After property owner’s effort to block Anchorage bike path, railroad to consider revised lease proposal

The Alaska Railroad’s board of directors is set to consider a new version of a proposed lease to an Anchorage property owner for a parcel of land near Fish Creek — including changes meant to preserve the opportunity for a long-awaited bike trail extension project to be built on the same land.

Many Anchorage residents, including several state and city elected officials, opposed the original version of the proposed lease, because it would likely block a project to connect the Spenard-area Fish Creek Trail to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

In light of the conflict, the board’s real estate committee came up with revised lease terms, and on Wednesday will consider the amended version, according to Meghan Clemens, external affairs director for the railroad.

“The proposed amended terms accommodate the personal use interests of the prospective lessees without prohibiting the continued advancement of the Fish Creek Trail extension project,” Clemens said.

The revisions whittle down the lease term from 95 years to up to 25 years, and include a key caveat: The lease could be partially terminated if the Fish Creek Trail Connection project moves forward with a trail route that goes through the parcel, and if the Alaska Railroad Corp. board of directors then approves the trail.

Railroad staff have been cooperating with the city on the project development, but nothing has been finalized and the project hasn’t yet sought the board’s approval, Clemens said.

“From our perspective, it’s premature to approve the trail, but at the same time, we wouldn’t want to foreclose the opportunity, if, ultimately, there is a trail that could come through here” that meets the railroad’s requirements, Clemens said.

The committee will make a recommendation on the lease application to the board, which is then scheduled to vote on the lease at its Nov. 14 meeting, Clemens said.

Steve Rafuse, city superintendent with Parks and Recreation, said the city and state Department of Transportation have been working with the railroad for several years to reach agreement on the trail project.

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From the language of the new lease terms, it seems like the railroad is trying to strike a balance with the lease request and “making a good-faith effort,” knowing that the trail project likely needs the parcel, Rafuse said.

In written comments and during a September meeting of the board’s real estate committee, dozens of residents testified against the lease of about 1 acre of railroad land to J.L. McCarrey III, Barbara McCarrey, Kristin McCarrey and Eric Finseth.

Clemens said the board received more than 300 written public comments. More than 90% were in support of the trail and/or against the lease, she said.

A trail route is not yet finalized. But the preferred route — the least costly, least impactful to wetlands and likely the only viable route — is through the chunk of railroad land next to McCarrey’s property, project planners say.

Unlike two other routes, it avoids cutting through the Fish Creek Estuary, instead following the railroad easement north from West Northern Lights Boulevard, then crossing the McCarreys’ driveway near the end of Forest Park Drive and switch-backing through the railroad parcel to the Coastal Trail. Another option would cross the driveway and continue north, requiring a bridge over the Coastal Trail and adding millions to the project cost.

McCarrey in September told the board he is seeking the lease “to maintain the privacy” his family has had for years. Some other property owners in the area have spoken in support of McCarrey’s lease application and voiced concerns about the trail project and its potential impacts to their homes and the adjacent Fish Creek Estuary.

McCarrey did not respond to emailed questions about the revised lease terms on Monday.

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However, Clemens said the family has not asked to withdraw its lease application and is “still interested in moving forward with the process at this point.”

Members of the public can speak on the revised lease during the committee’s Wednesday meeting, which will be held over Zoom beginning at 9 a.m., Clemens said. The board is no longer taking written testimony, which closed last month, she said.

Rafuse said next steps for the project include surveying the preferred route and then meeting with the railroad’s real estate and engineering division to review the design, ensuring it meets all safety criteria and other requirements before seeking a permit from the board.

The city has similar permits from the railroad board for parts of the Coastal Trail and Ship Creek Trail, he said.

“We’ve been working with the railroad for quite a few years just to get to this point, and so I think all of us are still optimistic about the future of Fish Creek Trail,” Rafuse said.