Denali Borough staff plan to waive tour permit user fees again, drawing committee pushback

Denali Borough land staff plan to waive commercial land-use permit user fees again in 2027, drawing objections from all three Finance Committee members Wednesday.

Only five of an estimated 25 to 30 potential operators took part, the borough land planner said. They paid the application fee that borough code requires, but not the per-user fees.

"I think it would be a mistake to just postpone it another year," committee member Walt Warner said.

Jeremy Sanfield said the year was meant to get the program underway. "It feels like that didn't happen," he said. Chair David Alexander called delay a shame, "after all this time to be this close and then just keep putting it off."

A 2021 assembly packet considered per-participant fees and directing the revenue to trail and road maintenance. The 2024 fee schedule kept a $5 charge per vehicle or horse per tour.

The land planner cited open questions, including Dry Creek tours that operators say avoid borough land, and how the revenue would be spent. Mayor Chris Noel said operators called the flat rate unfair to hiking guides compared with ATV tours, and said they need notice because they book up to two years ahead.

No action was taken. Noel suggested a revised fee model could go to the Assembly alongside the fee schedule around January.