Non-Indigenous Alaskan culture is rooted in the individual’s right to do as she pleases – at least we pretend it is, until she wants to live a non-traditional lifestyle. What kind of dwelling someone chooses to live in, on their own property, should not require a special permitting process or the approval of one’s neighbors. 

Let’s be real. Anyone who applies for a permit to live in a yurt within the new restricted zoning is likely to come up against resistance from at least one neighbor, community member, or Planning Commission member. 

Haines is insanely expensive and making a life here is a test of fortitude. Adding any additional barriers that prevent young folks – or people of any age who wish to live in a round home made of canvas and wood – from being able to actualize their dreams is deeply problematic. 

It doesn’t seem like it is actually about yurts, but about the culture, values, and politics of the kind of people who typically choose to live in yurts. 

The immediate future is a place where the three-bedroom, single-family-home with a nice lawn that all the neighbors approve of, is totally out of reach for most people. 

So much of the conversation within the Borough is about economic development and attracting new folks to town. I guess the new folks we are hoping to attract are not the kind that would either need or choose to live in a yurt.

Tyler Huling