Borough Committee Works to Open Up Land to Public

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly is slowly advancing towards opening up land in Kodiak. Two items on the agenda of the upcoming Kodiak Island Borough Assembly regular meeting will address land use, and one directly answers the eviction of Jackson Mobile Home Park residents because of the park’s closure and the struggle to find a space for trailers.

One of the two resolutions under new business is a possible license agreement for the temporary outdoor storage of displaced mobile homes. According to the meeting packet, Assemblyman Kyle Crow proposed the resolution and it would open up two borough-owned locations as temporary storage: one at the end of Selief Lane and one at the borough landfill in the Monashka Bay area.

The Selief lane lot had previously been used for outdoor storage during high school construction and it may have space for 30 to 35 mobile homes according to a letter from Resource Management Officer Duane Dvorak dated to January. In the same letter, Dvorak writes the landfill area may provide space for 10 mobile homes. A draft agreement mentions conditions such as inspection for asbestos and lead-based paint and the necessity of mobile home owners to provide their own “tie-downs” should they like to secure their trailers against wind and earthquakes.

The other resolution under new business could open up land for the public. According to the agenda packet, the Borough Lands Committee has been meeting since December 2015 in an attempt to answer the need for more buildable land in Kodiak. The resolution lists thirteen parcels of land the committee has identified for land sale in fall 2016.

If the assembly goes forward on this, the packet explains the lands will need to undergo certain preparations, like zoning changes and surveying. The resolution says some of those properties had previously received approval for sale which was later withdrawn, but notes that the need for land now justifies overcoming whatever obstacles got in the way before.

Both resolutions are on the agenda for Thursday’s Borough Assembly regular meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the assembly chambers.