Linda's Place homeless shelter conditional use

At a glance

What: Case 2026-0084. CB Homes LLC asks for conditional use approval of a 150-person homeless shelter, Linda's Place, in a former church building at 1911 East 5th Avenue (B-3 zone). The shelter now runs on a temporary basis under a health-director emergency order. The operator is Match Property Management.
Where it stands: on Oct 19 the the Planning and Zoning Commission heard staff, the applicant and about ten neighbors and business owners, then voted to postpone the decision to the Dec 14 meeting and to reopen the public hearing then. The vote count was not audible in the captions; the motion passed, was reconsidered, and passed again with the reopening added.
What's next: Dec 14 Commission meeting. Members asked staff for legal and administrative guidance on which operating conditions the Commission can enforce through a conditional use, and which belong to the Anchorage Health Department shelter license.

Planning staff found approval criteria 1 through 9 met and recommended approval with two standard conditions (conform to the application; record a notice of zoning action). 99 hearing notices were mailed on Sep 24; written comments and a late supplemental packet of comments were received.
Staff said the shelter can operate without this approval only while the emergency order stands; the order comes from the health director, has no set end date, and the Assembly does not hear conditional uses. If denied, the applicant could reapply without a waiting period.

Ron Thompson (Scope Permitting and Engineering) said the request does not add capacity: the contract with the Municipality already provides up to 150 beds in winter, dropping to about 100 in summer. The shelter license renews on a three-year cycle (next about December 2027).
Sheldon Fisher (Match Property Management) described Match as running about 500 shelter and housing places, said Linda's Place has segregated space for women, an on-site behavioral health specialist and a low-barrier model (sobriety cannot be required under the city contract, though drugs and alcohol are barred inside), and that it reports to the Health Department, meets weekly with a municipal consultant, attends monthly community council meetings and reports to the Assembly homelessness working group.
Shelter manager Chris McConnell said staff now wear safety vests on 30-minute perimeter walks and carry trash pickers, that most of a neighbor's 10 requested measures are in place or being implemented (24-hour contact line, banning protocol, litter patrols, no queuing on public space), and that the operator would build an 8-foot fence on the east line if the Commission wanted. A 10-foot solid fence was suggested by a commissioner; the operator had not costed it.

Neighboring business owners and residents described fires in dumpsters, trash, needles, human waste, break-ins, threats, drug activity and assaults since the shelter opened in September 2025, said the patrols are not visible or effective, and several had hired private security or added lighting at their own cost. Lisa Stevens (Castle Megastores) reported a 17 percent drop in store traffic; Phil Johnson and Terry Holtman (Air Source Alaska) described a sharp rise in incidents and a patrol that was "a volunteer in a vest"; Lindell Myers (Truckpro) described break-ins, threats and daily cleanup; Shirley Aikels (an adjoining property owner) described assaults and asked for a 6-foot fence at the operator's cost; Ned Zippe Brahimi, Suzette Ibremi and Kathleen Icolt spoke as nearby residents or property owners.
Sheryl Cox Williams (president of the Anchorage NAACP) opposed housing 150 people together in one place and urged smaller, individualized settings.
No one testified in support. The operator rebutted that the review and licensing process through the Health Department is the right place for performance complaints.

Edith McKee moved approval (seconded by Jeff Ron) but said she would vote no, finding criteria 1, 2, 5 and 7 not met and citing the cost to neighbors.
Brandy Eber also questioned criterion 8 (crosswalks 800 and 1,400 feet away) and the site's suitability.
Radhika Krishna urged postponement rather than a denial just before winter, noting the site holds a large share of the city's winter shelter beds; Ron moved to postpone to Dec 14 (seconded by Scott Pulis); Jared Gardner (remote) and others asked for a later hearing with evidence of improved patrols or fencing. Staff warned the Commission cannot impose conditions beyond its land-use role and that it takes five votes to pass a motion.

About 90 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-19 - Planning and Zoning Commission	90

2026-10-19 - 2026-10-19 - Planning and Zoning Commission: staff, applicant and about ten opponents heard; approval motion made, then postponed to Dec 14 with the public hearing to be reopened.