Haines Borough Planning Commission chair Rob Goldberg said he is dropping efforts to create a public heliport out Chilkat Lake Road because two out of three operators said they wouldn’t use the facility.
At its Nov. 12 meeting, the commission unanimously passed a motion to have borough staff look into acquiring property for a public heliport between 25 Mile and 35 Mile. The move was an attempt to find a solution for the ongoing conflict between helicopters and residents.
As the borough doesn’t currently have a permanent manager and planning technician Tracy Cui is away on extended leave, Goldberg investigated the issue and emailed the three local heli-ski operators.
“I think everyone involved is tired of the conflicts. You want to be able to run your businesses with as few restrictions as possible. Residents want to enjoy a quiet lifestyle. I think there is a solution that can satisfy everyone,” Goldberg said in the email.
The borough could offer incentives for the companies to use the property, like lifting the skier day cap and allowing them to build infrastructure around the heliport, Goldberg said. “Obviously we need your support. Think about it. No more conditional use permits. Long-term lease to the property. Unlimited skier days.”
Alaska Mountain Guides owner Sean Gaffney emailed back a brief response, calling the idea “a great solution.” “I support it entirely,” Gaffney wrote
Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures co-owner Scott Sundberg responded with a “terse” email, Goldberg said. “I won’t tell you all of the things he said, because some of them were directed at me, but that he was not interested in it at all and he was going to pursue a lawsuit against the borough.”
Alaska Heliskiing co-owner Sean Brownell responded with a longer email explaining why the public heliport wouldn’t work, including that the area nearby has many mountain goats, it would be too congested and the surrounding terrain would get over-skied.
“I appreciate your ideas, Rob, and admire your forward thinking, but I think moving to your proposed locations is worse for my business than the options that are available to me at this time,” Brownell wrote.
Based on the responses, Goldberg said he is ditching the public heliport idea.
“For the moment, I have decided not to put any more time into trying to establish a community heliport. Two of the permit holders do not want it. I thought that the possibility of unlimited skier days would be attractive to them, but apparently having their own heliport is more valuable to them,” he said.