Kodiak Borough holds public hearing on Ouzinkie tsunami shelter rezone

Ouzinkie's tsunami shelter and tribal government offices would get a permanent home under a rezone the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly considered at its Thursday, July 16 meeting.

The Native Village of Ouzinkie, with authorization from the City of Ouzinkie, applied to reclassify Ouzinkie Tract C, Block 1, Lot 2 Remainder of USS 4871 from R1 Single Family Residential to PL Public Use Lands. An existing building on the parcel would serve as both tribal council offices and the community's tsunami shelter. The rezone is tied to preliminary subdivision S26-016, which created the lot and extends the G Street right-of-way, and takes effect only after the final plat for that subdivision is filed.

The ordinance also corrects the borough's future land use map, changing the designation from industrial to public use. The staff report noted that "the 2008 Comprehensive Plan's future land use map designated this property as industrial. This designation is no longer valid since the subject property is no longer in operation as an airport."

The Kodiak Island Borough Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 on May 20, with two commissioners absent and one seat vacant, to recommend approval. The commission found the rezone necessary for public safety and community independence. The Assembly advanced the ordinance to public hearing by a unanimous roll-call vote on July 2.

The July 16 meeting was the public hearing on adopting Ordinance No. FY2027-03. The borough took public comment by phone at (907) 486-3231 or (855) 492-9202, with written and supplemental materials due by noon on the meeting day.

Ouzinkie sits about 10 to 12 miles north of Kodiak on Spruce Island, reachable only by small plane or boat, with roughly 125 year-round residents, most of Alutiiq ancestry. The staff report cited public safety, community independence, and conformance with the 2008 comprehensive plan as findings supporting the rezone.