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Commissioners decline to seat Creek Street design‑review board after residents press to revive it
Summary
Preservationists and business owners urged the planning commission to reconstitute the Creek Street Architectural Design Review Board to protect the historic district; commissioners voted against seating the board and directed staff to prepare public notice on whether to dissolve the board.
Preservation advocates asked the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Commission on April 10 to bring back the Creek Street Architectural Design Review Board, saying the advisory panel once helped preserve the character and safety of the waterfront district.
"Every historic district like Creek Street needs a representative group," said Steven Reeve, executive director of Historic Ketchikan, who described recurring issues — from restroom siting and garbage enclosures to danger trees and crowding — that a local advisory board could address. Several other residents and business owners, including Fish Creek Company owner Hamilton Geller and former board chair Kyen Reeve, told commissioners the board helped keep Creek Street appealing to visitors and could mediate disputes between property owners and city departments.
Geller warned the commission that the city’s proposed garbage enclosure site at a primary Creek Street entrance would create safety and operational problems. "They're expecting city workers to put themselves in harm's way — it's a lawsuit waiting to happen," he said, urging more coordination with Public Works.
Commissioners debated the board's merits and staff workload, the overlap with the city’s historic commission, and the practicalities of filling seats with qualified members. Director Frank (staff) said the board is advisory and that the zoning official would still make permit determinations but could request the board’s recommendations on complex projects.
A motion to seat the architectural design review board failed on a roll call vote (Commissioners Gage and Ubatayo voted yes; Commissioners Arnold, Dispensing, Turner and Govars voted no). The commission then directed staff to prepare a public hearing to consider dissolving the Creek Street board and to circulate mailed notices to the historic district (staff estimated roughly 600‑foot notification radius, about 200 parcels), with supplemental outreach online and in local media.
The commission did not create or fill any seats at the meeting. The public hearing on whether to dissolve the board will be scheduled by staff and noticed to the area and via the borough’s usual channels.
