Early proposal for homeless parking area in South Anchorage gets backlash from nearby businesses

May 30—The Municipality of Anchorage is pursuing a plan to allow around 50 vehicles to park overnight on two pieces of municipal land. The measure, referred to as "designated parking" by members of Mayor Suzanne LaFrance's administration, is one of several efforts to make new shelter options available for homeless people in the city.
Though officials are still in the early stages of the process, one of the city-owned parcels that is a candidate for the vehicle parking site is in South Anchorage, close to several large businesses.
This week, rumors about the plan spread on social media sites like Facebook and Nextdoor. By Wednesday, one of the two Assembly members representing South Anchorage was posting to social media about the proposal, referring to it both as a "homeless camp" and "a car camping site."
"I learned the same way everybody else did," said Assembly member Keith McCormick on Thursday, explaining he first heard about the nascent proposal through a Facebook post by a local towing company that was widely shared. "I got dozens of emails, phone calls on my personal phone."
The potential "designated parking" site in South Anchorage is municipal land, an easement running down what is technically a section of Cordova Street between 104th and 106th avenues and behind a large Bass Pro Shop that many people still refer to as Cabela's, which it used to be before the two companies merged. The administration has not identified other specific locations, but an information sheet prepared by city officials said they are considering "up to two areas for overnight parking" that could host up to 25 vehicles each.
The idea from the LaFrance administration is to create a secure place for homeless people living in their cars, trucks or RVs to stay overnight, rather than guiding them into congregate shelters or having them skirt rules by parking on residential streets or big store parking lots.
"This is intended to reduce illegal and unsafe car camping and the impact of unmanaged vehicles in residential and public areas during the summer months. It is a seasonal public health and safety measure to help prevent people from parking in unsafe, unauthorized, or high-traffic locations," according to a statement from the mayor's office.
The administration said that alongside the new overnight parking areas, they will ramp up police enforcement "against prohibited vehicular camping everywhere else in the Municipality," and plan to introduce an ordinance to the Assembly that would let the municipality impound "any vehicle used for camping outside of designated parking."
[Large homeless camp in Davis Park will be cleared in mid-June, Anchorage mayor says]
During Mayor Dave Bronson's tenure, members of his administration worked with the Assembly on examining the potential of sanctioning overnight vehicle parking in a controlled environment as a tactic for managing homelessness. Though the plans never came to fruition, an ordinance submitted by the Bronson administration in 2024 and approved by the Assembly that spring tightened prohibitions on homeless encampments and included provisions on permitting "designated safe parking areas."
"In recognition of the need for temporary housing for homeless persons living in vehicles, it is the purpose of this section to allow religious, non-profit, and governmental organizations to use property owned or controlled by them as designated safe parking areas, while preventing harmful effects associated with such uses, including crime or public nuisance," the ordinance states.
The LaFrance administration pursued the idea. In a document it sent to the Assembly this spring, the administration included a brief description of the "designated parking" plan that was forming.
"Vehicles must be roadworthy, and residents must have a valid driver's license. The site will be operated by a contractor who can offer security and facilities including bathrooms and showers," according to the document, titled "Turning the Tide."
In a May 21 presentation to the Assembly's Housing and Homelessness Committee, Thea Agnew Bemben, a special assistant to the mayor, told members the administration hopes to have the Anchorage Health Department put out a Request For Proposal, or RFP, early this summer. The city aims to contract out services running the "designated parking" site, enforcing rules, managing the property and making sure occupants have their vehicle registration in order. Many of the operational details involved in the plan will be determined as a contractor is selected and protocols are implemented.
According to the city's information sheet, parking will only be allowed overnight, with all vehicles required to leave by 8 a.m. Garbage disposal and bathrooms will be on site. At least two "safety monitors" will be present to ensure rules are followed, and outreach teams will go to the locations to "connect participants to housing, job training, and health care." The program will end in the fall before the weather gets cold.
"This will not be a permanent location. Sleeping in vehicles is not safe in the winter, so designated parking will not be available after October. Designated parking is meant to be a temporary, cost-effective way to supplement Anchorage's shelter safety net during the summer," according to the administration.
Though the city already has the money it would need to stand up the program, Bemben said the Assembly and public will have a chance to weigh in when the RFP and operations contract come before them.
The information was shared by the mayor's office in a public meeting of the Assembly's Housing and Homelessness Committee last week. McCormick, who is vice chair of the committee, did not attend the meeting because of a work conflict. He said the mayor's office did not reach out to the South Anchorage Assembly members to give them a heads-up that the easement on Cordova Street was being looked at. On Thursday, he said he learned about the proposed site from a social media post by Vulcan Towing and Recovery, which leases a sizable vehicle lot running alongside the municipal easement.
"Letting everybody know in South Anchorage that this is coming to our neighborhood. Please share this post on all social media sites," wrote Vulcan's owner, Justin Creech, on his Facebook page. "This location they have selected for a homeless camp will be directly next to Cabela's and target off of C St. It is directly next-door to my lot."
Vulcan Towing and Recovery did not immediately respond to an email requesting to speak with Creech.
A few other individuals with business connections in the area also weighed in online, criticizing efforts to establish homelessness resources in South Anchorage and accusing the mayor's office and Assembly of trying to sneak the policy through.
Informal car camps have been a significant issue for the municipality in recent years. A sprawling encampment with a mix of tents and vehicles on Fairbanks Street last year saw a shooting death, widespread drug use, piles of garbage and violence before it was cleared. The year prior, close to 100 vehicles gradually amassed at an enormous encampment around Third Avenue and Ingra Street, including box trucks and dilapidated city buses being rented out to people to sleep in.
Many of the people living in cars, trucks, and RVs say they are one of the few safe places for them to stay, store their belongings and shelter from weather, even if the vehicles don't run.
In a video he posted to social media, McCormick said he has reservations about the proposal because of its potential impacts on businesses.
"We've got Cabela's, (for) all the dads, all the guys, and outdoor ladies here in town. We got Target next door. Huge shopping area," McCormick said in the video. "This is one of the mainstay shopping spots that they just built for South Anchorage. Smashburger. Starbucks. Orangetheory. Yogas, Pilates. Like, this is the happening place to be."
In a later interview, McCormick said his other concern is about the "scatter shelter model" of dispersing smaller facilities all around town that are more specifically tailored to the needs of different subgroups of people without permanent homes.
"When we spread them out to every reach of our city, we can't get them the services they truly need ... I think we need to consolidate our resources," McCormick said by phone.
Another worry he has is that after vehicles leave the designated parking area, they will be driven to lots belonging to nearby stores to wait out the day.
"This is the central area for shopping, where moms go to buy diapers at Target," he said. "We're creating an unfriendly business environment in the center of South Anchorage's new shopping area."
Farina Brown, a special assistant to LaFrance focused on housing and homelessness, said Thursday that the administration is "very excited to move forward with designated parking," and expects its RFP to be ready in early June, with the aim of having two sites available in July.

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