Opinion: Holton Hills real estate deal brings in the New Year

By David Nyman

On Dec. 19, Meg Zaletel, co-chair of the Anchorage Assembly, “laid on the table” a new ordinance which brings back to life a widely panned land transaction known as “Holtan Hills”.

The motion allows an item "laid on the table" to be taken as a motion to amend the current agenda. This procedure does not require advance public notice unless you know enough to call the city clerk. Typically, the motion is not in the public record until the meeting packet is published on the day of the Assembly meeting or just prior. 

An important aspect of the ordinance is that it is entirely new. All the testimony by the public, the Girdwood Land Use Committee (LUC) and Girdwood Board of Supervisors (GBOS)--in the eyes of the Assembly and, especially, new Assembly members--is not part of the record of this new, but very similar ordinance.

 Given this, the written testimony and public testimony from hundreds of folks, many of whom showed up at Assembly chambers prior to 2022 and 2023 public testimony, will not be part of the public record for the hearing scheduled for Jan. 9. This appears to be an attempt to sideline the hard work, correspondence and opinions of Girdwood.

Lower Iditarod Trail in Girdwood.

The "laid on the table" approach to Assembly legislation appears to be an increasingly common procedure to expedite introduction of municipal ordinances.  

In reviewing Municipal Code 2.30.35 Meeting Agenda Part B it states the following: 

Laid on the table items upon passage of a motion to amend the agenda duly made and seconded, any member of the assembly may request action on items not included in the regular or addendum agenda. A motion to lay an item on the table may be taken as a motion to amend the agenda.

 1. Ordinances. Ordinances for introduction may be laid on the table at any time, pursuant to Charter Section 10.01. Ordinances shall be set for a public hearing following introduction and upon approval of three assembly members. The required approval may be in the form of a motion by an assembly member to introduce an ordinance, accompanied by both a second and a third.

2. Resolutions to be set for a public hearing at a future meeting. A resolution may be introduced and laid on the table at any time if the member introducing the resolution moves to set the resolution for public hearing at a future meeting and the motion is approved by majority vote.

3. All other assembly items, including resolutions not set for a public hearing at a future meeting. Upon an affirmative vote of at least eight members, the assembly may take action on these items only under circumstances that require immediate assembly action, such as financial necessity, natural disasters, or when time is of the essence for assembly action on an item.”

There was no advance notice to the public that the Holtan Hills proposal was going to be laid on the table on the evening of the 19th.

My experience shows that a common developer or controversial project maneuver is to introduce and schedule items in the December and January timeframe to expedite projects and minimize public input or scrutiny.

Girdwood residents recall CY Investments and HLB have a habit of using the holiday season to minimize public input. Another similar and recent move by HLB was to fail to provide meaningful public notice to Girdwood for the “open house” at the community room. This low-publicized HLB Open House was intended to solicit input on the HLB 2024 work plan and drew only a half dozen residents. 

GBOS member Mike Edgington, who was able to attend the Dec. 19 Assembly meeting, told Turnagain News that an item can be laid on the table with just a second and third vote of support and no discussion if it is for action at a future meeting. He said that's what happened on Tuesday and the meeting ran out of time so we didn't hear Assembly member comments where they could have addressed it.

As it currently stands, the ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing on Jan. 9.

 “The Assembly could postpone the public hearing, hold it, then act immediately afterwards or continue the public hearing  to a later date. The problem is that the formal decision will be made at the Jan. 9 meeting itself, so to be 100 percent certain those of us who live in Girdwood have to make the 75 mile round trip just in case it isn't postponed," Edgington told me. 

Edgington was also  informed by Meg Zaletel via text that the Assembly will issue a press release noting that the public hearing for AO-2023-13 will be delayed beyond the Jan;. 9 Assembly meeting date. 

Additionally, Edgington said, in an email, “While a press release from the sponsor that they intend to postpone the hearing isn't an iron-clad guarantee, it's close enough for me. Even if the sponsor changes their mind (they won't), other Assembly members would move to postpone.”

An Anchorage Assembly press release dated Dec. 20, 2023 bundles the Holtan Hills proposal under the banner “Assembly Takes Up Housing Action During Final Meeting of 2023.”

 The press release reads: “Holtan Hills Land Disposal: A new version of a previous proposal to dispose Heritage Land Bank (HLB) property in Girdwood was introduced by Assembly Member Meg Zaletel. The ordinance proposes that the sale of HLB land to CY Investments for a multi-use residential development is contingent upon the designation of a multifamily unit to a future Girdwood housing trust or non-profit entity and the engagement of the Girdwood Board of Supervisors throughout the project. A public hearing on the item will be held during the Jan. 9 Regular Assembly Meeting.”

 “Our final meeting of the year exemplifies the unity we’ve developed over these past 18 months to take action in solving Anchorage’s housing shortage crisis,” reflected Assembly Chair Christopher Constant this morning, the press release said. “We made housing action a priority in 2023 and we’ve stuck to it. Every member has a hand in the work, tackling the problem from every angle and bringing the community alongside us. We have a lot to be proud of, and even more to look forward to in 2024.”

Assuming information provided to Edgington from the Assembly co-chair is correct, a new press release will be issued that updates the date of the future public hearing for the AO-2023-137.