Anchorage Assembly to vote on burying power lines through two east-side parks

Chugach Electric Association wants to bury aging overhead power lines along East 6th Avenue, and the work would require perpetual easements through two Anchorage parks. The Anchorage Assembly takes up both ordinances Tuesday. If it approves them, the easements take effect immediately at no cost to the municipality.

The two easements cover nearly 50,000 square feet of parkland. AO 2026-86 covers Russian Jack Springs Park and AO 2026-87 covers Ira Walker Park. Both are perpetual, non-exclusive telecommunications and electrical easements running along the north property boundary of each park.

The Russian Jack Springs Park easement is a 15-foot-wide strip, with two small 20-foot-wide sections, approximately 2,558 feet in length and totaling about 38,875 square feet. The Ira Walker Park easement is a 20-foot-wide strip approximately 540 feet in length, totaling about 10,720 square feet. The underground work is intended to replace aging overhead infrastructure with buried systems that the ordinance memos say improve reliability and safety.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance submitted both ordinances on June 9, 2026. The Municipal Attorney's Office determined that neither easement carries "substantial value" under Anchorage Municipal Code 25.30.020, bypassing a full economic-impact review. The Parks and Recreation Commission approved both proposals before the Assembly vote, the Russian Jack Springs easement under Resolution 2026-11 and the Ira Walker Park easement under Resolution 2026-13.