Confusion and Few Answers Mark July 7 ‘Holtan Hills’ Construction

The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan is a site-specific document that outlines strategies to prevent and reduce stormwater pollution from construction sites and industrial activities. (Photos by Soren Wuerth)

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

With development of a controversial "Holtan Hills" subdivision project less than a week away, government agencies have so far given few answers on environmental, traffic, safety and other questions.

The Municipality of Anchorage has failed to assign a liaison for the project. No one responded to its first bid for the position and a subsequent bid had only one prospect, who was denied the job.

Since then, the city's Heritage Land Bank, the municipality's partner in the sprawling 60-acre venture, has directed questions to developer CY Investments and the company's website.

The site's contact email, however, led to a broken link. 

In an email last week, company owner Connie Yoshimura directed questions to George Passantino, but provided no contact or other information.

A locked barrier to the site for the ground construction set to begin July 7 off of Hightower Road in Girdwood.

Passantino works as a consultant for a national lobbying and media relations firm and has represented such companies as Walmart, Lowes, and GE Energy on development projects. 

For its part, the Anchorage School District, which owns land adjacent to the development, has been unable "to connect with" people managing the project and the District is closed this week, according to M.J. Thim, ASD's public relations officer.j

“We haven’t been able to get answers," Thim wrote in an email.

In an unannounced comment June 16, Yoshimura told Girdwood's Board of Supervisors development would begin July 7, trails would be "impacted", and "no trespassing" and "private property" signs would go up.

Emma Giboney, HLB's land management officer, wrote in an email several days later to apologize for the confusion Yoshimura's announcement garnered.

"Ideally we would have rolled out information in a way that didn’t cause alarm in the community," Giboney wrote.

She said a road has been planned alongside ASD property since "at least 2009". Given that notice was "mentioned" at prior meetings, "we feel that it was well communicated that the off-site improvements were moving forward this summer," Giboney wrote.

In her email, Giboney clarified trail closures. The trailhead commonly used to access the Middle Iditarod and Athabascan trails, off Hightower, will be closed off, she wrote, and HLB is "hoping to find an alternative route" to allow public access to the trail system.

She also wrote that a map would "hopefully" become available to "clarify some of these issues". 

This is a developing story. Check back with TN for updates.