SB 47-CHUGACH STATE PARK EASEMENTS  2:11:47 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 47 "An Act relating to Chugach State Park; and providing for an effective date." 2:12:14 PM SENATOR GIESSEL paraphrased from the following sponsor statement for SB 47: [Original punctuation provided.] Senate Bill 47 Sponsor Statement  "An Act relating to Chugach State Park; and providing for an effective date." Chugach State Park hosts 1.5 million visitors annually - more than Denali National Park - and most of the road traffic leading to the park originates from outside of the Anchorage Hillside neighborhood. The roads that provide access to the park, including the Glen Alps and Upper DeArmoun/Canyon Road corridors are in need of significant upgrades. In 2023, Anchorage residents voted to establish the Chugach State Park Access Service Area (CASA), which includes the Anchorage Bowl, creating the first mechanism for financing capital upgrades to roads leading to Chugach State Park. In 2024, Anchorage voters approved a $4 million bond to fund much needed improvements to Canyon Road, which is in poor condition. This project involves pacing and drainage for about 0.6 miles of the road, extending to the park boundary. About half of this section lies within Chugach State Park, and because the municipality cannot bond for improvements on state-owned land, those portions fall outside the scope of the bond. To address this, SB 47 reinforces existing statutes designating the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) as the agency responsible for maintaining public roads within Chugach State Park. This ensures DOTPF will continue managing the maintenance of roads that provide access to this important state resource. Additionally, the bill grants the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the authority to grant easements or rights-of-ways within Chugach State Park to municipalities. This provision allows municipalities to improve access to the park, provided they meet certain requirements. Before granting any easements, the DNR commissioner must provide public notice and hold hearings. If an easement is granted, responsibility for maintaining and repairing the road will shift from the state to the municipality. By allowing municipalities to assume responsibility for certain infrastructure improvements, SB 47 provides the flexibility needed to support upgrades that will increase safety, access, and overall public enjoyment of Chugach State Park. It creates a pathway for municipalities to invest in and maintain key resources within their community, improving access to trailheads and other park features. SENATOR GIESSEL noted that Chugach State Park receives the most visitors out of any state park in Alaska and encompasses 500,000 acres. The park's fee station revenues are nearly $600,000 per year. One of the park's current projects is a new parking area, which will bring additional revenue. 2:15:03 PM SENATOR GIESSEL continued to paraphrase from the sponsor statement for SB 47. She directed attention to slide 2 of the presentation titled, "SB 47 Chugach State Park Easements" which includes a map of Chugach State Park. She noted that Canyon Road (in red) extends into the park, passes the Rabbit Lake Trailhead, and continues beyond the park boundaries. The Rabbit Lake Trailhead (one of the most popular in the park) is the site of the new parking lot. She pointed out that the green areas of the map are parkland while the grey areas indicate municipal roads. She emphasized that the section of Canyon Road that falls within the boundaries of the park is almost impassable and allowing the municipality to take over this section of road would ensure a continuous, maintained road through Chugach State Park. She directed attention to AS 41.21.122, which states that DOTPF is responsible for the roads inside the boundaries of the park; however, she asserted that DOTPF has not been maintaining this portion of the road. She noted that SB 47 was drafted in collaboration with the Municipality of Anchorage. 2:18:25 PM SENATOR GIESSEL noted that there are a few private residences in the area. There is also wildfire concern in this area. A well- maintained road is important for safely exiting the park in the event of a wildfire. She reiterated that SB 47 would allow the Municipality of Anchorage to take over the portion of Canyon Road that falls within Chugach State Park. She noted that there are other entrance points, and those areas could be impacted by SB 47 if a municipal road is crossing parkland. 2:20:49 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on SB 47. 2:21:01 PM ROGER MARKS, Board of Supervisors, Glen Alps Road Service Area, Anchorage, Alaska, explained that road service areas (RSA) can be thought of as small, independent districts on the hillside that manage area road maintenance (e.g. road repair, grading, drainage, and snow removal for a particular area). There are roughly 20 of these, and they are paid for by area property taxes. He explained that RCAs were set up to decentralize snow removal. He pointed out that elevation changes result in a variety of microclimates in the area and decentralized snow removal has been effective. He said that the roads in this RSA lead to the Glen Alps and Rabbit Lake trail heads - which are among the most utilized in the park. He explained that most of the traffic in this RSA originates outside of the RSA, passing through it to reach the trailheads. This traffic is the leading cause of road depreciation. He said that the Anchorage municipality is not able to bond on roads within the park. Few residents and a low tax base have resulted in an inability to cover the costs of the capital upgrades (which he estimates at millions of dollars). He said that in 2023, a service area was created to finance infrastructure for access through the park. In 2024, Anchorage voters voted for a bond to finance upgrades to Canyon Road. He stated that the road is in terrible shape. However, the bond cannot be applied to park assets; therefore, the municipality is seeking an easement from the state. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the roads to ensure safety. 2:25:58 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN asked whether the municipality was asking to trade responsibility for roads with the state of whether the municipality would like to take over maintenance without expectation of anything in return. 2:26:18 PM MR. MARKS clarified that that the municipality is already maintaining the road, although this is not technically the municipality's responsibility. He surmised that it would be inefficient for DOTPF vehicles to work on those short segments of the road. He indicated that the municipality would continue to maintain these RSAs, and SB 47 would help to reduce the cost of the maintenance. 2:26:54 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN commented that Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) has stopped maintaining certain roads in his district - and these roads are later leveraged in road trades. He wondered if SB 47 would set a precedent for DOTPF and other organizations to transfer their roadwork to municipalities without a corresponding trade. He said this is a matter of statewide policy that could have unintended negative consequences in other areas of the state. 2:28:12 PM SENATOR GIESSEL noted that DOTPF has not been maintaining the section of Canyon Road, despite being required by statute to do so. She said that this is the reason for SB 47. 2:28:36 PM SENATOR STEDMAN said that he does not see any surface issues with the request and asked how wide the easement is and how it is delineated. 2:28:53 PM SENATOR GIESSEL deferred to Mr. Marks. MR. MARKS surmised that the easement would be as wide as the roadbed. He said that portions of the road lay outside the right-of-way. He surmised that the easement would be roughly 30 feet. 2:29:44 PM SENATOR STEDMAN said that while he is not familiar with the applicable statute, he has had experience on planning commissions. He opined that it would be fine for the community to come together to fix the road; however, he suggested that DOTPF be held accountable for the money collected. He surmised that the money could be used for road maintenance in the region of the road where the funds are collected. 2:30:40 PM CHAIR GIESSEL noted that SB 47 has a fiscal note for easement adjudication, title easement, and survey work. She shared her understanding that this only needs to be done once and questioned why the fiscal note includes a charge for multiple years. She opined that the funds collected from fee boxes would be sufficient to cover any costs. She stated her intention to discuss this with DOTPF. 2:31:35 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN held SB 47 in committee.