Kodiak’s Maritime Museum has the opportunity to secure a physical space in downtown. That’s thanks to three properties that are being rezoned from residential, R3-multifamily, to business lots.
During the Sept. 19 meeting, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly approved rezoning roughly a quarter of an acre worth of properties near downtown Kodiak from residential to business. The final vote was 5 to 1, with Assembly member Bo Whiteside being the only one who opposed the ordinance.
Gerald (Gerry) Markham, a local attorney, owns the three lots affected by the change on at 211 Mill Bay Road, 215 Mill Bay Road, and 206 Kashevaroff Avenue.
He requested the lots be rezoned so he could donate the three parcels to the Kodiak Maritime Museum. The properties could then be consolidated to house a physical museum on site. A historic house, the “Madsen House”, already exists on one of those properties at 211 Mill Bay Road.
So far the Kodiak Maritime Museum, which recognizes the island’s commercial fishing heritage, has mostly been made up of outdoor exhibits and events. Markham said this would be his way of giving back to the community that lives and dies on the water.
“I think that a lot of people don’t realize the law, which has been my profession and particularly maritime law, exclusively for the victims of accidents. 13 losses of all [deck]hands, vessels I’ve handled in my career. It’s rewarding but it’s also very painful and I want to give back," Markham said.
The rub is that this request is inconsistent with the Borough’s Comprehensive Plan from 2008 and its future land use map.
Another concern, voiced by Assembly Member Bo Whiteside, is that this decision could inadvertently cause problems for the already troubled housing market in town.
“I think about preserving housing, and all of the questions that have come of candidates and the assembly. The public is looking to us for answers, and my answer, my response to that request isn’t going to be to remove current housing capacity," Whiteside explained.
According to Borough staff there is also no way to require the lots to be used for Markham’s proposed purpose other than adding a date into the ordinance to make the rezoning take effect once the land is transferred to the Maritime Museum. In other words, once rezoned to business, the property owner could develop it any way they wish as long as it is permitted under Borough code for a business zone.
Nearly 50 public notices were sent out to nearby property owners and none of them submitted objections or complaints against the request to rezone, according to Borough staff.
Supporters argued that the proposed Maritime Museum building would be located almost in a row along with the Kodiak History Museum and Alutiiq Museum, which would benefit the local tourism industry.
Local fisherman and longtime island resident, Darius Kasprzak added that giving this museum an official building would benefit not only tourists but the whole island.
“I grew up down on the south end of the island, down by Alitak, and that museum down there hosted by the Alitak Cannery really means a lot to me. And the fact that it has nowhere to go now is just a travesty," Kasprzak said. "So much of the island’s history is encapsulated down there, and there’s much more around the island that needs to be present for the whole town.”
Toby Sullivan, the executive director of the Maritime Museum, described this opportunity as one that may never come around again.
“The Maritime Museum was incorporated in 1996. It was in existence a few years before that informally. In that entire time the museum has been looking for a place to live and occupy, and exhibit, and administer the maritime history of the state of Alaska. This is our chance,” Sullivan stated.
Kodiak’s Maritime Museum is the only maritime museum in the state although there is an Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center located in Homer.
A majority of the assembly members also approved an amendment stating that the rezoning won’t take place until the properties are transferred to the Maritime Museum.
It is unknown how long it will take for the land transfer to happen, or when construction on a potential Maritime Museum building could begin.