Faced with a housing shortage, the borough assembly and planning commission will consider whether to allow adding small apartments, sometimes called “granny flats,” to single-family-zoned lots. The secondary units are often called accessory dwelling units or ADUs. The housing shortage is an issue that has been under discussion at the borough level for several years. […]
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Posted inLocal News
Planning commissioners register concerns over assembly settlement
Planning commissioners clashed with borough assembly representatives at last week’s planning commission meeting over the assembly’s recent settlement deal with Southeast Roadbuilders. The settlement deal ended a years-long appeals process with Southeast Roadbuilders (SERB) by granting a conditional use permit that had first been approved by a planning commission in 2023, then denied by a […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: Chance encounters, culinary updates, puzzles, bike rides, and a retirement
Chilkat Valley News alumni Francisco Martínezcuello and Lex Treinen had a chance encounter in Weaverville, California, on March 29. Treinen was on a road trip through northern California. He stopped at the Lava Beds National Monument, Lassen National Park (which was closed due to snow) and looked for morel mushrooms, unsuccessfully, near Red Bluffs California. […]
Posted inLocal News
Assembly Briefs: New Chilkoot tours, a settlement with SERB, the Mosquito Lake community center, heli-skiing support
More Chilkoot Tour Permits The assembly approved two more tour permits for operations in the Chilkoot Lake area The applications, from Cyclops Cycles and Sue Rakes Photography, come during renewed scrutiny on overcrowding and tourist behavior in the bear-heavy area. Rakes, and Cyclops owners Andrew and Natassja Letchworth, both submitted applications cognizant of this controversy, […]
Posted inLocal News
Borough manager to close pool early, proposes extended closure next year
Interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton is closing the pool two weeks earlier than was originally planned this year citing cost overruns. According to a Monday email, Fullerton said she decided to close the pool by May 15 to avoid having to bring a budget amendment — that is, asking for more money to cover costs […]
Posted inThis Week in History
This Week in History: Smithsonian exhibit, Steve Earle, ambulance fees, Pyramid Island condos?
10 years ago What types of food traditions make Haines distinct compared to other small towns in the United States? A new exhibit, “Key Ingredients: America by Food,” opening April at the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, sets out to explore the question. The exhibit is only the museum’s second from the Smithsonian Institution, and […]
Posted inLocal News, Haines Borough
Assembly Briefs: Lutak mediation, nonprofits, codes of conduct, police chief interviews
A start to Lutak Dock mediation Haines interim manager Alekka Fullerton warned the assembly last month that pending litigation with Lutak Dock contractor Turnagain Marine could be bogged down for the better part of the year. At that point, the borough had filed for a motion to hold, arguing Turnagain had no grounds to file […]
Posted inLocal News, Haines Borough
Questions raised about new Chilkoot-area tour permits
Up to three new tours may be operating in the Chilkoot Lake area this summer, renewing questions about how to manage people and bears in the popular tourism zone. Two of the new tours – including the one already approved – propose operating only up to the park boundary, which tour operators say poses less […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted: A new author, a trip to Canada, Brewfest, a carving workshop, tomatoes in Klukwan
Camelia Bell joined the ranks of published authors in Haines with a piece called “The Road,” which came out in The Sun magazine’s March 2025 edition. In response to a prompt about “chores,” Bell wrote about how life in Haines and walking home is not a chore, but a way of life. Bell said she […]
Posted inHaines Borough, Local News
Assembly Briefs: Bearproof trashcans, FEMA funding, Canadian sovereignty, water and sewer rates and more
Bear Trashcans After much discussion, bear-proof trashcans are finally on the way. The last remaining hold-up in a long saga of free trashcan delivery to Haines residents was approval of $2,250 needed to ship the trashcans from Seattle. On Tuesday, assembly member Mark Smith raised concerns about lack of documentation of the nonprofit donating the […]