CityView Portal
| Submitted comments will appear below after staff approval. | |
|---|---|
| Brooks Chandler | 12/9/2025 2:44:53 PM |
| The Platting Board/Planning Commission should postpone action on the plat application until an area master plan has been approved by the Anchorage Assembly. A valid and approved area master plan is required . “Prior to subdivision or development of any portion of” the GR-3 district. AMC 21.09.040(B)(2)(d)(iii)(A) . There was an area master plan approved in 2006, however that approval expired by operation of AMC 21.09.030( E)(7)(a): 7.Abandonment of area master plan. An area master plan approval shall expire if: a. Implementation of the area master plan schedule is delayed for more than seven years without a request for a schedule modification. The construction schedule in the Crow Creek Neighborhood Land Use Plan called for homes to be built beginning in 2007. CCNUP p.32. This schedule has been delayed for 18 years which is more than 7 years. It appears no request for a schedule modification was submitted or approved. Therefore the prior approval of the CCNLUP has expired. This means there is no existing area master plan. Platting must be delayed until a new area master plan has been approved. If the Board/Commission ignores municipal code the following changes/additions to the Plat should be made: Add a Plat Note to read: One of Lots 12 and 13, Block 1 has been designated for conveyance to a Girdwood housing trust or non-profit for the purposes of developing community housing for residents. See, AO 2023-037 Sec.1(D). Add a Plat Note to read: One of the following Lots has been designated for conveyance to a Girdwood housing trust or non-profit for the purposes of developing community housing for residents: a. Lots 1-11 , Block 1 b. Lots 1-19, Block 2 c. Lots 1-9, Block 3. See, AO 2023-037 Sec.1(D). Add a Plat Note to read: Any person seeking to develop lots must submit applications for land use entitlements to the Girdwood Board of Supervisors for review prior to seeking official action by the designated decision-making body. See, AO 2023-037 Sec. 1(C). Add a Plat Note to read: Use of lots for short term rentals is restricted. See AO 2023-037 Sec. 1(A). Comments on requested variances. Private Road- [Internal Tract B-Holtan Hills Circle] The variance should be denied. It appears all Lots in Phase 1 including the 2 multi-family lots (Lots 12 and 13 Block 1) would be expected to contribute to road maintenance of the proposed private driveway. (“The proposed road will be maintained by the Homeowner’s Association”). This would make housing costs more expensive compared to spreading the costs of road maintenance over the entire service area. This makes granting the variance “injurious” to these lots and detrimental to the public welfare. Injury to the public welfare results from making houses/lots less affordable. The purported faster response time reflects ignorance of the existing sequence of snow removal in the Girdwood Valley Service Area (all of which is done by a private contractor NOT “the municipality”) . Priority #1 is the road to the school and logic/efficiency will dictate the contractor move to Holtan Hills immediately after plowing the road to the school. I have no comment on whether a variance allowing a 50’ public ROW is justified. Cul de Sac Length The applicant has referenced the wrong code provision. The site development rules for the gR-3 district state : “Street connection- b. Connectivity standards. i. Within contiguous residential and commercial developments, no local street may be developed longer than 450 feet, unless the street is connected to another street at each end. This means the degree of variance requested is 242 feet i.e. a 53% variance from the standard. Perhaps the variance remains justified. Girdwood has quite a few cul de sacs. But I assume there are health and safety reasons for the existing 450’ standard. If the variance is granted a condition requiring connection with Crow Creek Road in the next development Phase as referenced in the application should be added. A condition requiring construction of a pedestrian walkway parallel to the proposed Holtan Hills Drive would mitigate pedestrian safety issues associated with an extra long cul de sac. Other Conditions Resubmittal of a proposed Iditarod Trail dedicated easement location should be required before a final plat is submitted for approval. Condition should make clear that trail relocation including trail construction and signage is an obligation of the applicant and must be completed and be acceptable to USFS and the Girdwood Trails Committee prior to final plat approval. | |
| Kate | 12/6/2025 12:06:29 PM |
| This plat application does not include an easement for the National Historic Iditarod Trail that did travel through land that is now Phase 1 of Holtan Hills. The trail is of national significance. See the 1986 Iditarod Comprehensive Management Plan. This trail should be surveyed, and an easement recorded on the plat and paid for by the development partnership of CY and HLB. CY Investments was quite aware of the significance of the trail when they applied originally. Too, this trail will become the main walking trail for Holtan Hills residents who walk anywhere in Girdwood, and CY has heavily advertised Holtan Hills as a walking, outdoorsy subdivision. A condition for approval of this plat must include the realignment of the Girdwood Middle Iditarod National Historic Trail and a 50’ easement (on either side of center line). This should be done in consultation with and approval of the Girdwood Trails Committee. This ensures that the national trail is protected, and the Girdwood Trails Committee--the people who live here--has had input in this realignment. It is critical that this trail be platted and approved for an easement now for the above reasons. | |