Planning commission forwards Seward Blueberry Hill purchase, seeks road-feasibility study

On Jan. 27, 2025, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward ordinance 2024-19-24 to the borough assembly recommending the acquisition of 80 acres in the Blueberry Hill area of Seward and to authorize the mayor to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority for a road access feasibility study.

The staff report, delivered by Aaron Hughes, land management officer, said the purchase would be funded from the Land Trust Investment Fund and that the borough would direct an additional $50,000 from the Land Trust Fund for due diligence and the feasibility study. Hughes told the commission the proposed study would include the subject property, adjacent borough-managed lands and a 195-acre tract immediately south of the subject property owned by the Mental Health Trust.

Hughes said the study’s goal is to determine the potential for developed road access to the top of Blueberry Hill. He told commissioners that access to roughly 2,300 acres of borough land in the area is currently limited to some section-line easements and a small parcel that abuts Veil Street off Bridal Road. Hughes said the acquisition could “dramatically increase the value of the adjacent borough land holdings through additional means of legal access and secure future options for residents of the Kenai Peninsula Borough and Greater Seward area in planning for future growth and land use needs.” He also noted the packet included a letter of support from the City of Seward.

There was no public testimony on the item. A commissioner moved to forward a recommendation to adopt the ordinance, including appropriation of funds from the Land Trust Investment Fund and authorization for the mayor to enter the memorandum of agreement; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.

The staff report identified a purchase price in the meeting transcript as “$120,000,0.0” (the transcript formatting is unclear) and specified an additional $50,000 for the feasibility study. The commission did not modify the funding sources or attach conditions when forwarding the ordinance.

The forward action sends the ordinance and the proposed memorandum of agreement to the borough assembly for final action. If the assembly approves the purchase and the MOA with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, the borough intends to proceed with the feasibility study to assess road access options for Blueberry Hill and adjacent borough lands.