Committee reviews HB216 to authorize Alaska Railroad land transfers to Whittier; city and railroad outline plans

The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee took invited testimony Feb. 10 on House Bill 216, which would authorize the Alaska Railroad Corporation to convey identified parcels of railroad land to the city of Whittier.

Representative Kai Holland, sponsor of HB216, said the bill is largely administrative: when the railroad was transferred to the state, statute required that any disposition of railroad land receive legislative approval. The measure identifies up to five parcels the legislature could authorize for transfer; Holland and staff emphasized the bill authorizes but does not obligate a sale.

Aidan Nickel, staff to Representative Holland, told the committee Whittier relies heavily on railroad land (the railroad holds roughly 85% of the city’s developable land) and that a 1998 master lease limited the city’s ability to capture full economic benefits. Nickel said negotiations between the railroad and city have been ongoing; a conditional letter of intent and parcel surveying would define boundaries for any final conveyance.

Megan Clement, external affairs director for the Alaska Railroad Corporation, told the committee the railroad requires board approval and a board finding that the land is not necessary for railroad purposes before any sale. Clement said the railroad’s board recently passed a resolution approving sale of areas of interest 1, 2 and 3 as identified in a conditional letter of intent and that sales, if completed, would occur at fair market value as required by statute. She also said the bill’s authorization of areas 4 and 5 would allow the parties to revisit additional parcels later if the board directs.

City manager Jackie Wilde described the three in‑town parcels the city seeks to acquire, saying one parcel is a little over 35 acres and that roughly 90% of Whittier’s residents live in a single large building near the parcels. Wilde said the city has developed a waterfront economic development plan and a roughly 30‑year capital improvement plan, is working on brownfield cleanup for some lots, and that not owning land has made it difficult to apply for certain federal grants. She told the committee Whittier receives more than 700,000 visitors a year, which the city says supports a need for additional housing and commercial opportunities.

Committee members asked whether parcels are needed for railroad operations and whether environmental assessments or other due diligence will be required. Railroad and staff witnesses said those matters would be handled through the purchase and sale process and the conditional letter of intent; the board must determine a parcel is not necessary to railroad operations before a sale. A question about whether the city could resell or subdivide the land after transfer drew the response that a sale to the city would be a complete sale under the terms discussed.

The committee set HB216 aside to accommodate budget subcommittee scheduling and to allow the parties to complete contractual and due‑diligence steps; no committee vote was taken. The cochairs reminded the public that written comments may be submitted to the committee email address recorded on the hearing record.

Next steps: the committee will revisit HB216 after required due diligence and scheduling by the budget subcommittee.