Assembly selects three neighborhoods for planning focus; planning director outlines scoping steps

The planning director reported that the borough assembly ranked three neighborhoods—Herring Cove, Ward Cove and Newtown/Hopkins Alley—as priorities for neighborhood planning and asked the planning commission to prepare scopes of work that will define consultants, budgets, engagement plans and technical needs.

Director Frank (planning director) said the assembly’s choices were intended to give geographic spread across the island and that his office will prepare scopes for each area describing likely elements, consultant needs (for traffic or engineering work where DOT or city rights‑of‑way are involved), stakeholder engagement plans and expected budgets. He cautioned commissioners that these efforts will be resource‑intensive and suggested the department could reasonably complete about one neighborhood plan per year depending on scope and funding.

Frank also previewed an upcoming public hearing on Creek Street design standards and said staff are re-evaluating the Creek Street Design and Review Board’s role after encountering permitted work that the board had not reviewed. Commissioners asked about next steps; Frank reiterated that scoping will identify required technical services, stakeholder groups and coordination points with the City of Ketchikan and the Alaska Department of Transportation.

Commissioners generally praised the effort and emphasized that scoping should consider traffic, safety and design elements specific to each neighborhood. The director said Herring Cove received the most votes from the assembly and will likely receive early attention pending scoping, budget and staffing constraints.