By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly on Tuesday will consider a land transfer for an affordable housing project, revisit the emergency face mask ordinance and requirements, and look at rezoning city land from Residential-1 to Recreation.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Harrigan Centennial Hall. Remote access also is available.
The agenda also has a few financial matters, including whether to have sales tax free days, resolutions related to transboundary salmon rivers and the new seaplane base; a maintenance agreement for benches; and updating information on boards and commissions.
Community Land Trust
An ordinance up for second and final reading would transfer two more city-owned parcels on Halibut Point Road to the Sitka Community Land Trust for construction of affordable housing.
The land trust held two open house events Saturday and Sunday resulting in four new applicants starting the process to buy homes that have yet to be constructed, organizers said.
“We came away very, very happy,” land trust co-executive director Randy Hughey said of the event.
The parcels in the ordinance for transfer to the land trust are 1410 and 1414 Halibut Point Road, the former location of the city shops. The trust has built three homes nearby at 1306 HPR, with plans for a total of seven on that parcel. The land transfer up for consideration Tuesday would allow for seven more homes to be built for sale, and one for a rental.
Under the land trust model, the land stays in the ownership of the land trust, and the homes are sold to qualifying homeowners who meet income requirements. The goal is for the homes to be “perpetually affordable,” with the three-bedroom home prices at around $270,000.
“We sell them for as low as we can,” Hughey said. “We’re not trying to make a profit, and we’re selling them for as little as we can.”
Noting the skyrocketing costs of construction materials, Hughey said general contractor Sam Smith is working with the land trust to bring costs down, while creating homes “that are still high-quality and durable.”
Co-executive director Mim McConnell said about 60 people attended the weekend open houses. Both McConnell and Hughey said the visitors were impressed with the quality of the homes.
Face Covering
The Assembly voted at its last meeting to extend the emergency city mask mandate until the end of this month. The ordinance being introduced Tuesday night calls for a mask requirement to go into effect automatically in the future whenever Sitka is on “high” alert for COVID. The requirement would be removed when the alert level drops to any level below “high.” As proposed, the ordinance would expire March 22, 2022.
One of the three co-sponsors, Thor Christianson, said surges in cases can happen quickly, and he believes it will be easier to have a clear mask policy in place rather than trying to respond quickly every time a spike hits.
“It’s been increasingly obvious we may be dealing with this over a long time,” Christianson said. “We could end up with this again in another few months... I hope we can get through this surge and that it won’t come up again, but I think we need to be ready.”
The face covering requirement covers a number of indoor spaces, including grocery stores, pharmacies, retail stores, public transportation and bars and restaurants, except while eating and drinking. There are also a number of exceptions including children under 2, and individuals having trouble breathing.
HPR Rezone
Two items are related to the city-owned tract at 4951 Halibut Point Road. The Assembly agreed to lease the 17-acre parcel to Shee Atika Inc, which is working with Adventure Sitka LLC on a visitor attraction at the site.
One of the items is final approval of the rezoning of property from R-1 single family and duplex to R Recreation district.
City staff in a memo to the Assembly said Recreation was deemed the best zone for the property and its planned uses because “it aims to protect recreational enjoyment of lands in the district, preserve the natural setting, and reasonably limit heavier and/or denser residential, commercial and industrial uses.”
An item higher on the agenda is for final approval of establishment of conditional uses in the Recreation zone for eating and drinking places, amusement and entertainment, and outdoor amphitheater, all of which are planned in the visitor attraction on HPR.
The Baranof Property Owners Association applied for other zoning text changes in the Recreation zone. The townsite is zoned Recreation.
