Vision: Guiding Girdwood Land Use: Creating a framework for the future of Girdwood
The mission of Imagine! Girdwood is to fund and complete a transparent, inclusive rewrite of the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan to guide Girdwood land use in an orderly and understandable process that is respectful of all views
Regular public meetings are held 4th Wednesday of each month - more details
Latest News
12/18/2024 What happens next?
The Assembly held a Public Hearing on Girdwood Comprehensive Plan yesterday evening and introduced the "S" version, the latest version of the plan incorporating everything supported by the Girdwood community.
This was a big step forwards for Girdwood, since prior to yesterday's meeting the Assembly were only officially considering the Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations. Now the Assembly can work from the Plan that the Girdwood community supports, including Girdwood's own elected local government body.
At the meeting we heard very compelling in-person and phone testimony from almost 20 community members supporting the "S" version and making a strong case for adoption. Thank you to everyone who spoke or wrote in support!
The Assembly did not make a decision to adopt the plan, but postponed until their meeting on January 21st. In part this was to allow the "S" version to be fully published & circulated (reducing the risk of an adoption decision being challenged) and partly to allow the Planning Department to reconsider the changes they recommended in July.
It's slightly disappointing that the "S" version of the Plan wasn't adopted at the meeting, but we started the update process six years ago - we can wait one more month until January 21 for a successful conclusion.
In the meantime you can still testify in writing through this form
12/16/2024 Assembly Public Hearing Tomorrow
A reminder - sign up for phone testimony by 5pm today if you can't attend tomorrow's meeting in person. It is item 14.E and you can sign up here. Use the same link to provide written testimony on the record, and/or email to assembly@anchorageak.gov
Please ask Assembly members to support the "S" version, which will be introduced at tomorrow's meeting.
We have also put together a brief FAQ to help those preparing testimony.
GCP_FAQ_20241215.pdf12/14/2024 Assembly Public Hearing - Tuesday December 17th
The Girdwood Comprehensive Plan will have a public hearing at the Assembly Meeting on Tuesday December 17th. It appears as item 14.E on the agenda.
There are three ways to testify officially:
speak in-person at the Assembly meeting
send written testimony before the meeting through this form
testify by phone (the Assembly will call you during the meeting). You must sign up for phone testimony by 5pm on Monday Dec-16 - check "phone testimony" on the same form
In addition, you can email comments to all Assembly members at assembly@anchorageak.gov although those comments will not be part of the official public hearing record.
What we expect on Tuesday
The item on the agenda is based on the Planning & Zoning recommendations, not Girdwood's original application. The Girdwood Comprehensive Plan was developed over 6+ years of work with the help of almost a thousand Girdwood community members. To acknowledge the community's collective voice, our two Assembly members will be introducing a substitute version (aka "S" version) and an updated Plan document which includes all the changes that Girdwood and Planning agree on. If this happens then the public hearing will still go ahead on Tuesday, but the final discussion and vote is likely to be delayed until January.
11/19/2024 Assembly Schedule Confirmed
The schedule for Assembly action is now finalized:
Nov-22 10:50-11:50am Assembly work session on the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan (this is not a Public Hearing)
Dec-17 No earlier than 6:30pm Public Hearing at Assembly. The Assembly will likely deliberate and vote at this meeting.
There will an Imagine! Girdwood meeting in early December to coordinate our main messages.
11/4/2024 Assembly Schedule Update
The schedule for Assembly action is now confirmed, although changes are still possible:
Nov-7 9-11:30am Brief presentation at the Community and Economic Development Committee (may have limited public comment at end of meeting)
Nov-19 Introduction at Assembly Meeting (confirm public hearing date; no opportunity for testimony)
Nov-22 10:50-11:50am Assembly work session on the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan (not a Public Hearing)
Dec-3 or Dec-17 No earlier than 6:30pm Public Hearing at Assembly
We will provide links to these various meetings as they become available.
There will also be an Imagine! Girdwood meeting in November, date & time TBC.
10/30/2024 (Minor) Update
We are still awaiting a confirmed schedule for introduction at the Assembly. Current indications are that Assembly action will be pushed into late November or December.
We will post an update as soon as the Assembly action dates are confirmed, and will also schedule an Imagine! Girdwood meeting to share talking points.
8/28/2024 Schedule update and cancelling tonight's meeting
This evening's regular meeting is cancelled since we do not have substantial additional information to share. We will be holding September and October meetings as planned.
We have been informed that the Assembly Public Hearing is being scheduled for November 6th (the Wednesday *after* the Federal General Election), so we have requested an Assembly worksession the prior week. Look out for announcement when the schedule is confirmed.
