The Haines Borough took the first step in a project that will likely span the next decade—the development and sale of roughly 450 acres on the northeast side of Mount Riley.
At a Sept. 23 meeting, Haines Borough Assembly and planning commission members authorized staff to solicit bids for a conceptual design of the Mount Riley land, which members identified earlier this summer as an area of interest for sale.
On July 15, the planning commission and assembly met jointly to discuss lands to sell to increase the size of the borough’s permanent fund, the earnings of which help support the cost of borough government. Several areas were discussed, including Excursion Inlet and waterfront property in Portage Cove, but the Mount Riley land was by far the most popular choice for development.
At the Sept. 23 meeting, planning and zoning tech Libby Jacobson gave an overview of the Mount Riley property, including road access points, the topography and area uses identified in the borough’s comprehensive plan.
At the meeting, borough clerk and interim manager Alekka Fullerton polled the assembly and planning commission members, seeking input on whether the borough should develop the land or sell to a developer, what kind of lot sizes the land should be divided into, and whether water and sewer should be extended to the properties.
“It just depends how big of a project we want to take on and how much influence we want to have over it,” Fullerton said. “Certainly, we could make stipulations if we sold it to a developer, but I think that we will have more power and control over the development if we start working down the road of development ourselves.”
The assembly and planning commission members were overwhelmingly in favor of having the borough develop the land to allow more control over the project’s outcome. There was also consensus that lot sizes should vary to appeal to a broader range of potential buyers.
“I think a variety of (lot sizes) is an excellent idea. Thinking of everybody in the community would be good,” planning commissioner Sarah Roark said. “My only concern is if the acreage is too small, we do have to worry about well and septic.”
There was no consensus when it came to extending water and sewer to the properties. Without access to the utilities, lots will need to be large enough to allow adequate separation between well and septic systems.
Fullerton said it’s a bit early in the process to make a decision about the utilities.
“We need to understand more about how feasible it would be,” she said. Hiring a firm to create a conceptual plan for the property will give the borough a better sense of “how feasible it is and what we’re talking about in terms of money.”
Soliciting bids for a conceptual plan is the first step in the process of developing land for sale. Public facilities director Ed Coffland said he expects the borough will put out a request for proposals sometime this fall or winter.
The conceptual design will allow the borough to answer questions about whether the current water and sewer capacity is enough to support a new subdivision, and where roads and potential recreational areas should go, Coffland said. This, in turn, will influence decisions about where to locate housing developments.
“You get the four hundred and fifty acres conceptually laid out, and from there you can decide, let’s do this section first,” Coffland said. Once the borough identifies a portion of the 450 acres to develop, the next step is to create a preliminary design, which would be opened to public comment.
“Once all the questions are answered and we have a final design for the construction, we’ll hire a contractor to build it, and put the lots up for sale,” Coffland said.
From conceptual design to putting the first batch of lots on the market will likely take several years, assuming funding is available, Coffland said. To develop the entire 450-acre area will take closer to 5-10 years.
This month, the borough successfully sold a number of lots already prepped for sale, which assembly and planning commission members identified as “low hanging fruit” at the July 15 meeting. These include three lots at Chilkat Acres in Swanson Harbor and one at Chilkat Lake. The borough also has a buyer for the Human Resources Building, which sold for $130,000. Fullerton said she wouldn’t disclose the buyer’s name until the contract is finalized.