Leisnoi, Inc, an Alaska Native village corporation, is the primary applicant in collaboration with Tangirnaq Native Village and Koniag, Inc, an Alaska Native Corporation. The three entities are seeking to use a portion of Leisnoi's property located around milepost 25 of the Chiniak Highway to build a cultural center, which would be called the Katurgwik Center.
Leisnoi owns 8,749 acres in that area, which is all zoned as conservation only, and intends to lease only about 9,000 square feet of that land to the Tangirnaq Native Village for the facility long-term.
“The Katurgwik Center is not going to be a business. It’s not a resort. It is not for commercial tourism," Gwen Sargent told the planning and zoning commission.
Sargent is the executive director and vice president for the Tangirnaq Native Village, also known as the Woody Island Tribal Council. She told the Kodiak Island Borough’s planning and zoning commission on Jan. 21 that the Tangirnaq Native Village will own, operate and maintain the Katurgwik Center. Katurgwik means “a place to gather” in the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq language.
“It’s intended primarily for tribal citizens and Leisnoi shareholders, for cultural education, intergenerational learning, wellness activities and stewardship of our land," Sargent said of the proposed center. "The conservation zoning district allows limited, low impact community and educational use. This project was intentionally designed to meet that intent.”
The rub is that the land in question, which looks out over Kalsin Bay, is in a conservation zoning district. That means it can be used for things like agricultural or commercial fishing activities, but not for businesses or large-scale tourism. