Alaska Administrative Code
Title 3 - Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
Part 9 - Division of Trade and Development
Chapter 57 - Alaska Regional Economic Assistance Program
3 AAC 57.060 - Alaska regional development organization designation process

(a) An application for designation of a regional organization as an Alaska regional development organization shall be filed with the department. The application material must contain a map delineating boundaries; a description of the proposed Alaska regional development organization, its board representation, and its bylaws; formal resolutions supporting the application from three-fourths of the organized communities in the region (in the case of an unincorporated community, the resolution must be from the traditional governing body); and formal resolutions supporting the application from three-fourths of the nonprofit organizations in the region that are, as outlined in their articles of incorporation, directly involved in community or regional economic development activities. An application for funding the proposed Alaska regional development organization may accompany the application for designation.

(b) Within 10 working days of its receipt, the department will review an application for designation and make a determination as to whether it is in compliance with the requirements in 3 AAC 57.030, 3 AAC 57.040, and 3 AAC 57.050.

(c) If the department determines that the application does not meet the requirements in (b) of this section, it will be returned to the applicant with an explanation of its deficiency and further processing will be suspended until the deficiency is addressed.

(d) If the department determines that the application meets the requirements in (b) of the section, it will publish a public notice of the department's intent to designate the applicant an Alaska regional development organization. The public notice will describe the application of the proposed Alaska regional development organization, its boundaries, and board make-up; will state that the application is available for inspection; and will provide 30 days for submission of comments regarding the proposal to the department. A copy of the public notice will be given to any person who has requested it in writing. The public notice will be published through conspicuous advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the region, and on radio and tv stations in the region. To the extent practicable, notice will be posted by the department in villages and municipalities in the region.

(e) If, at the end of the comment period, there are no unresolved conflicts or major areas of concern, the department will designate the applicant an Alaska regional development organization.

(f) If substantive objections are received during the comment period, or if a competing application is submitted before the end of the comment period which meets program requirements in 3 AAC 57.030, 3 AAC 57.040 and 3 AAC 57.050 and (a) of this section, the department will suspend any action concerning designation of an Alaska regional development organization in that region. The department will provide written notification of the suspension to the applicant and all persons who commented on the application. The department will also provide a copy of all written comments to the applicant. A suspended application is subject to (g) of this section.

(g) The department will not mediate conflicts. Conflicts arising from substantive objections or competing applications for designation of an Alaska regional development organization must be resolved by the given region. An application will not be reconsidered until that region can provide proof that general agreement has been reached by a majority of parties on record who expressed a substantive objection during the public comment period or submitted a competing application before the end of the comment period.

(h) When the substantive objections are addressed to the satisfaction of the department, or, in the case of competing applications, when a resolution that is acceptable to the department is reached, the application will be processed in accordance with (e) of this section.