Finally, the additional work around the Planning and Zoning Commission and preparation for the Assembly action will put the project about $3,000 over budget. We have added a donation button to the website, or you can send a check to the address below, so please help us reach that goal if you are able to.
7/19/2024 PZC meeting and next steps
Note: Imagine! Girdwood will hold a Special Meeting on July 31st @ 6pm to provide an update and discuss next steps.
On Monday July 15, 2024 the Planning and Zoning Commission considered 13 changes to the plan (2 were added by Planning staff at the meeting) and voted to recommend 10 of those changes. In the judgment of the project team, 6 changes align with the community approved plan. But 4 changes, all modifications to the Land Use map, have already been discussed by the community and were rejected.
The PZC recommendation will go to the Assembly when they vote on adopting the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan. Since this is not a decision, just a recommendation, it is not appealable. The Assembly can adopt the original plan, accept some of all of the PZC recommendations or make their own.
More details of the meeting, PZC recommendations and next steps can be found in the document below.
GCP_status_post-PZC.pdf7/10/2024 Planning Dept recommends several changes to Girdwood Comprehensive Plan
The Planning Department published their staff report earlier this week and recommended 11 changes to the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan. Some of these changes are minor, but several are very significant changes that were opposed by a substantial amount of public comment during the Girdwood community review process.
You can read the Planning staff report and comments from other Municipal Departments and Agencies below.
The Planning and Zoning Commissioner are holding a Public Hearing on Monday July 15th to consider the application and the Planning Department recommendations. The Commission can accept some or all of the Planning recommendations and/or substitute their own. The PZC recommendation goes to the full Assembly who can also make changes and will make the final adoption decision.
Written public comments can still be submitted via the case page, and testimony can be presented in-person or by phone during Monday's public hearing.
Planning Staff Report and Recommendations
CASE_2024-0074_STAFF_REPORT.PDF.pdfDepartment and Agency Comments
CASE_2024-0074_COMMENTS.PDF.pdf6/25/2024 An update and next steps
At the April 29th special joint meeting, both GBOS and LUC voted in favor of submitting the revised plan. After some technical edits and adding community photos, the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan was formally submitted to the Municipality on May 6th. The planning case can be found at https://www.muni.org/CityViewPortal/Planning/Status?planningId=18018
A huge thank you to the 21 community members who submitted a total of 67 photos. Many of them are included in the final version.
Currently the Planning Dept is collecting comments on the plan from Municipal and State departments and agencies. We expect to see a staff report from the Planning Dept early next month.
In June LUC and GBOS both voted unanimously to support the new plan with no additional comments.
Next steps
There will be a public hearing at the July 15th Planning and Zoning Commission starting at 6:30pm. Written public comments can be submitted now via the case page.
After the Planning and Zoning Commission have made a recommendation, it will then be scheduled for introduction and public hearing at the Anchorage Assembly who will vote on adoption. We anticipate the Assembly public hearing to be in September or early October.
4/28/2024 Revised Draft and GBOS/LUC meeting
The Revised Draft was released last Wednesday. Check out the document here: Revised Draft
A reminder that we're seeking photos or other images to illustrate the plan and grace the cover page: more details here
And finally, there is a special joint GBOS / LUC meeting on Monday April 29th at 7pm to discuss the plan and ask questions to the project team.
Meeting details on the GBOS page: muni.org/gbos and below
Joint GBOS/LUC meeting on the draft Girdwood Comprehensive Plan
Date: MON April 29, 2024
Time: 7PM
Location: Hybrid meeting via Teams with in-person attendance at the Girdwood Community Room, 250 Egloff Rd.
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 231 852 908 789 Passcode: nw9icP
Or call in (audio only) +1 907-519-0237,,756624026#
Phone Conference ID: 756 624 026#
GBOS LUC Joint Special Meeting April 29 agenda draft
GBOS LUC Joint meeting 4.29.24 meeting packet
4/1/2024 Cover image and plan illustrations
The Girdwood Comprehensive Plan is a reflection of how Girdwoodians see their community and environment.
Help us make this literally true by contributing photos or artwork that reflect how you see Girdwood - it's physical environment, connections, culture, people, or vibe - by contributing images that will be used to illustrate the plan.
One image will be selected for pride-of-place on cover and several for each section title page, and others throughout the text.
3/31/2024 Public Comments Closing at Midnight Tonight
Don't forget to make your Public Comments before the end of the day.
Check the Public Review Draft page for the plan and comment form.
