# Assembly Votes Down Resolution Demanding 60 Parking Spots at Basher Trailhead

The Anchorage Assembly voted 5-6 against a resolution Tuesday that would have required the administration to increase parking at the Basher Trailhead from 45 to 60 spaces, ending a heated debate over public access to Chugach State Park.

The resolution failed after Assembly members split on whether to override the administration's community-driven design process. That process reduced the project from an originally planned 80 to 100 spots to 45 through public input. The project is funded through the Chugach Access Service Area bond, which voters approved in April 2026.

Assembly Chair Christopher Constant, who sponsored the resolution, said the reduction shortchanged public access to state parkland. "We do not have the money to come back and redo projects that we did until 20 or 30 years from now," Constant said. "If we are going to take the opinion of the loudest that say make it smaller, if we should just scrap any work on increasing housing density in this town."

Constant estimated the 45-space lot would serve less than half the demonstrated need, based on earlier studies showing demand for 80 to 100 spaces. He said the reduction came between the 35 percent and 65 percent design phases.

Assembly Member Zac Johnson opposed the resolution, saying it would override a legitimate public process. "This has gone through public process. It has led to this conclusion, and now we on the assembly are essentially saying like, well, we are going to assert our authority to override that," Johnson said.

Johnson also objected to language in the resolution stating the Assembly would not approve contracts unless the final design demonstrated sufficient parking capacity. "To me, it effectively states that if the design is not what the assembly wants, we will kill the project," Johnson said.

Chief of Staff Suzanne Fleet-Green told the Assembly the administration tried to balance safety concerns, community input, and improved access to the Chugach. She said the 65 percent design includes planning for a future expansion if the initial 45 spaces reach capacity.

"We did not give them everything they wanted here," Fleet-Green said, referring to neighborhood comments. "There were many comments that said no parking lot at all, take it away."

The administration conducted a one-month public survey that informed the design change. Project Manager Kent Colhase said the municipality did not conduct a formal traffic study but estimated the difference between 45 and 60 spaces would generate roughly 120 additional car trips per day.

Assembly Member George Martinez said he encouraged his constituents to 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.

Vice Chair Anna Brawley raised broader questions about who decides how public lands are accessed. "Who are our public lands for? Period," 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."

The Assembly voted 9-2 to remove a section of the resolution that would have prohibited appropriating funds for contracts that did not meet the 60-space requirement. Even with that amendment, the resolution failed.

Assembly member Meg Zaletel said the project violates guidance in the Chugach Access Plan, which defines a large trailhead as having 60 or more parking spaces. She said breaking the project into two phases would cost more than building 60 spaces at once.

Colhase confirmed expanding from 45 to 60 spaces now would cost $200,000 to $300,000. Building a separate 15-space lot later would likely cost more due to mobilization expenses, he said.

The Basher Trailhead is one of five parking areas along Basher Road providing access to Chugach State Park. The CASA bond also includes funding for Lost Cabin Trail improvements and Stewart's Trail wayfinding.

The 65 percent design plans were released March 30, about a week before the April 2026 election in which voters approved the CASA bond. More than 32,000 voters supported the bond measure.

The project will now move forward with 45 parking spaces. The administration said the design allows for future expansion if demand exceeds capacity.