Kodiak rezone would raise Cliff Point lot minimums to five acres

Twenty lots along Kodiak's Cliff Point shoreline would fall under a zoning district with a five-acre minimum lot size, up from two acres now, cutting how many homes can be built there. The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly took the rezone up in public hearing, and the measure remains pending.

The developer asked for the change. Oceanfront Kodiak manager Michael Martin Jr. told the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 8 that the existing model had trouble "getting traction and interest in the properties" given Kodiak's economic and pricing conditions.

Borough code sets the rural residential minimum lot area at two acres and the conservation district's at five, with minimum lot width rising from 200 feet to 250. The conservation district is written to maintain open space while still allowing single-family dwellings, lodges and recreational cabins. Nearly 97,000 acres around the Kodiak road system already carry it.

It also brings a 50-foot buffer requirement from any anadromous stream. Community Development Director Chris French told the commission that moving back to the conservation district puts that requirement in place at the borough level for any development on the property.

The commission recommended approval 4-2 on July 15, its only split vote that evening, over the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge's objection about possible harm to adjacent refuge waters.

French said the ordinance takes effect only when final plats for the four subdivisions are submitted. The hearing is still open.