Sitka Planning Commission Meeting – July 16, 2025: Land Sale, Subdivision, Distillery CUP
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Sitka Planning Commission Meeting – July 16, 2025
The Sitka Planning Commission met on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Harrigan Centennial Hall to consider three major items: a land sale request at Bahovec Court, a conceptual minor subdivision at Sawmill Creek Road, and a conditional use permit for a distillery manufacturing operation on Lincoln Street. The commission also received the Planning Director’s report on ongoing projects and heard public comments.
Consent Calendar
- The commission unanimously approved the June 18, 2025, meeting minutes (motion by Commissioner Alderson, seconded by Commissioner Sherman).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No individuals addressed the commission during the Persons to Be Heard portion (items not on the agenda).
- During the subdivision discussion, a written public comment from Adam Kowski was read into the record. Kowski expressed concern that additional residences upstream could increase water flow and potentially cause the existing drainage culvert under his property to fail, stating he would not be responsible for repairing the neighborhood’s water drainage if that occurred.
Planning Director’s Report
- The Planning Director (Amy Ainsley) provided updates on three items:
- Cruise ship dock zoning text amendment: The Tourism Commission reviewed the draft and recommended that the conditional use be either prohibited in all zones or significantly narrowed, requiring a zoning text amendment for most zones. The draft ordinance will be presented to the commission in August.
- Gary Paxton Industrial Park (GPIP) zone change: The process to convert the GPIP special district into a regular zoning district is being revisited now that the haul-out is developed. The GPIP board will review the proposal tomorrow, and the commission will see a draft zoning text amendment in the coming months. There are also ongoing conversations about merging the GPIP board with the Ports and Harbors Commission.
- Land study: At the next meeting, staff will present an update on the land study, including preliminary site investigations, environmental review, and utility infrastructure analysis. The commission will be asked to guide which areas should be narrowed for more intensive study (including wetlands delineation) before winter.
Discussion Items
B. Land Sale Request – 105 and 107 Bahovec Court (Erik Bahrt)
- The applicant, Erik Bahrt, requested to purchase a portion of Tract B and C of Alaska Land Survey 79-4 (C-2 General Commercial Mobile Home District and R-1 Single-Family Duplex Residential District) adjacent to his properties. The land is municipally owned, undeveloped, and contains a significant natural drainage course (a fish-bearing stream) that has been eroding the bank. The applicant intends to stabilize the embankment.
- Staff recommended approval as a boundary line adjustment (not subdivision) and noted that due to the size, shape, and location (challenging access from Kramer Avenue, drainage constraints), competitive bidding would be inappropriate; the land is only useful to the adjacent property owner.
- The commission discussed the need to formally find competitive bidding inappropriate. Commissioner Sherman noted the property’s lack of developability and that access from Kramer Avenue is prohibited by a plat note. A separate motion was made to find that competitive bidding is inappropriate due to the nature of the property and its undevelopable character.
C. Minor Subdivision Conceptual Plat – 2011 Sawmill Creek Road (Casey Finn / Finn Excavation, LLC)
- The applicant proposed a three-lot subdivision on a 42,680-square-foot lot (zoned R-1 LDMH, minimum lot size 15,000 sq ft net). Staff presented a modified conceptual plat that would reorient lot lines to more evenly distribute buildable ground, but this would result in lots B and C being substandard (lot B ~13,400 sq ft gross, lot C ~4,700 sq ft net of access easement), requiring a platting variance for minimum lot size and width.
- Extensive discussion ensued about whether to approve using a variance. Commissioner Sherman expressed concern about “development by variance” and setting a precedent for reducing minimum lot sizes without a clear undue hardship. Commissioner Alderson suggested rezoning the property to R-1 (minimum 6,000 sq ft) coupled with a plat note limiting further subdivision. Staff noted that R-1 would not allow manufactured homes, which are permitted in LDMH, and that the drainage easements and topography limit buildable area. The applicant, Casey Finn, indicated he was open to rezoning if that was the commission’s preference.
- No motion was made; the commission concluded that the applicant received sufficient feedback to decide on the path forward (plating variance or rezoning). The commission did not vote on the conceptual plat.
D. Conditional Use Permit – Distillery Manufacturing at 328 Lincoln Street (Drew Wilson)
- The applicant, Drew Wilson, requested a conditional use permit (CUP) to operate a small-scale distillery (vodka and gin) in a vacant 1,462-square-foot building in the CBD Central Business District. The use is not explicitly in the code; staff interpreted “winery and brewery small scale” as the most analogous use. The permit is a prerequisite for an AMCO distillery manufacturing license and retail endorsement.
- Staff recommended approval subject to conditions (fire separation, building permits, alcohol control regulations). The building official has reviewed the proposal and will require increased fire separation and sprinkler requirements. The applicant noted the building has historical significance as a former bar and that the distillery will target tourists and locals, with minimal odor due to redistilling neutral grain spirits.
- The commission was supportive, noting the building’s revitalization and economic development benefits. A motion to approve the CUP subject to the attached conditions was made and seconded.
Key Outcomes
- Land Sale (Bahrt): The commission unanimously approved a motion to recommend the sale of municipal land (portions of Tract B and C, Alaska Land Survey 79-4) to the Sitka Assembly, with the finding that competitive bidding is inappropriate due to the property’s size, shape, and undevelopable nature. The recommendation includes a boundary line adjustment and a future rezoning of the R-1 portion to C-2. (Motion by Commissioner Alderson, seconded by Commissioner Mudre; vote: all in favor.)
- Subdivision (Finn): No formal decision was made. The commission provided guidance that the applicant should consider either pursuing a platting variance or rezoning the property to R-1 with a plat note limiting further subdivision. The applicant will decide on the next steps.
- Distillery CUP (Wilson): The commission unanimously approved the conditional use permit for distillery manufacturing at 328 Lincoln Street, subject to the attached conditions of approval. (Motion by Commissioner Alderson, seconded by Commissioner Sherman; vote: all in favor.)
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned. The next regular meeting is scheduled for August 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Yes, Chair Windsor. Present. Vice Chair Riley's excuse. Commissioner Mudre. Commissioner Alderson. Here. Commissioner Sherman. Here. Assembly agent tour Christians not here. Staff is Amy Ainsley, Kim Davis, and Ariadne Well. Thank you. Can I get a consideration of last minutes minute meeting minutes? I move to approve the June 18th, 2025 meeting minutes. Move to second, all in favor. Okay, are there any persons out there tonight to be heard? That's not on tonight's agenda. Seeing none, we'll come back to the planning director's report, please. Yes, Mr. Chair. A couple of items to give you some updates on. The tourism commission did a review of the um draft our our current progress on the cruise ship dock um zoning text amendment. Um their primary feedback was around the number of zones in which it's uh the use is currently proposed as conditional. Um their their recommendation was to have the use either be prohibited in all zones or to significantly narrow the selection so that the you know provisions for the conditional use permit would be in the code, but um a you know consideration of additional cruise ship docks would have to um go through a a zoning text amendment first for you know for the majority of zones. Um and so um we will be working to get that drafted into ordinance format for your for your review in August. Um, and at that time I think that's kind of where we can have uh that more focused discussion around the the number of zones that are currently identified with the use as conditional. Um similar topic regarding zoning tax amendments. Um some of you may recall um uh a couple of years ago um we kind of started on the process of working on converting the Gary Paxton special district, um which is the zoning designation for the Gary Paxson Industrial Park or GPIP such that it would function more like a regular zone. Um and so now that the haul out has developed more and we have a better sense of the properties that will be used in conjunction with the haul out. Um we're kind of revisiting that that zoning change. Um and so we're gonna be reviewing that tomorrow with the GPIP board at their their meeting, and so um again in the following couple of months here, we will also be at this um commission reviewing um uh zoning text change for uh for the GPIP zone. And then last update for you on the land study. Um our uh goal is at your next meeting to have an update on the progress of the study that will include um the results of our preliminary site investigations, the um environmental review that's been done, as well as the sort of high-level um utility infrastructure review that's been done for those areas. Um and our our hope and kind of the goal of that review with the commission will be to get your guidance as to which of the areas that are in the you know currently in the study should potentially be narrowed down for more intensive study, which would be uh which would include um actual on-the-ground wetlands delineation um before um winter comes uh this year, um, as well as a a more uh kind of starting to get into more detailed um preliminary design for potential um road and utility expansion. So looking forward to getting that in front of you next month. That's any questions. Um I recall though a few years ago when we were talking about the Gary Paxon. At that time it was just that we're just gonna turn it back over to the city, drop the board, turn it back over to the city. They didn't talk anything about it. Uh zone change. There are there are some ongoing conversations about um the GPIP board and potentially um having a broader kind of ports and harbors commission that encompasses the GPIP board functions into one body as opposed to having two. Um now that because the you know primary intent of the um, you know, the purpose of the board was to really guide the um kind of land sale and lease process. Um, and so now that the majority of the the properties are either lease sold or being retained by the city for either city functions or for the haul out. Um that's why we're kind of working on the transition of having it work more like a regular zoning district, um, and then potentially thinking about how the the board um could could merge with ports and harbors. So um, no, not necessarily the imminent plans for that to happen, but it is it's an ongoing conversation. Okay. Yeah. Gotcha. Any other questions? Okay, thank you. All right, so we'll get on with this evening's business.
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