Climate change and tiny houses are on the agenda again when the Sitka Assembly meets tonight (3-10-20).
When the assembly met in February, it voted down a resolution to declare a climate emergency that would have directed city staff to develop a plan to reduce the municipality’s carbon footprint over the next few years.
The resolution received an outpouring of public support at the meeting, mainly from students in the local activist group “Youth for Sustainable Futures.” But there was some opposition too, and it failed on a 3-4 vote, with some assembly members saying they would support a measure to put the resolution on the ballot this fall, to let voters decide.
The assembly is revisiting that conversation, with a “discussion and direction” item on the city’s response to climate change and next steps.
The assembly will also consider a final draft of proposed changes to make room for tiny houses in city code. Currently you can build a tiny house under regular building code, but tiny houses on wheels have no legal standing in Sitka. After some public pushback, the assembly tweaked aspects of the proposed code, and it comes before them on second and final reading tonight.
In other business, the assembly will consider a request for proposal for the construction of a marine haulout and shipyard at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. It will hear a report from SEARHC CEO Charles Clement about how the hospital merger is progressing, over six months after the sale of Sitka Community Hospital. And it will consider financial appropriations for legal expenses for the Sitka Police Department and Crescent Harbor float repairs.
And at the end of the meeting, the assembly will go behind closed doors to discuss legal matters associated with the SEARHC/Sitka Community Hospital merger.
The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live, following Alaska News Nightly.
