Kodiak Lands Committee directs staff to study housing development on youth baseball field

The Kodiak Island Borough Lands Committee directed staff Thursday to investigate whether the 16-acre Killarney Hills parcel could be developed for residential housing, despite the site's current use as a youth baseball field and its rejection for sale eight years ago.

Committee Vice Chair Bo Whiteside proposed the centrally located parcel could accommodate at least 30 residential lots with good utility access. The site has been used for recreation for more than 25 years under informal agreements with the city, including as the home field for the coach pitch baseball league. Borough records show the parcel has appeared in prior variance and rezoning matters, indicating earlier land-use attention before the current housing discussion.

Whiteside said he was prioritizing housing needs over the practice field. "I'm prioritizing the needs of the community over a practice field when there's numerous ball fields teams can practice on," he said. He framed the committee's work as identifying parcels suitable for workforce housing, part of a broader land-disposal framework the committee has been building. Housing Action Plan materials say the committee's first goal is increasing housing availability and affordability.

Committee member Grohn said the parcel was purchased decades ago for a hospital site and asked staff to verify utility challenges, wetlands extent, and bedrock development costs. "It is bedrock, so developmental costs will be increased," Grohn said. He also noted the borough may need to notify the city under a joint use agreement if the parcel is deemed surplus.

Committee member Jon Townsend said members want more information on history, wetlands, bedrock and effects on current relationships or agreements before proceeding. "It sounds like we're interested, but we just didn't. We obviously want a lot more information, specifically the history, wetlands, bedrock, how it might affect some current relationships or agreements that we have there," Townsend said.

The committee will meet again July 20.