Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures co-owner Scott Sundberg claims the Haines Borough Planning Commission erred in denying his permit application for a heliport near 26 Mile Haines Highway for several reasons, including that there are several “biased” commissioners who shouldn’t have been allowed to vote.
Sundberg is appealing the commission’s 4-2 decision to deny the permit to his other company, Big Salmon Ventures. In the appeal, Sundberg outlined nine reasons why he believed the commission “errored once again” in denying the permit.
On Nov. 12, the commission denied a permit for the Chilkat Lake Road heliport for the third time in as many years.
The Haines Borough Assembly will decide Tuesday whether to hear Sundberg’s appeal. According to code, the burden of proof is on Sundberg to make the case that a rehearing by the assembly is warranted. If the assembly decides a rehearing is warranted, leaders must say why.
If granted, the actual rehearing would occur at the Dec. 15 assembly meeting.
Sundberg said the commission erred by not giving enough weight to the borough-commissioned noise study and by giving too much weight to Haines residents who don’t live within one mile of the proposed heliport site.
The commission also didn’t put enough weight on the fact that the neighborhood has failed to rezone or classify heliports as a permanent nonconforming use, “showing that there is not enough support in the immediate area to deny this use,” he said.
Sundberg charged that commissioners made false statements about the noise study, especially considering they did not attend an explanatory meeting held by Mead and Hunt, the firm that conducted the study.
The commission also didn’t address the “greater project of the eco lodge and winter village proposed with this heliport,” he said. Sundberg has previously said the heliport is integral to plans for a $5.5 million “eco-lodge” recreation village that would offer guided fishing trips, mountain biking trails, Nordic skiing and other activities in addition to heli-skiing. It would operate nine months per year, he said.
Sundberg also asserts that because the assembly overturned the commission denial in 2014 and granted a temporary conditional use permit, that means all eight criteria for a CUP were met at that point. No new “factual” information showed the situation is different now, he said.
Last time the assembly overturned the commission’s permit denial, it resulted in a Superior Court lawsuit from 26 Mile resident Jessica Plachta. Plachta claimed the assembly incorrectly decided the proposed heliport met seven of the eight permit criteria.
On Nov. 3, a judge dismissed Plachta’s case because the temporary permit in question expired on March 31.
Borough manager David Sosa wrote in an email to the assembly about the dismissal. “The borough has the ability to recoup some funds from Ms. Plachta since her case was dismissed. I recommend an executive session to review this case and receive guidance from the assembly on how to proceed,” he wrote.