013 Comprehensive Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current zoning districts don\u2019t support the community\u2019s vision that was presented in the Comp. Plan in 2013,\u201d Maclean said at the meeting, \u201cand they don\u2019t really provide sufficient standards for rehabilitation, restoration or expansion of existing homes or the development of new homes on these smaller lots.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed ordinance would allow property owners more freedom to make changes to their buildings or, as Maclean noted, to even build new buildings. Those looking to make changes would still have to go through the Planning Commission and have the changes up for public comment, but they would have more options, Maclean said.<\/p>\n That ordinance is likely to be the highlight of the portion that\u2019s open for public comment, but there\u2019s plenty more set to happen at the meeting.<\/p>\n Mayor Ken Koelsch is expected to announce a plan for a committee to look into changing Juneau\u2019s mining ordinance. At the June 12 Committee of the Whole meeting, the committee voted 6-3 to form a three-person subcommittee to look into the future of mining in Juneau, spurred by a proposal to change the existing mining ordinance.<\/p>\n