State boundary commission revisits a rule that could stop Eaglexit before a full review

Alaska's Local Boundary Commission meets Wednesday, Sept. 30, to take up a state rule that could stop Eagle River and Chugiak's proposed break from Anchorage before the plan ever gets a full hearing.

The five-member commission meets remotely at 2 pm to continue discussing whether to repeal the rule, 3 AAC 110.270(e). The one-page agenda lists it as continued discussion and does not list a vote.

The rule applies when a group wants to pull territory out of an existing borough and form a new borough at the same time. It requires the new borough to have a "substantially larger" population and area than the territory leaving. The rule says that requirement serves the Alaska Constitution's goal of keeping the number of local governments to a minimum.

Eaglexit wants to detach Anchorage Assembly District 2, including Eagle River, Chugiak, Birchwood, Eklutna and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and incorporate a new Chugach Regional Borough. Commission staff said in January that the group's most recent draft petition would fail the rule.

Michael Tavoliero, an Eaglexit board member, asked the commission to repeal the rule, and the group filed a formal repeal petition in March. Eaglexit argues the rule imposes a size test that isn't in state law and can block a borough that might otherwise work before commissioners ever weigh its finances, services, boundaries or transition plan. The group also says two earlier informal staff reviews of its drafts did not flag the rule. It asks for repeal only, not a replacement standard.

Repealing the rule would remove one hurdle, not approve the Chugach Regional Borough. A formal case would still require technical review, public notice, evidence, a hearing and a commission decision. Depending on the method used, an approved boundary change would then go to voters or the Legislature.

Ethics rulings sideline two commissioners

Commissioner Richard "Clayton" Trotter may not take part in the Sept. 30 discussion. The attorney general's office found that his early support for Eaglexit, and help the group received through the Justice Foundation, a nonprofit legal organization where he serves as unpaid general counsel, created a disqualifying personal interest. The bar covers deliberation, procedural involvement, recommendations and voting.

Chair Larry Wood, who also lives in Eagle River, may take part next week because the commission is considering a statewide regulation rather than Eagle River's specific boundaries.

If Eaglexit files its detachment petition, however, both Wood and Trotter must recuse themselves. The attorney general's office concluded that their homes lie inside the proposed detachment area and that a new borough could directly affect taxes, services, governance and property values there.

Trotter disputed the finding. In a 2023 disclosure to commission staff, he said neither he nor the foundation was paid for the help, that it ended once the group incorporated, and that he could participate fairly. He asked the Department of Law to reconsider. Acting Attorney General Cori Mills declined Aug. 28, saying the June opinion stands and that acting against it could make commission decisions voidable.

That leaves four eligible commissioners for the rule discussion and, under the current membership, three for any future Eaglexit boundary case.

State regulations require a majority of the commission's appointed members, three of five, to either accept or reject a proposed boundary change. If the membership and ethics rulings stay the same when an Eaglexit petition reaches a decision, all three eligible commissioners would have to agree for the commission to decide it either way.

Signatures, but no case yet

Eaglexit is collecting signatures in Assembly District 2. Under state rules, a voter-initiated borough detachment petition needs signatures from at least 25% of registered voters in the area proposed for detachment.

Eaglexit submitted a draft petition for informal staff review in November 2025, and staff returned it with comments in January. Informal review does not open a boundary case, and the state's current-petitions page lists no Eaglexit petition.

A separate proposal would annex parts of the same area into the Matanuska-Susitna Borough instead of creating a new borough. The Mat-Su Planning Commission endorsed that idea in August, but the Borough Assembly has not opened a formal annexation case. Alaska News previously reported on that effort.

The meeting begins at 2 pm Sept. 30. Zoom and phone access information is on the commission's agenda.