Bethel weighs fixes or demolition for three problem properties

Bethel will hold a nuisance abatement hearing Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. to decide the fate of three problem properties the city has chased for months, and in one case nearly two years: 410 Owl Street, 17 Kwethluk Lane and 455 Ridgecrest Drive.

The Bethel City Council, not city staff, will decide whether to order the owners to fix the defects or to remove or demolish the structures. If an owner doesn't comply and the city ends up doing the work itself, the cost becomes a lien against the property, a charge attached to the land.

City records show enforcement stretching back to 2024. The Owl Street case began with an October 2024 mailing, and cleanup is listed as in progress. The Kwethluk Lane case stalled after a December 2024 letter came back undelivered and a search for the owner turned up nothing. At Ridgecrest Drive, the city has sent letters since May 2025 — one certified letter went unclaimed, another was marked received — but officials say they still haven't reached the owner.

The council will determine whether each nuisance report is accurate. Owners or their representatives can attend the hearing, present evidence and appeal any order to Alaska Superior Court.

The three properties are a small slice of the problem. The city's nuisance tracking list runs to dozens of Bethel addresses in various stages of trouble, from burned houses and junk vehicles to squatters and lots whose owners are dead or unknown.

The Planning Commission will take up the nuisance backlog and a draft rewrite of the city's nuisance code at its Aug. 13 meeting. Residents who want to weigh in have until 4 p.m. that day to submit written comments to the planning department.