Daily Sitka Sentinel

City Planners Approve Housing-Health Facility

By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer

The Sitka Planning Commission unanimously approved all agenda items in its first meeting of the year, and re-elected commissioners Chris Spivey and Darrell Windsor as chair and vice chair.

SEARHC requested a lot merger of the properties at 802, 810, and  814 Halibut Point Road and 200 Brady Street, in the C-1 general commercial district.

The lots are at the site of SEARHC’s long-term care facility — formerly Sitka Community Hospital — and the former site of Moore Clinic.

SEARHC representative Maegan Bosak said the health care provider has plans to build a multi-use facility with 40 efficiency apartments and a clinic on the lower level. She said SEARHC is still working on how to provide parking for the complex, and isn’t far along in the planning and design process.

The lot merger and development of the area would require a new driveway for the Harborview Condos.

Linda Olsen, president of the Harborview Condo Association, said the condo association has reached an agreement with SEARHC, and the new driveway would be better for the complex’s residents.

“We are happy to have this done by SEARHC,” she said.

Short-Term Rentals

The panel approved two short-term rental conditional use permits, but before passing the first one, commissioners expressed concern about the effect short- term rentals are having on the availability of long-term rentals in Sitka.

The first request was by Tim Lobdell, who said he wants to make the upper unit of his duplex at 1301A Halibut Point Road a short-term rental. He lives in the lower unit of the duplex, and the upper unit has been a long-term rental the last six months, he said.

The property is in the R-1 single-family and duplex residential district.

Commissioner Wendy Alderson said she doesn’t like seeing long-term rentals converted to short-term, though noting that the commission has approved these requests in the past.

Commissioners Katie Riley, Spivey and Windsor agreed, and said they needed to keep an eye on the density of short-term rentals in Sitka neighborhoods.

The second request was approved with less discussion. It was by Kris Pearson for a short-term conditional use permit for the efficiency above his garage at 1935 Dodge Circle, in the R-1 single-family and duplex residential district. He said he had no plans to make it a long-term rental.

Affordable Housing Variance

Jill Hirai requested a platting variance to reduce the minimum lot size from 6,000 square feet to 4,800 square feet, and a preliminary plat to result in two lots at 708 Indian River Road in the R-2 MHP single-family, duplex, and mobile home zoning district.

The lot is 9,600 square feet, which Hirai said is more space than is needed to build a small house.

Hirai does not currently own the lot, but plans on buying it from owners Jerome and Sarah Mahoskey. She said that most properties for sale in Sitka are either too large and expensive, or too dense and not in the right area.

Before granting approval of the request, commission members expressed approval of the concept as an opportunity for more affordable housing, and indicated that they may consider code changes to make this kind of subdivision easier in the future, provided there is infrastructure in place to do so.