Anchorage commission to review master plan for 303-acre Potter Marsh Watershed Park

The 303-acre hillside that feeds the south end of Potter Marsh has been permanently protected from subdivision since a conservation easement was recorded Dec. 31, 2024. What is still undecided is how people will move through it: where trails go, where cars park, and which neighborhood streets absorb the traffic. The Anchorage Planning and Zoning Commission takes up the resulting master plan, meant to guide the park for the next 20 years, at a public hearing Monday, Aug. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Z.J. Loussac Library.

The plan proposes a main entry off Golden View Drive with a 25-space parking lot, including two accessible spaces, a school bus drop-off and a park host spot. The plan's implementation table places that vehicle infrastructure in the years 5-and-later phase. The first five years prioritize signage, access controls, trail assessments, limited trail improvements and maintenance. The later phase also calls for additional parking areas at the Bettijean Street and Feodosia Drive limited development areas, and for constructed viewpoints. The viewpoint overlooking Potter Marsh is proposed at the separate Potter Valley Road limited development area, where interpretive panels would explain how water moves from the Chugach Mountains through the forested hillside and into the marsh.

The plan concentrates main development and parking at Golden View Drive. Public feedback during the planning process raised concerns about parking on Feodosia Drive, Bettijean Street and Potter Valley Road, citing traffic and safety.

The conservation easement, held by Great Land Trust, already caps most trail treads at 36 inches and confines parking lots and restrooms to four limited development areas. The master plan cannot alter that restriction. The park contains 16 wetland units totaling 9.7 acres and more than 4.9 miles of streams. Rabbit Creek Community Council chair Tim Alderson wrote in a June 15 letter that "Approximately three-fourths of the water supporting the southern half of Potter Marsh drains off this land." The council voted to support the plan and recommended that the commission give it final approval. The Parks and Recreation Commission passed a supporting resolution on May 14.

The Planning Department recommends approval with conditions. One condition requires that a bike rack or equivalent bicycle parking be shown in the parking lot design for the Golden View Drive main entry. An advisory comment asks that bicycle parking also be included in the long-term Feodosia Drive and Bettijean Street parking areas. AMATS suggested a 39% bike-to-car parking ratio, or 15 bike spaces for every 38.5 car spaces. Reviewing agencies raised no objections.

How much of the plan gets built depends on money the department does not yet have. The plan anticipates leveraging municipal park bonds, state and federal grants, fundraising and public-private partnerships, along with volunteer labor. Residents raised long-term maintenance funding as a concern during public involvement.