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For nearly 60 years, Mark Cupples has had roots in the eastern edge of downtown. His parents bought land at Third Avenue and Hyder Street in the 1940s, he grew up there, and to this day he owns property and structures in the area.As a kid, he delivered newspapers to the residential quarters of the Alaska Native hospital, which opened in 1953 and sprawled over several blocks on the other side of Third Avenue from his home.The hospital's gone, replaced in the 1990s by the Alaska Native Medical Center on Tudor Road, its land turned over to the city by the federal government.Now the grassy, bluff-top expanse on the north side of Third Avenue, reaching from Ingra Street nearly to Eagle, holds construction trailers, equipment, materials and trash -- a staging area for the companies building the new Dena'ina Civic & Convention Center. Wind kicks up a thin film of dust that wanders through the construction gear.Outside the chain-link fencing, signs are going up at strategic spots: "Stop Rezoning of the Old Native Hospital."Cupples and other property owners and area businesses are the impetus for the signs, which point to a conflict flaring between them and the city. "My feeling," Cupples said, echoing the sentiments of his allies, "is the city is using the east end of downtown as a dumping ground."The issue at hand is the proposed change in zoning of 15 acres of the old hospital land. Currently, city projects, such as the convention center, can use the earthquake-vulnerable land for staging of equipment and materials. The change would allow private projects to use it as well.The city's rezoning request includes plans for a 30-foot buffer of fencing and shrubbery along Third Avenue and a promise that no structures will go on the property."The purpose of our rezone," said Bill Mehner, director of the Heritage Land Bank, which manages land for the city, "is to improve the cosmetic appearance of the property that's there now and also (use) that land as it's being utilized now but for private projects in the downtown core."Mehner listed several jobs in the thinking stages that could stir demand for such a staging area, including developer Joe Fang's potential building across the street from the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts and a planned Augustine Development project at Sixth Avenue and G Street.The idea behind the rezoning is that the city would lease property to a contractor as a storage area during the life of any project, he said. "It would be leased under a temporary construction permit" "The permit period could be one year, it could be two years, it could be three years, it could be up to five years ... but the interpretation that this administration uses is one year for temporary construction permits."Despite the city's assurances, and its limited plans for the property, residents in the area look at what has happened to the land so far and what the zoning code says could be allowed under the new industrial classification -- including "junkyards, salvage yards, airstrips," according to the code -- and fear what could be ahead.Dave Wakefield, who has lived directly across from the land for 17 years, said things look better than they did earlier in the convention center project. "Before, the trailers were almost right up against my front window," he said during a pause while working in his yard this week. As he talked, traffic scooted by on Third Avenue almost close enough to touch.Now the trailers and other equipment have been moved back from the street and the land has been tidied up. Still, Wakefield remains firm against the rezoning. If the city gets it, he said, "it seems to me they can do anything they want."The issue is scheduled for a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission on June 25. The rezoning request was rejected earlier this month by the Downtown Community Council.Paul Nangle, Community Council president, said members voted 6-2 to oppose the rezoning. "Because of other issues we've had with the city, we sympathized with the property owners," Nangle said.The city Planning Department has recommended the rezoning. The department's recommendation takes note of the seismic risks of the site and the city's promise that no structures will go there.Assemblyman Patrick Flynn, who represents the area, said lack of trust in the city appears to be behind much of the rezoning suspicions. "The property owners look at what's there now and they don't like it."Flynn predicted the proposed rezoning will have a difficult time when it goes before the Planning and Zoning Commission.One of the busiest rezoning critics is John Tatham, who has been in business in the area for 29 years and owns PIP Printing on East Fourth Avenue. He's behind the creation of the signs and is rallying foes of the proposal."This is the single best undeveloped piece of property downtown and should be dealt with carefully," he said while walking a thin strip of Third Avenue sidewalk, looking over the construction equipment.Tatham said people were OK with the idea the land would be a temporary storage area for convention center construction materials. But the issue, he said, has changed character with the rezoning request. "I'm no expert on zoning, but I understand under the zoning they want, they could put darn near anything they wanted to in there."