Seldovia council adopts 2025 comprehensive plan and forwards it to Kenai Peninsula Borough

The Seldovia City Council voted unanimously with one absence on April 13 to adopt Ordinance 26-13, the city’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan, and forward a recommendation to the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

Mayor (chair) opened a public hearing on the ordinance and invited Aaron Hughes, land management officer for the Kenai Peninsula Borough, to comment. “If it’s approved tonight with a recommendation to forward on to the Kenai Peninsula Borough it will then go through its process here on our end to be incorporated into the area plan,” Hughes said.

City Manager Heidi, who led the council’s review, described the update as incremental rather than an overhaul, saying the draft incorporates comments and elements from the 2005 and 2014 plans. “This is more of an update than an overhaul,” she told the council, summarizing outreach that included two public comment periods, an online survey and community events in 2025 and early 2026.

Council discussion focused on priorities the plan emphasizes — balancing growth with preservation, improving year‑round employment opportunities, and addressing the community’s high energy and transportation costs. The council and several residents noted Seldovia’s older demographic profile, which council members said affects housing availability, tax receipts and the local workforce.

Councilmember Barber moved to adopt the ordinance; Keith Lee seconded the motion. The council voted 5 in favor, 0 opposed, with one member absent, and the plan will now proceed through the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s incorporation process.

Next steps identified by staff include any borough-requested revisions during the borough’s review and continued alignment of the city’s capital improvement planning with the comprehensive plan’s priorities.