The City of Anchorage built a new high school in Eagle River near the end of Yosemite Drive, a road leading to a subdivision being developed by LBJ. The Platting Board found that this required the school district to improve the road, but the Board of Adjustment reversed based on a Traffic Impact Analysis, which concluded that no major upgrades were required. LBJ appealed, arguing that the Board of Adjustment’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence, and that because the road was designated an “urban collector”, the improvements were required by the city code.
The Superior Court reversed the Board of Adjustment’s decision and reinstated that of the Platting Board. The Anchorage School District appealed, and the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Superior Court, which found, inter alia, that while a traffic study might be used to require improvements to a road not designated an urban collector, it cannot be used to dispense with those required by the Code, at least not without going through the variance procedure.
Anchorage Board of Adjustment and Anchorage School District v. LBJ, LLC, 2010 WL 1254636 (Alaska 4/2/2010)
The opinion can be accessed here.
