Kodiak planning commission set to decide Oct. 21 on Beaver Lake land sale

The Kodiak Island Borough Planning and Zoning Commission is set to decide Oct. 21 whether to recommend selling borough land near Beaver Lake for housing or keeping it as public open space, after postponing the decision Sept. 16. The commission reviews the case at a work session Wednesday.

Planning staff still recommend keeping the land, which runs along Selief Lane, Beaver Lake Drive and Beaver Lake Loop. Their report, unchanged since August, cites a 1997 plan that set the land aside as open space, its Natural Use designation and ground staff found "very wet." No wetland delineation has been done, but a USGS wetland inventory identifies wetlands and potential regulatory wetlands on both properties, and staff say development would likely require extensive drainage work and wetland mitigation, adding to the cost. The borough manager applied to sell portions of the two parcels after the Borough Lands Committee recommended it in February and October 2025. The City of Kodiak told staff its water and sewer mains along Selief Lane and Beaver Lake Drive could serve new homes.

The borough has weighed this before. In 2019, the commission adopted findings supporting denial of a plan to sell portions of the same parcels for a future residential land sale, according to the case record. Alaska News reported in September that a resident had cited that decision in a comment.

Staff reported 14 comments opposing the sale as of August, and several more opposing comments arrived before the Sept. 16 meeting. The commission's recommendation goes to the Borough Assembly, which makes the final decision.