Juneau residents urge Assembly to pause Telephone Hill demolition as leaders defend site-prep plan

Hundreds of residents and advocates pressed the Juneau City and Borough Assembly on Sept. 22 to halt planned evictions and demolition on Telephone Hill until engineering, developer interest and a formal redevelopment plan are in hand.

At the meeting, many speakers described Telephone Hill as a historic, intergenerational neighborhood and asked the city to delay clearing homes so residents — many of them seniors — have more time and alternatives. "Please do not rush," said Catherine Fritz, a resident and former CBJ project manager. Joshua Adams, who described himself as a rescuer of endangered historic homes, told the assembly, "Our government is broken and plumbers fix things," and urged officeholders to reverse course.

The appeals occurred during an extended public-comment block that drew more than two dozen individual testimonies. Speakers cited conflicting cost figures, worries about historic-resources reviews and the absence of a signed development contract. Multiple speakers repeated a $9 million figure for demolition and related costs; city…