Ketchikan Gateway Borough planners hear public concerns on draft 2035 comprehensive plan; set public hearing

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Commission held a work session on the public-review draft of the borough'2035 Comprehensive Plan on Sept. 24, receiving extended public comment and direction for staff before setting a public hearing.

Community members and nonprofit leaders told the commission they felt underrepresented in outreach and that the draft plan omitted or downplayed key local priorities such as historic preservation, the arts and nonprofit services. Planning staff and the consultant team reviewed revisions they recommend to address hundreds of public comments and described how the comprehensive plan will relate to the borough's separate strategic plan and implementation work.

Why it matters: The comprehensive plan will guide land-use decisions, capital priorities and policy direction for the borough over the coming decade. Speakers said the current draft, if unchanged, may make it harder for community organizations to win grants, for officials to manage tourism impacts and for residents — especially elders and people with limited internet access — to see themselves reflected in the plan.

Public comments. Dozens of residents and nonprofit leaders said outreach was uneven and the plan omitted priorities important to on-the-ground providers. Michelle Zerbet Scott, project lead for the U.S. Customs House and Pioneer Hall restoration and a member of Ketchikan Pioneers of Alaska, said she was disappointed the draft lacked explicit historic-preservation language and worried that omission could hurt local grant applications. "If I don't have anything that says historic preservation, there's not much I can say where the borough is supporting our project," Scott said.

Connor Pope, executive director of Rendezvous Senior Day Services, said elders and homebound residents were not reached by the draft's outreach and urged more direct engagement: "Elders don't necessarily have Internet access...their means of communication is limited." Several speakers from the arts, library and other nonprofits echoed that nonprofits are "boots on the ground" and called for the plan to acknowledge the sector as an economic and community-stability driver.

Staff and consultant presentation.…