Sitka planners favor 30 to 40 single-family lots near Sitka High School

Sitka planning commissioners favor a plan for 30 to 40 single-family lots near Sitka High School, with additional land held back for denser housing later. The commission reviewed the idea at its Sept. 2 meeting at Harrigan Centennial Hall, according to the City and Borough of Sitka's fall newsletter.

Commissioners examined early lot layouts for two sites the city says have strong near-term potential for new housing: municipal land next to Osprey Street and the land near the high school. For Osprey Street, they favored a mix of single-family homes for ownership and new apartments. The reserved space near the high school could someday hold dormitory-style or apartment buildings, the newsletter said.

The plans come from the second phase of the city's housing land study, which the Planning Department and consultant PND Engineering are carrying out. It takes five priority areas identified in the first phase and looks at them in more detail.

Alaska News previously covered the search narrowing to two parcels with about eight buildable acres, amid what that article described as a critical shortage of affordable housing.

The other three areas in the study need more work: land between Sitka High School and Gavan Hill, the Benchlands corridor along Kramer Avenue, and land around Harbor Mountain Bypass Road. The city said those areas are larger and face more complicated obstacles in the near term. Current work there includes hydrology, natural hazard assessment, sensitive habitat mapping and utility capacity analysis.

The Planning Department expects the study's findings to be final before the end of the year, which could lead to public discussion and next steps, though no date has been set.