With only a few parcels of borough land zoned for heavy industry, the Haines Borough Planning Commission denied a petition by two Sawmill Road businesses to reclassify their heavy industrial property at Jones Point.

Takshanuk Watershed Council interim executive director Derek Poinsette and Professional Property Management owner Sean Gaffney applied in December to rezone 61 acres of land near Jones Point from heavy industrial to rural mixed use. Poinsette said Takshanuk had plans to develop the area for community recreation, education, research and conservation. The land includes a borough-owned skate park, playground, and baseball fields that are not allowable uses in a heavy industrial zone.

Planning Commission chair Rob Goldberg suggested in April to rezone the area to industrial light commercial, which would be a contiguous extension of a neighboring zone and still allow for industry and Takshanuk’s desired work.

The commission voted that suggestion down, with commissioner Kristin Hathhorn dissenting, at its May 10 meeting.

Commissioner Donnie Turner said industrial light commercial and residential mixed-use zones allow for residences, and that area should remain strictly industrial.

“If you’re actually trying to be a planning commission and not a reactive commission…we need to keep the industrial corridor,” Turner said. He said Takshanuk did a disservice to the community by purchasing heavy industrial property and later attempting to have it rezoned.

Hathhorn said whether Takshanuk’s land purchase was “right or not,” it is a viable organization in the community whose requests should be heard.

Commissioner Sylvia Heinz said she was concerned that almost all the heavy industrial zones in the borough were used for commercial purposes, and no other land in the borough had qualities suited for heavy industrial activity, like flat land away from residences.

“With the idea of a large-scale timber sale here, we need to plan on sustainable manufacturing here in town,” Heinz said. “I want to find a compromise…while still planning for a future that is still sustainable in multiple ways.”

Commissioner Jeremy Stephens suggested the commission rezone the northern portion of the property, including the Alaska Mountain Guides’ office building and campground, and the baseball fields on Sawmill Road that are on heavy industrial land.

“Losing heavy industrial land is difficult…but having split zones doesn’t make any sense to me,” Stephens said.

Heinz said she would feel more comfortable looking at the 61 acres as a whole.

Hathhorn said, “I think it can be mixed up more than we think and still be attractive to everybody.” She suggested the commission amend heavy industrial zoning code or rezone the property temporarily while commissioners and borough staff research where a heavy industrial zone could be moved.

Borough planner Holly Smith said Takshanuk and Professional Property Management cannot reapply to rezone the property to rural mixed use for up to a year, but they can more quickly apply to rezone to industrial light commercial with approval of the clerk and commission chair.

Poinsette and Takshanuk’s executive director Meredith Pochardt said Wednesday the organization expected the planning commission’s decision and plans to move forward with a new application for the industrial light commercial zone. The organization will apply for its own property to be rezoned apart from Professional Property Management that has different needs and goals.

Poinsette added, “Rural mixed-use zoning would give Takshanuk the most freedom in how we develop the Jones Point property, but we understand the concerns of some of the planning commissioners in wanting to prevent future residential development in this area. Moving forward, we are hoping to work with the planning commission on modifying borough code so that a light industrial commercial zoning option would work for us. This will allow Takshanuk to do most of what we want to do, while still preventing residential development,” Poinsette said.

Commissioners also said they would be interested in taking the issue up again independently at a future meeting.

“I think staff can be creative here with more time, but I’m on board to look at this area in the future,” Stephens said. The planning commission will next meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 14.