Lawsuit argues Houston-area land transfer violates state constitution

PALMER — A lawsuit filed Thursday in Alaska Superior Court contends that a planned no-cost transfer of state land from the Department of Natural Resources to the state’s economic development agency is unconstitutional.

The suit was filed against DNR and Gov. Mike Dunleavy by Joseph Geldhof, a Juneau-based attorney, on behalf of longtime Juneau resident and former University of Alaska regent Eric Forrer and former state Rep. David Eastman, who lives in Meadow Lakes.

The proposed transfer would give 30 square miles of land abutting Houston, Willow and Meadow Lakes to the state-run Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, for future projects that could include an industrial park with data centers, according to state documents. Lawmakers have raised questions about whether the proposed transfer is legal.

The suit contends the transfer violates seven sections of the state constitution, including provisions requiring due process and uniform application of the law. It says the transfer is against the public interest and “violates the separation of powers inherent in the Alaska Constitution.” The filing asks the court to block the state from moving forward with the plan.

The suit is intended to tie up the transfer in litigation and prevent Dunleavy from pushing it through before he leaves office in early December, Forrer said.

The proposal is “a wild violation of several articles in the Constitution. What you’re allowed to do with public land doesn't include just giving it away for the hell of it,” he said. “We sued just to stop him. It’s a roadblock — a boulder in the road.”

Forrer said he used a similar tactic in 2018 to block then-Gov. Bill Walker from signing a law that would have allowed the state to sell up to $1 billion in bonds to pay tax credits owed to oil companies. Forrer filed a lawsuit arguing that the law would create an unconstitutional “bond debt scheme.” The Alaska Supreme Court ultimately ruled in his favor in September 2020.

The proposed AIDEA transfer “is so brazenly unconstitutional that Alaskans from every part of the state, and from all across the political spectrum, should stand against it,” Eastman wrote Friday in a post on his website announcing the suit. Eastman has also circulated a petition asking Mat-Su-area state legislators to block the transfer.

Forrer said he teamed up with Eastman on the lawsuit to show that the topic transcends party lines. Forrer describes his political views as “left,” while Eastman, a Republican, is known for conservative positions that some members of his party consider extreme.

“This is not a right or left issue,” Forrer said.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, Houston City Council, Meadow Lakes Community Council and Willow Area Community Organization have passed resolutions opposing the transfer.

The suit was filed in state Superior Court in Juneau. Officials with the Department of Natural Resources declined to comment Friday, saying they had not yet been served with the suit.

AIDEA officials declined to comment Friday because the agency is not a named party in the suit.

Eastman is running for the state House in District 27 against incumbent Jubilee Underwood.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com

This story was updated Oct. 26 to include additional information from Eric Forrer.