Girdwood Trails Plan Gets Assembly nod

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

The Anchorage Assembly adopted a trails plan for Girdwood last week that maps out a network of interconnecting trails in the valley.

The decision follows four years of wrangling a continually morphing plan through dozens of public meetings, competing demands of different user groups and a sometimes bitter public process that resulted in ethics questions and charges of harassment.

In the end, the plan comes closer to a future when residents can "leave our cars in our garage," Girdwood Nordic Ski Club President Deb Essex told the Assembly. 

The middle of the Iditarod Trail, at the Alaska Water & Wastewater Utility clearcut in Girdwood. (Photo courtesy of Soren Wuerth)

"[The plan] resonated with popular Girdwood maxims that 'our driveway is our trailhead', or, our other one, 'our backyard is our playground,'" said Essex, who also serves as the vice-chair of the Girdwood Trails Committee.

Others extolled the plan's "exhaustive" public process:  a subcommittee with 16 meetings, pages of comments, and more than 40 amendments.

But discussions during the planning process also broke down in sometimes heated votes and verbal sparring that pitted neighbor against neighbor and led to accusations of misconduct. 

"The process of development of this trail plan was one of the most dysfunctional I have ever witnessed or had the misfortune of participating in," Julie Raymond-Yakoubian told the Assembly in a plea for the body to reject the plan.

"Much of the process of developing this plan was very distressing and included constantly reinvented processes meant to serve the desires of certain user groups and to exclude others," Raymond-Yakoubian said. "It included harassment of members of the public. It entailed disrespectful and unprofessional behavior from a contractor. It entailed ethics violations by the Girdwood Board of Supervisors as determined by the Girdwood Board of Ethics. ... all led to the plan in front of you which decidedly does not serve its original scope and goal."

Others said despite conflicts, the plan was ultimately forged with a "holistic approach".

"Everyone got what they considered fair and equitable for the good of the valley," GBOS member Guy Wade said, citing the involvement of more than 200 residents over 16 meetings.

Before voting in favor of the plan member Zac Johnson said he "knows there was some tension in there. I know not everyone loves or supports this, but I think that is a given in any issue of this magnitude."

The trails plan had its genesis in a request by the municipality's Heritage Land Bank for a vision for trails, said Barbara Crews, who co-chairs the trails committee. 

"I feel like our plan was inclusive and exhaustive and I'm very proud of what we've done," Crews said.

The 46-page document identifies 37 trails in the Girdwood valley and, given they are officially referenced, may provide their protection, according to Essex.

"[The plan] gives future developers and conservationists the necessary local perspective and history to help protect our diverse trails system," she said.

Assembly members had no questions after the presentations, but weighed in with comments.

Member Meg Zaletel said the plan lacked detail on how local trails could serve as corridors for transit. 

"I'm not an avid outdoor person. I'm usually outside to get to somewhere else, which I enjoy, the transit piece of that, but I would want to know where in Girdwood would I be riding my bike to get from point A to point B so I'm not causing those conflicts," Zaletel said.

The Assembly approved the trails plan in a 12-0 vote.