The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly enacted an ordinance that would appropriate funds for a project to conduct soils investigations and land planning on a 1,000-acre unit of land near Cooper Landing. The Borough recently received management authority of that block of land, which is known at Unit 395, Juneau Bench. DOT will be working in this area for the next few years with the Sterling Highway MP 45-60 realignment, which cuts two miles through that unit.
Understanding how the unit will be used will enable value-added decision making when interfacing with the DOT project. In addition, having a plan will ensure responsible development and enables future steps towards development of planned features.
Land Management Officer Marcus Mueller tells the Assembly that planned features include access routes, utilities, crossings, future residential lots, pedestrian trails, material sites, recreational features, green spaces, and forest lands:
“It would appear that there’s probably a couple hundred acres that would be well suited for some sort of residential development. Those will probably be very attractive properties. I have no idea what the infrastructure costs are going to be to go in there. Part of this project is to develop cost benefit and analysis feasibility type numbers, at least at that order of magnitude so that we can make sense of what’s economical as well as what’s well supported in terms of the lay of the land and the public values that influence how you manage public land.”
An RFP solicited proposals from professional consulting firms for soils investigations and land planning services. An intent to award has been issued to the highest-ranking responsive bidder. An appropriation for the proposed project amount of $199,900 from the land trust fund is required to engage the project.
The Land Trust Fund receives reoccurring land management revenues and supports the operations and investments into land through the Borough’s Land Management Division.
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KPB UNIT 395 PLANNING AREA