Skagway planners recommend claiming state land near border station, Long Bay

Skagway's Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to recommend the Assembly claim 55 acres of state land next to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station, plus available land at Long Bay and between Upper Dewey and Devil's Punchbowl.

The selections would go toward the borough's remaining 118-acre state land entitlement. Skagway is entitled to 7,977 acres in all; 7,846 have been conveyed and 13 more are approved for conveyance.

Chair Laura Mabee made the motion, which passed with no discussion and no public comment.

Borough Manager Emily Deach's Aug. 28 memo said 55 of the remaining acres are in conditional approval, set aside by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to be drawn on near the end so the borough would not exceed its allotment. Deach gave the commission two options: take the 55 acres and pick 63 more, or give them up and choose all 118 acres elsewhere.

The commission chose to keep the 55 acres and add the Long Bay and Dewey land. Its memo to the mayor and Assembly, signed by Mabee, says the selections would support Comprehensive Plan goals for recreation and that the land by the border station would improve access and allow additional activity.

At an Oct. 27 work session, commissioners said most of the available land is steep, hard to reach or without utilities. Mabee said recreational space "is about all I see on here." Commissioners called Long Bay a natural recreation area and noted the Devil's Punchbowl trail crosses a parcel near the top of that area. The Dewey selection would make the borough's ownership there continuous.

On Thursday Mabee said the commission determined nothing beyond these selections for the rest of the acreage. The memo does not say how many acres the Long Bay and Dewey selections would add or whether the three would use up the full 118.

The memo is on the Assembly's Nov. 19 agenda for its 7 pm meeting as a committee report, not an action item.