3/27/2024 Four days left to send your Public Comments on the Draft Plan
The Public Comment period closes at midnight Alaska time on Sunday March 31st. The draft plan and Public Comment form are on the Public Review Draft tab, and hard copies of the draft plan are available at Girdwood Library.
Here's a 2 minute video on how to use the Public Comment form.
2/28/2024 The Public Review Draft of the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan was released at this evening's meeting. Public Comments are open through March 31st.
The draft plan and comment link is available at the Public Review Draft tab at the top of the page.
* Printed copies now available for review at Girdwood Library *
2/20/2024 Project Schedule Update
With the publication of the community review draft next week, this project is firmly into its final phase. There are two stages left:
Girdwood community review: local presentations, public comment, update to a final draft based on public comment, local recommendation, then submit the final draft plan to the Municipality.
Formal MOA review and adoption: MOA departmental review, Planning and Zoning Commission review & recommendation, and finally Assembly adoption of the Girdwood Comprehensive Plan.
The schedule is shown below with expected dates, where available.
12/17/2023 Pre-Draft Land Use Maps - Response to Public Comments
The document below includes responses to distilled Public Comments on the pre-draft Land Use maps presented in October. This will be a discussion topic at the Dec-20 regular meeting.
Note this is a draft document, subject to revision.
Distilled Comments Table Responses - 12.13.2023.pdfMeeting Materials from October 11, 2023 Community Open House
** The comment period on the Land Use Plan Maps closed on Sunday November 5, 2023 **
** FIND THE NEW DRAFT LAND USE MAP HERE: Public Review Draft **
PublicMeeting_Presentation_10.25.2023.pdfPresentation slides
Presentation video (re-recorded at Oct-25 regular meeting)
Scenario A.pdfScenario B.pdfGirdwood1995FLUD.pdfCurrent Land Use Map from the 1995 plan
PDLUM_PublicComment_Packet_Final.pdfFinal Public Comment Packet
05/16/2023 The 2005 Girdwood Airport Master Plan and Environmental Assessment
Since there is much interest in potential development at Girdwood Airport, we have a posted a copy of the 2005 Girdwood Airport Master Plan and the related Girdwood Airport Environmental Assessment.
5/10/2023 In-Person Land Use Map Exercise
6-8p Girdwood Community Center
Led by Holly Spoth-Torres, Huddle AK
Led by Holly Spoth-Torres, Huddle AK
HOMEWORK: Become familiar with the following tools to make for better participation in Wednesday's meeting
1) Land Use Category Definitions from the 1995 Girdwood Area Plan Here
2) The 1995 Land Use Plan Map in an online format:
https://muniorg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c71b84ca1734fefb7762fc9420191e2
These resources help illustrate Girdwood’s existing land use map and categories, we will discuss how to use them and what they mean.
We are also going to get into how we are going to work together to develop the FUTURE categories and map.
It will be helpful if people can start familiarizing themselves with the tools – read the definitions, click around the map, etc.
The intent is that AFTER the workshop on April 26th, people can continue to explore these tools AND ALSO begin thinking about a FUTURE land use map that implements your Vision, Goals, and Policy document.
The example Land Use Map that was used during the workshop to spark discussions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G6C-XiNLb4ag7RAfmz-r1okoumdEPMR5/view?usp=share_link
11/10/2022 Girdwood Inc. and Imagine! Girdwood awarded ARPA funding
At their November 9th meeting, the Anchorage Assembly granted $140,000 to Girdwood Inc. & Imagine! Girdwood to complete a full update of the 1995 Girdwood Area Plan. The update project started in 2018 and was split into 5 phases, the first 3 of which have been completed.
Phase 1 included a community survey, town hall and report on community attitudes and values. *COMPLETE*
Phase 2 developed these further into a set of community vision and goals. *COMPLETE*
Phase 3 produced an existing conditions inventory, land suitability analysis and housing demand forecast. *COMPLETE*
Phases 4 & 5 will run in parallel:
Phase 4 will work with the community through a Town Hall and online mapping tools to update the Land Use Map for Girdwood Valley.
Phase 5 will complete other technical studies, write the high-level implementation plan and produce the public draft of the full plan.
5/1/2022 Existing Conditions Report *UPDATED 12.12.22*
Existing Conditions, Land Suitability and Housing Forecast - Updated
9/22/2021 Existing Conditions Report *DRAFT*
Existing Conditions, Land Suitability and Housing Forecast - Draft
11/10/2020 Imagine! Girdwood Virtual Town Hall
The virtual public meeting was held on November 10th 2020.