Anchorage Assembly chair proposes conditional protest of Midtown hotel's liquor license

Anchorage Assembly Chair Anna Brawley has proposed a conditional protest of a new tourism liquor license for the Courtyard by Marriott Midtown. The Assembly posted notice of the hearing Friday and will take public testimony Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The license would carry restaurant and hotel/motel endorsements for Anchorage MC Holding, LLC, at 4960 A Street. According to the notice, the protest would stand pending satisfaction of municipal requirements and would authorize the municipal clerk to take certain action. The notice does not say which requirements the hotel has yet to meet.

In other conditional protests this year, the Assembly has cited unpaid municipal taxes or missing fire or health department certifications, and the resolutions let the clerk lift the protest once those conditions were met. The Crazy Horse and Eagle River Alehouse faced protests over fire and tax issues last month.

The 141-room hotel burned during construction in 2019 and has sat vacant since. Its application says it plans an on-site dining facility serving registered guests and their invitees, and it does not plan to stock alcohol in guest rooms.

On Aug. 18 the Assembly held a hearing on a separate approval for the hotel: an alcohol special land use permit, the city zoning approval needed to serve alcohol at the site. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance's administration recommended approving it. A Planning Department staff report said 121 mailed notices drew no public comments, and the Midtown Community Council offered no feedback.

The Nov. 17 hearing begins at 6 pm in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library. In-person testimony requires no sign-up and is taken first come, first served. Written or phone testimony is due by 5 pm Monday, Nov. 16, through the Assembly's online testimony form.