Sitka proposes moving six cemeteries into its restrictive cemetery zoning district

The City and Borough of Sitka has proposed moving six cemetery properties, among them the Sitka National Cemetery and the Russian Orthodox Cemetery, into the city's "C" cemetery district. The Sitka Planning Commission holds a public hearing on the zoning map change Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The cemetery district was created in 2019 to provide restrictive zoning for burial grounds. The six cemeteries now sit in public lands or residential zoning, which a Planning Office memo says allows redevelopment that, "in a worst-case scenario, could disturb those interred." The memo calls that unlikely under state and federal regulations, but says similar disinterment has occurred in the city and borough "in the near-distant past."

Local stakeholders and tribal citizens identified protecting the remains of Sitka's Indigenous residents as "of particular interest," the memo says. It calls the rezoning a gesture of respect toward all interred in the cemeteries, of "particular resonance" for those "historically disinterred without regard."

Four of the properties are zoned P, for public lands: the Old City and Pioneer Cemeteries, owned by the state; Moose Cemetery, owned by the City and Borough of Sitka; the Sitka National Cemetery on Sawmill Creek Road, owned by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and Sitka Memorial Park Cemetery next door, owned by the Sitka Cemetery Association.

The two church cemeteries carry R-1 single-family and duplex residential zoning. The Russian Orthodox Cemetery on Marine Street belongs to the Orthodox Diocese of Sitka & Alaska, and the memo lists the Lutheran Church of Sitka as owner of the Lutheran Cemetery on Princess Way.

Owners approved rezoning four cemeteries and did not object to two, according to the memo, which says staff heard back from five of the six owners contacted. Owners asked that one cemetery keep its existing zoning because a rectory stands on the property.

The Historic Preservation Commission recommended the rezoning on Oct. 14, according to its draft minutes. Staff cite the 2026 Historic Preservation Plan, adopted in April, which names cemetery rezoning a priority goal.

The hearing begins at 7 pm at Harrigan Centennial Hall, with testimony limited to three minutes per person. The Planning Office also accepts written comments before the hearing.