Assembly to hear natural burial cemetery proposal for South Anchorage

The Anchorage Assembly will hold a public hearing June 9 on transferring a 9.6-acre Heritage Land Bank parcel to Alaska Natural Burial, a nonprofit that would operate Anchorage's first natural burial cemetery at no cost to taxpayers.

The parcel sits off Goldenview Drive in South Anchorage, across from Moen Park and uphill from Potter Marsh Watershed Park. The municipality would convey the land for zero dollars under competitive disposal rules that allow below-market transfers when a project provides public benefits. The Heritage Land Bank produced a concept document for the site in 2023. Alaska Natural Burial submitted a formal proposal in 2024.

The proposal addresses cemetery capacity needs without bond funding. Anchorage voters rejected bond measures that would have funded new municipal cemeteries in Eagle River and Girdwood at $1.57 million each. The downtown municipal cemetery is nearly full.

"For people who are not interested in being cremated, there are very few options in Anchorage these days other than if you have access to one of those privately reserved spots of the cemetery," Assembly Member Zac Johnson said during a Friday work session.

Alaska Natural Burial plans to charge less than $5,000 per burial, comparable to current municipal cemetery rates. The nonprofit would preserve the site's natural character with low-density burials, restricted monuments, and no large gravestones. The conservation burial concept allows the land to function as both cemetery and wildlife habitat.

The Heritage Land Bank appraised the parcel at just over $500,000. Land Management Officer Ryan Yell said the municipality can dispose of the property below market value because of the public benefits the cemetery would provide.

Assembly Member Zac Johnson asked whether natural burials could risk water contamination or wildlife disturbance. Land Management Officer Emma Gibney said Alaska Natural Burial will work with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to create a document with guidelines for best practices to avoid human-wildlife conflict. The document will be supplied to the Heritage Land Bank prior to disposal. Yell said groundwater concerns will be addressed through the Title 21 permitting process and through compliance with Green Burial Council natural burial ground standards.

The disposal includes conditions requiring Alaska Natural Burial to comply with Green Burial Council standards, develop a wildlife conflict mitigation plan with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and establish a perpetual care fund. Rachel Bernhardt with Alaska Natural Burial said a percentage of all interment fees will automatically go into a perpetual care and maintenance fund that cannot be accessed until the cemetery is at capacity. She said the nonprofit expects to begin its first interments in one to two years if approvals and fundraising proceed.