Development Details "Have Not Been Finalized"
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
The Municipality of Anchorage clarified development plans for "Holtan Hills" Friday, two weeks after a senior director indicated significant changes.
The area excluded from development is not a 26-acre tract of land at the northeast end of the 60-acre project. Rather, hilly terrain too steep and rocky for subsurface work planned for a cul de sac has been moved to a later phase, according to an email from Emily Goodykoontz, a press secretary for the Mayor's office.
"Phase 1 development is scheduled to begin next year. Development timelines for later phases have not yet been finalized," Goodykoontz said in the email.
Community members were also informed during an October 26 meeting that lots allocated to a local nonprofit for workforce housing would be eliminated from housing plans in the first phase of development. The announcement caused swift rebuke by local officials.
The multi-family, low-density lots are still in the picture, however, according to the Municipality.
"The two multi-family lots originally included in phase 1 have been shifted to phase 2 along with the cul-de-sac above them. This change was made to allow additional time to evaluate and address site conditions affecting that area, including slope, bedrock, and soil considerations," Goodykoontz wrote.
She wrote that "at least two" multi-family lots are anticipated in Phase 2, but "the exact number will depend on final engineering and platting decisions as development planning advances."
Confusion over plans began when a senior Municipal official described changes during a meeting between the Girdwood Board of Supervisors and Municipal officials. The comments led many to conclude a densely-wooded portion of the controversial project, called "Tract 3" or "Phase 3", would be excised from development.
Municipal staff at the Oct. 26 meeting did not correct or clarify the remarks of Bob Doehl, the city's director of community and economic development, even after local officials expressed surprise and disappointment about the news.
Doehl's comments were accurate based on "project status and information available", Goodykoontz wrote.
As far as "complications" cited by Doehl for changes in the plat map, planners discovered geologic features that hampered construction plans, she said.
"During preliminary site preparation, the developer encountered slope, bedrock, and soil conditions that require further evaluation. As a result, the parcels along the cul-de-sac were shifted from phase 1 to phase 2 to allow additional time to address those conditions. The developer is continuing to evaluate whether the multi-family sites could be accessed directly from Holtan Hills Drive instead of the cul-de-sac road, which would enable including them in phase 1. However, that has yet to be determined," Goodykootnz said.
Municipal officials assured GBOS members and others it would send representatives to a Nov. 4 Girdwood Housing and Economic Committee meeting, but no one from the city showed up.
Earlier that day staff at the city's Heritage Land Bank—which is working in a private-public partnership with CY Investments to develop the land—told GHEC chair Krystal Hoke that it would provide a written update on plans for "Holtan Hills", but no such update appeared.
Hoke also said she was told by HLB staff that changes will have to be made to the plat map and that it could be subject to review by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.
"In my opinion this project is entirely different from when it got approved," Hoke said.
