Alaska
Buying Land in Juneau City and Borough, Alaska
Alaska's state capital and a unified home-rule municipality, reachable only by ferry or air -- there's no road connecting Juneau to the rest of the state or the Lower 48. Recent landslide and avalanche hazard remapping now places roughly half of downtown Juneau in a moderate-to-severe risk zone, a real and current factor in what can be built where.
Zoning under CBJ Title 49, and a default of Rural Reserve
Juneau's zoning and land-use rules are codified in Title 49 of the CBJ Code of Ordinances, drafted by the city's Law Department and adopted by the Assembly. The code establishes zoning districts spanning several residential density tiers, general/light/waterfront commercial, industrial and waterfront industrial, mixed use, and D-1 Rural Reserve -- and, notably, any area of the borough not specifically shown otherwise on the official zoning map is, by default, D-1 Rural Reserve, a district intended for land primarily in public ownership and managed for conservation, natural-resource development, and future community growth rather than immediate private building.
Because Juneau's official zoning map (maintained by the city and available online) is the controlling document rather than any general assumption about a neighborhood's character, always confirm a specific parcel's actual mapped district and its permitted, conditional, and prohibited uses before assuming a use is allowed -- particularly for land toward the edges of the developed area, where a Rural Reserve default designation can come as a surprise to a buyer expecting ordinary residential zoning.
A live, current issue: Juneau's 2021 hazard remapping and its unresolved 2023 development-restriction debate
Juneau's mountainous terrain has long made landslide and avalanche hazard a real land-use factor -- the city's original hazard maps date to the 1970s and 1980s, when the Assembly imposed development restrictions in identified hazard areas. In 2018, the CBJ secured a FEMA grant to redo those maps with modern modeling, hiring contractor Tetra Tech; the new maps, finished in 2021, separate avalanche and landslide risk into distinct categories (low, moderate, high, and severe) and paint a substantially larger hazard picture than the older combined maps did -- roughly 550 structures, about half of all buildings and homes in the downtown area, now fall into the moderate-to-severe range, including a well-documented risk corridor below the Behrends avalanche path on Mt. Juneau.
This isn't settled history: by September 2023, the Assembly was actively debating whether to repeal or scale back the development restrictions tied to these hazard zones -- restrictions that, in their original form, date to the 1980s -- rather than simply adopt the more expansive 2021 map findings as the new regulatory baseline. That means the actual development rules applying to a specific downtown-area parcel depend on how that debate has since resolved, not simply on which hazard category the 2021 map assigns it. See the standalone Juneau zoning page for the full detail and confirm current status directly with Juneau's Community Development Department before assuming either the old or new restriction regime applies to a specific lot.
No road out: ferry- and air-only access shapes everything else
Juneau holds a distinction unusual even by Alaska standards: it is the only U.S. state capital with no road access to the rest of its own state, let alone the Lower 48. Getting people, vehicles, and construction materials in and out depends entirely on the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system or commercial and chartered air service -- a real, ongoing cost and logistics factor for any building project, not just a curiosity. The borough's local road network itself is also limited, running along the shoreline from the airport area through downtown and out to the end of the North Douglas and Glacier Highway corridors, rather than forming a connected grid.
For land outside that limited road network -- and Juneau has real communities in that category, including areas only reachable by boat or floatplane -- get the specific parcel's access confirmed directly rather than assuming a borough-wide road system extends to it, the same access diligence this project recommends for Alaska generally, just with particular force here given how much of the borough's landmass sits beyond any road at all.
Tongass National Forest, water, and septic
Juneau's roughly 3,255 square miles are overwhelmingly federal or state conservation land -- Tongass National Forest surrounds the developed core on essentially every landward side, and the Juneau Icefield and its outlet glaciers (including Mendenhall Glacier, a major visitor draw) occupy a large share of the borough's interior. Private, buildable land sits in a comparatively narrow corridor; if a parcel of interest backs onto or is surrounded by Tongass land, confirm with the U.S. Forest Service whether reaching or developing near it requires a separate federal permit or easement on top of your own recorded access.
Onsite wastewater permitting in Juneau follows the same statewide Alaska DEC framework under 18 AAC 72 that applies everywhere in the state, layered under CBJ's own building-permit process. Given the borough's steep terrain and dense stream network, a septic site evaluation is worth getting early, since slope and waterfront-setback constraints can compound with the hazard-zone restrictions described above on the same downtown-adjacent parcel.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Juneau City and Borough
Direct WebFetch to juneau.org was not attempted this pass; findings rely on WebSearch-indexed content, primarily KTOO's 2021 and 2023 coverage of the hazard-map project. This pass did not confirm whether the Assembly's September 2023 hazard-map-restriction debate has since concluded -- verify current hazard-zone development rules directly with CBJ Community Development before relying on this page.
Planning & Zoning
CBJ Community Development Department
Zoning district confirmation under Title 49, land use permits, and current landslide/avalanche hazard-zone restrictions.
Other
USDA Forest Service, Tongass National Forest (Juneau Ranger District)
Land status and access questions for parcels adjacent to or surrounded by Tongass National Forest.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Division of Water
Statewide onsite wastewater (septic) permitting and setback rules under 18 AAC 72.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Alaska Recorder's Office, Juneau Recording District
Recorded deeds, easements, and plats for Juneau parcels.
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Get local guidanceTopics Specific to Juneau City and Borough
Sources
- Chapter 49.25 - ZONING DISTRICTS | Code of Ordinances | Juneau, AK — Municode Library (CBJ Code) (accessed 2026-09)
- New maps show roughly half of downtown Juneau in hazard zone for moderate to severe landslides and avalanches — KTOO (accessed 2026-09)
- Juneau Assembly considers repealing hazard maps and development restrictions in place since 1980s — KTOO (accessed 2026-09)
- CDD – Project – Landslide and Avalanche Assessment – City and Borough of Juneau — City and Borough of Juneau (accessed 2026-09)
- Juneau, Alaska — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- 18 AAC 72 Wastewater Disposal — Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09