‘Holtan Hills’ Developer Gets an Earful During Required Public Meeting

A Second Meeting Announced for October

Seated on the panel left to right are attorney Taylor Rounds, engineer Brandon Marcott, surveyor Tony Hoffman, developer Connie Yoshimura, and Lance Wilber of the Anchorage Municipal Planning Department. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Girdwood residents had a flurry of questions—and remarks—for the developers of the planned "Holtan Hills" subdivision during an emotionally-charged public meeting Tuesday night.

Some questions weren't answered, some received the promise of a later reply, and some questions were fielded by a team that wants to develop the old-growth forest behind Girdwood's school into a 66-acre subdivision for luxury and single-family homes. 

Instead, it was mostly Girdwood locals who had information for the group, none of whom live in the community and who appeared to be ignorant of concerns raised about a $2.5 million paved road and sewer line project underway.

Developers said they hadn't been aware of a dump in the vicinity, that construction has split two connecting trails and that traffic safety has been compromised during development of an access road.

Remarks to a panel that included property developer Connie Yoshimura of CY Investments, were particularly poignant when it came to the safety of children crossing a slippery, hazardous and sometimes obstructed pathway to school.

"So this is going on and then you've got the big trucks. So whatever ways you can fix it, I think would create a huge comfort to the community because we're a community that has had children die by being run over," a local parent said, referring to an accident years ago on the bike path along Alyeska Highway.

Brandon Marcott, the chief engineer on the project, said he'd planned on having the road finished before the start of school in August. 

"That was our goal and then discovery of the debris in the landfill slowed us down significantly," Marcott said, adding the delay caused contractors to use larger trailers. He said a curb is planned for next week and then paving of the road. 

"So, hopefully the worst is behind us," he said, adding he "was not made aware of these concerns."

A chart, completed at 9:30 the morning of the meeting, according to developer Connie Yoshimura, shows proposed lots. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

Noticeably absent from the meeting were representatives from Heritage Land Bank, a partner in the project and, as the event was held outside the framework for public meetings, some questioned its legality. Prior to the occasion, a local official wrote the event violated municipal code as land use meetings need to be held in coincidence with local governmental assemblies.

Yoshimura announced another meeting would be held in October and, by Thursday, city officials had decided to hold a "Holtan Hills" discussion in conjunction with the Girdwood Board Supervisors and the town's Land Use Committee on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

Questioned about the public process, Yoshimura said 600 meeting invitations were mailed out. But when an audience member asked for a show of hands from those who had received a notice, less than a dozen hands went up to laughter in the room.

Yoshimura sat between a representative from the municipal planning department and two contractors. Attorneys flanked the group while a Florida-based "community liaison" summarized from a stack of questions received from an audience of around 100.

Yoshimura, owner of CY Investments, said her survey contractor, Tony Hoffman, had finished the plat map at 9:30 a.m. the day of the meeting. She also said she hadn't seen the posters before Tuesday night's meeting.

The project could face delays should someone appeal a Planning and Zoning decision expected in January, Yoshimura said.

A required final Planning and Zoning meeting was moved from December to January and, should someone file an appeal, "Holtan Hills" excavation may miss next year's construction season, putting off development until 2027, Yoshimura said.

"So I can't really tell you when we are going to have construction because it's going to be dependent upon whether or not those of you want to file an appeal," she said.

Yoshimura and others on the panel blamed local residents for project holdups who they claimed have been "tearing up fencing", "swearing at contractors" and playing on a pile of debris dug from the old dump.

"Our attempts to help control pedestrians through the project have been very challenging, to say the least," said Tony Hoffman, a surveyor for The Boutet Company. "So we've been trying to keep the pedestrians out of the construction limits, and we've just not been successful because people want to walk through the project."

A parent replied that "kids are being pushed into the roads with huge side dump trailers." She said a side dump truck swung in front of her car and "almost hit me head-on with my two children. If I hadn't had a brake system, an automatic brake system, we would have been hit, because they were going too fast and they didn't see me coming around the corner and they pulled out." 

 Yoshimura accused Girdwood residents of pulling out survey stakes. 

"The construction is scheduled, surveying is scheduled. Staking is scheduled. If we lose the stakes, then we're going to have more delays. So, it's just that simple. We can control our schedule, but you also can," she said.

In the first phase of the three-phase plan, 39 lots would be carved from about 16 acres of old-growth rainforest. Some of the building sites would require wells, according to a platting map on display at the meeting, because building in that hilly terrain is "just gonna be hard," said Hoffman, adding that engineers have considered 20 iterations. "It's a challenging site," he said.

Another attorney at the meeting, Taylor Rounds, said a homeowners association could limit short-term rentals in the subdivisions through covenants. He said the ordinance passed by the Assembly allows an HOA to change the restriction on rentals if there is unanimous agreement by its board.

Several audience members said they weren't convinced, however, that the ordinance language would preclude property owners from buying lots, building homes and renting them out or simply having them as "dark homes".

"(Rounds, the attorney,) has told me that I cannot prevent someone from buying a lot and building a $2-$3 million home and being in it only, you know, four to six weeks a year," Yoshimura said. "But I can create, based on the site plan, lots that will accommodate more middle income families."

The development is a "private-public partnership" between the city's land bank and Yoshimura's company, the first of its kind attorney Holly Wells said she has seen in the state.

"I understand this public-private partnership is more or less a test case for the future," Wells said.

Six Girdwood middle school students joined the audience and were prepared to share their written remarks only to learn they were limited to questions on paper. 

"Unfortunately, the format doesn't accommodate questions," Passantino said students had questions about protecting the forest behind their school, which he called an "incredible asset" and a "beautiful property."

Yoshimura said "trees have an aesthetic value" and will penalize a contractor who "destroys a tree unnecessarily". She said despite wanting to protect trees, builders must clear a perimeter around foundations.

The developers, responding to a question about light pollution, or "dark skies preservation," said 10 streetlights, each 20 feet tall, are planned to line the access road by the school. 

Yoshimura said she had "trepidations" about the meeting. "It's been polite and mannerly. There wasn't any waving of 'Halt Holtan Hills', that sort of thing," she said.

When asked afterwards for a more extensive interview by Turnagain News, both Yoshimura and Passantino demurred, saying they prefer to correspond via email.

On Thursday, the homeowner nearest the construction site, Jodie Menish, said heavy equipment operators have used her driveway as a turn-around and could not contact a supervisor at the construction site. 

She put orange cones at the entrance of her driveway to deter the infringement of construction vehicles. She worried for her dog, Aarnie. She also said she had not received a notice about the meeting. 

"We will be filing a complaint," Menish said.