Billy Wailand got used to taking his dog on the well-worn dirt path that connected his Turnagain neighborhood to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.
Known by neighbors as "Sydney's Shortcut," the path cuts across a vacant property on Marston Drive and past a signpost with a picture of a small terrier. In recent months, however, it's been closed off. Someone is building a house on the narrow piece of prime West Anchorage real estate.
Now a minor dispute could be brewing over the future of the trail, with Wailand and the Turnagain Community Council pointing out property records going back six decades that show walkers have a legal right to the cut-through. They're hoping the new owner will eventually develop the trail into something more formal than a dirt path and platted easement.
Wailand, 35, was among those who regularly used the path as a quick route to the popular Coastal Trail. He understood the trail being closed off for construction, but wondered if it would ever reopen. After talking to other disappointed neighbors, Wailand, an attorney, decided to take a look at property records.
What he found surprised him. Records showed a long-standing easement on the property intended to provide access to the Cook Inlet shore.
Wailand compiled several documents for an October presentation to the community council. The documents included a 1955 deed, signed by owners M. R. and Pauline Marston and Julius and Inga Morris, that described the west 20 feet of the property as a right-of-way for "the owners of property in the (Turnagain Heights Subdivision) to give access to and from the beach across such property."
The Turnagain Heights subdivision consists of about 120 homes, property records show. The property itself is not located in the Turnagain Heights subdivision, but in a subdivision called Turnagain N.E. It's adjacent to a lot owned by the Rasmuson family.
The 1955 deed directed the current or future property owners to build walkways or "retaining walls" to protect against damage from the use of the walkway. The deed signed over the property to Lu Liston, a longtime Alaska businessman and artist, and his wife Edna.
A 2001 replat also shows a 20-foot easement on the west side of the property. In 2013, a deed transferred ownership from a Washington-based owner, Daniel D. Nelson, to the new owner, a Seattle business called Holden Beach LLC. The deed notes the beach access granted by the 1955 easement.
The registered agent for Holden Beach is Mark Tabbutt, and the listed address is the corporate office of Saltchuk Resources, a Seattle-based maritime conglomerate that owns a network of transportation companies with operations in Alaska, including Foss Maritime, North Star Petroleum and Northern Air Cargo. Tabbutt is listed as the chairman of Saltchuk's board of directors.
Calls to Tabbutt directly last week were not returned. Messages to an owner's representative also were not returned.
A February site plan shows the 20-foot right of way easement in the architectural layout of the $464,400 property. The western edge of the house does not encroach on the easement, though a walkway is not shown in the plan.
Wailand said that after an initial phone conversation with the owner's representative in August, his questions about the plans for the easement went unanswered. He went to the community council for help.
In early October, the Turnagain Community Council sent a letter to Tabbutt, pointing out the existence of the easement. The letter began by welcoming Tabbutt to the neighborhood and describing how much Turnagain residents value the Coastal Trail.
"We believe it is in everyone's interest to begin this discussion early and reach a mutual understanding with regard to the long-term development of the right of way," the letter said. "We want to protect the right-of-way, but we are also eager to work with you to minimize the impact of the right-of-way on your enjoyment of your property."
Last week, Danielle Bailey, the council president, got two calls from Tabbutt. In the first call, according to Bailey, Tabbutt said he wasn't aware of the easement and would be looking into it with a lawyer. In the second call, Bailey said, Tabbutt expressed willingness to meet with council members and discuss a solution that didn't involve a lawsuit.
Wailand said he would be happy with even a few feet of access on the property to the Coastal Trail. In the grand scheme of things, he noted, it's not a big deal -- losing the shortcut would add about 10 or 15 minutes to his walk. But he said he's hoping the council can work out an agreement with the new owner.
He said if there was no entitlement or claim to the trail, that would have been the end of it.
"And I'd be a little sad," Wailand said. "But given that it's actually kind of a community resource, it was worth it to me to try to raise the issue."