I am the owner and developer of the Lynnvista Subdivision, which is directly across the road from Picture Point. I am writing to encourage the Haines Borough to acquire Picture Point and the waterfront between the boat harbor and Picture Point.
I have lived in Juneau for almost 40 years and the change in the way the downtown waterfront has been used is remarkable. The Juneau Assembly eventually realized that the commercial future of the downtown area was going to be driven by government and tourism. This took a while and two terrible planning errors were made in the meantime. The first was placing the court building directly in front of the Capitol. The second was placing the ugly, gray monolithic parking garage right in the middle of the waterfront. I believe that eventually both of these structures will be removed and replaced at substantial cost.
Haines can still start with a clean slate. The only way to insure that the waterfront will be used in a way which will maximize the benefit to residents and visitors is to maintain it in public ownership.
I encourage you to make the long-term investment in the property, particularly if you can do so with public funds and on favorable terms. Future generations will appreciate your wisdom and foresight.
Jan Van Dort
Juneau, AK