Harris Island Lot Subdivision Fails

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Category: News

Created on Friday, 21 February 2025 16:15

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By CATHY LI

Special to the Sentinel

A preliminary plat for a minor subdivision on Harris Island was denied, and a replat to facilitate the vacation of Neva Street was approved by the Planning Commission at its regular meeting Wednesday.

The meeting was held with only three of the five commission members present, making approval by all three necessary to pass any motion.

The Harris Island subdivision failed with Darrell Windsor and Wendy Alderson in favor and Robin Sherman against. All three commission members voted in favor of the Neva Street vacation.

Commission members Catherine Riley and Stacy Mudry were not present at the meeting.

Harris Island Subdivision

Ryan Nichols filed the motion to subdivide his lot at 305 Islander Drive, in the Single Family Low Density zone. The motion was first heard in December 2024, but commissioners voted to postpone it until February, after a meeting in which property owners would consider establishing a maintenance agreement on the subdivision’s private bridge and road, as well as on other resident concerns.  

Despite objections by other Harris Island property owners, the Planning Department recommended approval of the minor subdivision because it met city zoning requirements for minimum lot size and utilities access. The planning staff emphasized that proposals are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and approval of this subdivision would not mean automatic approval of  future subdivisions of lots on Harris Island.

Carina Nichols, the applicant’s sister, said she grew up on Harris Island and wants to protect the quality of the neighborhood. She and her brother inherited the property, and wish to split it so each would own a separate lot. A submitted letter from Barth Hamberg, who originally proposed the SFLD designation for Harris Island, also urged approval. He wrote that the intention was never to limit the neighborhood to large lots only, or to ban development altogether. 

However, Sherman worried about the adequacy of Harris Island’s public infrastructure if population density increases in the future. Many public comments from residents agreed, in addition to expressing the need to maintain the character of the neighborhood as one of Sitka’s only single-family low density residential districts. One commenter said they feared the subdivision would inspire others on the island to do the same. 

After about an hour of discussion and public comments, the preliminary plat was denied because Sherman was not convinced that the proposal met the burden of proof for access, particularly considering the potential density increase with lot subdivision.

Neva Street Replat

The approved replat was related to the planned vacation of Neva Street, an undeveloped municipal right-of-way. It involves several boundary line adjustments to formalize the vacation, resulting in five lots in the R1 single-family and duplex residential district.

The owners of record are Eric Calvin, Kris Calvin, Leif Calvin, Karen Woodard, The Welsh Family Trust, Christine Harrington, and the City and Borough of Sitka.