Assembly passes Talkeetna SPUD

TALKEETNA -- "I like stray dogs, beat-up trucks and landing my airplane in the middle of town. I don't like strip malls, Fred Meyer or McDonald's -- we don't need that here."

Rob Holt, in his testimony to the Mat-Su Borough Assembly accurately summed up both the community's take on planning and what was regulated in the planning document before the assembly. The assembly met in Talkeetna Thursday night for a public hearing about the Talkeetna Special Land Use District.

At that meeting, borough assembly members unanimously adopted what Borough Manager John Duffy called the most progressive planning document in the borough, and one of the most innovative in the state. The document, Duffy said, incorporates outlines for future plans based on the sizes and types of structures already in the Talkeetna area, and adds in performance-based development standards for components such as lighting.

Although getting the measure passed by the assembly was an easy fight, it came at the end of a long battle.

"This is a process that's been very lengthy, and it's really had a large community impact," Talkeetna resident Jim Trump told the assembly. "There has been a lot of compromises made in this through the process, and I would encourage you to pass it as it is -- because there has been a lot of community input."

Several residents highlighted the work that went into the special land use document, commonly called a SPUD, during the years, and most agreed the community has been working on implementing a community plan for a decade or more. Planning efforts have arisen and failed, but an $85,000 grant to the community from the National Parks Service in 2000 helped the community find focus and build consensus.

Other community members pointed out that the SPUD seemed to have accomplished the impossible -- reached agreement between the community council and the business community. Susan Kellard spoke to assembly members on behalf of the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce, and said she represented more than 90 businesses in Talkeetna who were in favor of the plan.

Not everyone agreed that Talkeetna needed a SPUD. Marvin Clark and Carol Young both spoke in opposition of the ordinance, stating they felt it was too restrictive. Clark vowed to challenge the lawsuit in court if the assembly passed it, and said those speaking in favor of the proposal were not representative of the entire community's population.

"We voted at least a couple of times where land use was included. People voted three to one or two to one in opposition to the SPUD or similar units to appropriate that power," Cook said. " … I find it necessary to inform you tonight that if this SPUD is shoved down our throats I'll file a lawsuit. I'll get in touch with the Mountain States Legal Foundation, and I'll set it aside."

Young and Clark were the only two in the audience of about 50 to speak against the ordinance. Kelly Lankford Ladere, the assembly member for Talkeetna and the northern area of the borough, said she had been contacted by other community members who wanted a chance to vote on the SPUD. But Borough Attorney Teresa Williams said Alaska statutes limit what can be on the ballot. Williams cited a 1994 case the borough was involved in regarding the Chase community comprehensive plan.

"The court determined at that time that planning issues are not appropriate for referendum," Williams said. "We would not be able to put the items before us on the ballot."

When the assembly discussed the issue before voting on it, Ladere said she had hoped to bring the matter to a vote, but felt it was well-supported by the community and would support it since a vote was not possible.

"I have a lot of sensitivity for people who got ahold of me and asked for the community to have a chance to vote on the matter," Ladere said. She recalled visiting Talkeetna for the first time in the 1950s with her Brownie troop by train, and commended the community for having kept close to its roots. She added that it had taken some time for her to support the document.

"Initially, and privately, I was opposed to it," Ladere said. "I … have come to support it, and the reason is because of all of your hard work and all of your accommodations, one to another. You have proven, in the mean, that it has the capacity to work."

Other assembly members commended Talkeetna on their work, and expressed hope that other communities would follow suit.

"I think back to when my grandparents would take me from Palmer to Wasilla, when it was just the Teeland Store and Cottle's and the railroad station," said Assembly member Talis Colberg. "No one thought about what would happen in the future … What if they would have done something like this in Wasilla? … It's a wonderful opportunity to save something from this borough that was once quite common, before it was even a borough."