# Assembly Rejects Resolution Demanding 60 Parking Spots at Basher Trailhead

The Anchorage Assembly rejected a resolution Saturday that would have required the administration to increase parking at the Basher Trailhead from 45 to 60 spaces. The measure failed on a 5-6 vote after more than two hours of debate.

The resolution sought to override the administration's community-driven design process, which reduced the parking lot from an originally planned 80 to 100 spaces to 45 through public input. The project is funded through the Chugach Access Service Area bond that voters approved in 2026.

Assembly members split sharply on whether to insert themselves into a design process already at the 65 percent completion mark. The debate exposed questions about who decides how public lands are accessed and whether neighborhood voices should carry more weight than citywide interests when bond money comes from all property taxpayers.

Assembly member Felix Rivera, who introduced the resolution, estimated the difference between 45 and 60 spaces would generate roughly 120 additional car trips per day. Administration officials confirmed they did not conduct a traffic study on the project.

Assembly member Daniel Brawley moved to strike Section 3 of the resolution, which would have threatened to withhold future funding if the final design did not demonstrate sufficient parking capacity. That amendment passed 9-2.

"I have a serious issue with some of the statements in this resolution, which I think make assertions that are not necessarily defensible," Assembly member Dr. Meg Zaletel said. "We say it is based on demonstrated demand. I do not think any of them have fidelity to where we can say it is demonstrated. We simply do not know exactly what the usage will look like."

Zaletel said she took issue with the resolution attempting to bind future assembly members who have not yet been seated. "To me, it effectively states that if the design is not what the assembly wants, we will kill the project," she said.

Assembly Chair Chris Constant supported the resolution. He argued the reduction from the original scope represented a failure to meet voter expectations. "The demand to reduce the parking to 45 spots from 80 or 60 came out of nowhere," Constant said. "The net outcome of that is less parking than we have now, but they have a better road, they have better infrastructure, and we paid for it."

Constant said the situation reminded him of other bond-funded projects where scope reductions freed up money for different priorities. "This echoes that to me," he said. "Let us shortchange this project so we can use the money that was just approved by the voters for some other priority. And I hate that."

Administration officials defended the design process. Suzanne Fleet-Green, chief of staff for the mayor, said the administration tried to balance concerns for safety and improving access while listening to neighborhood comments. "We did not give them everything they wanted here," Fleet-Green said. "There were many comments that said no parking lot at all, take it away."

Fleet-Green said the 65 percent design includes planning for a future expansion if the initial 45 spaces reach capacity. She said the project also funds trail improvements on Lost Cabin Trail and wayfinding for Stewart's Trail. Basher is one of five parking areas along Basher Road.

Kent Colhase from the administration said expanding from 45 to 60 spaces now would cost between $200,000 and $300,000. He said building a separate 15-space expansion later would likely cost more due to mobilization and other construction factors.

Assembly member George Martinez opposed the resolution. He said constituents should trust the process. "The difference between following a process and then being heavy-handed is the difference between what this resolution is attempting to do in a very heavy-handed way versus recognizing that there was a process and there was a change as a result of the process," Martinez said.

Martinez noted the public survey that informed the design was open for 30 days. The 65 percent plans were published March 30, at least a week before the bond election. "The feedback worked and it mattered to a process," he said.

Assembly member Anna Brawley raised questions about equity in public land access. "Who are our public lands for?" Brawley said. "It is troubling to me that everything seems to break down in this town when we say where, and when it has to do with people who do not live in an area who are accessing that area."

Assembly member Meg Zaletel said the debate highlighted ongoing tensions between different service areas. "Allowing small groups to call the shots will fundamentally alienate folks in my district and Midtown who want to understand why folks who do not pay into ARDSA but drive to Costco can also leverage their influence to determine the size of a parking lot that is in their neighborhood," Zaletel said.

Assembly member Kameron Perez-Verdia voted against the resolution. He said it felt like an overstep. "It feels like an overstep of the assembly to weigh itself in at this point in the process, and then also to threaten to not pass if it does not go this way," Perez-Verdia said. "I think that the process sounds like it was done well, and it resulted in what it resulted in."

Assembly member Karen Bronga supported the resolution. She cited letters from the CASA advisory group and the Chugach State Park Citizen Advisory Board. She said the reduction violated guidance from the park access plan that defines large trailhead parking as 60 to 100 spaces.

The resolution failed with Assembly members Constant, Rivera, Bronga, Daniel Brawley, and Randy Sulte voting yes. Assembly members Dr. Meg Zaletel, Martinez, Perez-Verdia, Anna Brawley, Kevin Cross, and Scott Myers voted no.

The project will proceed with the 45-space design. The administration has not indicated whether it will pursue the optional expansion phase included in the 65 percent plans.