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Commission discusses draft conditions for renewable lease application; applicants agree to consider trail and airstrip buffers
Summary
The Denali Borough Planning Commission on Jan. 15 discussed draft lease conditions for a proposed solar IPP project near Anderson, with applicants agreeing to mark and exclude community trails and to consider buffers near the Anderson airstrip while FAA and environmental reviews continue.
Planning commissioners reviewed draft lease conditions for a proposed renewable independent power producer (IPP) solar lease on borough land near Anderson and the Clear/Anderson airstrip on Jan. 15. Commissioners and applicants focused on community concerns raised at a recent Anderson city council meeting, including existing recreational trails on the property, proximity to the airstrip and emergency/first-responder staging areas.
The applicant's team said the project is at an early layout stage and that they are prepared to exclude specific areas used by the community. The presenter, identified as Jen Miller, said she would produce an updated parcel sketch that overlays known trails and potential exclusion zones and share it with Anderson residents and borough staff for review. She described the timing as favorable for iteration before detailed design and stressed flexibility to preserve trail corridors.
Commissioners and participants also asked about the airstrip and aircraft safety. Staff and applicant representatives said the FAA review is underway; applicants noted that a 40-foot structure height is being used as an initial reference for FAA review and that equipment such as wooden distribution poles, transformers, and a potential medium-voltage interconnection will be part of later engineering work. A pilot in the public raised the suggestion of a buffer on the east side of the airstrip to provide margin in case of a botched landing; applicants said they would consider that and said they planned to use 3-D visualizations to help community members see the project footprint from the air.
Other issues raised: locations of existing radio/communications towers and power/pole lines on the borough's parcels, wet areas and wetlands on the northeastern portion of the lease area, potential conflicts with clear-airspace operations, and staging for fire/EMS operations near the airport and gravel pits. Applicants and staff discussed potential exclusion of wetlands and community recreation nodes; they also noted there is an existing battery storage and GBA distribution asset near the site that could factor into interconnection decisions.
The commission took no formal vote. Staff announced that an upcoming planning commission meeting will be held in Anderson and recommended further community meetings; applicants and staff said they would update the layout based on feedback and present the revised sketch at the February meeting in Anderson for additional public comment.
