DEFEAT: Groups object, plan to take appeal to the state and watch any digging closely.
WASILLA -- With another decision in her favor, Brenda Currier can move forward with plans to build a three-unit apartment complex on land some people claim holds Wasilla's first cemetery.
Bert Hall, appointed hearing officer in the case, upheld previous decisions by the Wasilla Planning Commission and Wasilla city planner Sandra Garley that allowed development to move forward. The city announced Hall's decision Tuesday.
The acre in question is at 851 S. Check St., off Knik-Goose Bay Road near Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. Currier has said in planning documents she would like to build housing for seniors.
Two local groups, Friends of Old Knik and Knik Tribal Chiefs Foundation, say there's at least one grave visible and as many as 10 more on the property. They've filed three appeals hoping to block development, but so far each has been denied.
Hall's decision came nearly two weeks after he heard arguments by the property owner and representatives of the two groups.
Currier and her husband, John Shadrach, told city officials if they are granted a building permit, they plan to have an archaeologist on site during portions of the construction.
Representatives from Friends of Old Knik and Knik Tribal Chiefs Foundation said the city shouldn't allow development until an investigation determined how many graves exist in the area.
A site investigation is not required before development. Garley allowed Currier to build, in compliance with state and federal laws. That may mean stopping work if any graves are found. In his order, Hall said the city has no laws governing the disturbance of grave sites.
Friends of Old Knik and Knik Tribal Chiefs Foundation members say that's not enough.
"As far as we're concerned, it's too late, because that's going to mean a bone is dug up, and that's too late," attorney Goriune Dudukgian said.
Dudukgian, of the Northern Justice Project, a civil rights firm in Anchorage, represents Friends of Old Knik and Knik Tribal Chiefs Foundation. He said he's discussing next steps with his clients.
Friends of Old Knik president Nancy Sult said she wants to appeal to the state. If building starts before that, she said, she'd be watching from nearby state land to make sure no bones are disturbed. And she would keep pressing area governments to trade an acre somewhere in the area for Currier's 1.22 acres.
"Once she's got a bone in the pile, I can go to (Alaska State) Troopers," Sult said. "As disgusting as that is, there's been no one at the borough or the state willing to step up to the plate and say, 'Hey, we've got an acre here.' "
