Assembly committee schedules March 7 hearing on Alaskans cultivation license after petitioner outlines HVAC fixes

The Anchorage Municipality Community and Economic Development Committee scheduled a full assembly hearing on March 7 to consider AR 2025-24, the renewal application for the cultivation license held by petitioner "Alaskans." Chair Martinez said the committee would use this meeting for informal problem-solving but would not make a final renewal decision at the special session.

Jana Weltzien, an attorney for petitioner Alaskans, told the committee the operator has contracted a mechanical engineer and “they tell us they can have it installed and fixed July 31.” Weltzien said the operator is ordering equipment and intends to fund part of the work from private loans because insurance payments have not yet arrived.

Ron Thompson, the mechanical engineer working on the site, described the immediate technical problem as a pressurization issue and said crews had made short-term changes to make the building negative pressure (drawing air in), requiring additional filters while final equipment is sourced. “It is a pressurization issue and we I I believe we found the issue, we know what's going on, and we can solve it,” Thompson said.

Committee members pressed for a firmer timeline. Member Mark Littlefield said he expected clearer purchase and installation dates by March 7; Thompson agreed he expected the petitioner to have purchase orders and estimated delivery/installation dates by then and said he would finalize a design promptly so sourcing could begin.

Responding to questions about short-term mitigation, Weltzien and Thompson said the operator has reduced production and deployed interim steps such as temporary filtration and negative pressure work. Weltzien said staff have “substantially reduced production” and that the business has lowered tax liability accordingly while attempting to keep employees on staff.

Chair Martinez directed that all communications about the March 7 proceeding be routed through the municipal clerk’s office (Mandy) so members receive a unified record. The committee also asked the petitioner to provide brief reports on mitigation efforts and equipment procurement through the clerk before the hearing.

No formal vote on the license renewal occurred at the special meeting. The committee’s next step is the March 7 full assembly hearing, where the committee indicated the process will include a staff report, time for the petitioner to present, time for the Midtown Community Council and named neighbor Kenneth Peterson to speak, and time for member questions and deliberations.

Kenneth Peterson, identifying himself as chair of the Midtown Community Council, spoke during audience participation and thanked the assembly for attention to the four-year history of odor complaints: “I felt alone for four years, and I no longer feel alone,” Peterson said.

The committee also reviewed related documents that will be part of the March 7 record, including AR 2025-12 and AR 2025-12s (a conditional protest to the state) and corporate counsel communications submitted by the petitioner that name the Midtown Community Council and Peterson; committee members said those materials will be part of the formal hearing record.

What happens next: the clerk will distribute a written hearing plan at least 10 business days before March 7 describing time allotments and the evidence record; the petitioner will provide updates on equipment orders and installation estimates through the clerk; and the assembly will take the formal renewal action at the March 7 hearing in the municipal building, not at this committee’s special meeting.

Ending: The committee emphasized it would not prejudge the renewal at the special meeting and reiterated that the full assembly, not the committee, will make any final licensing decision on March 7.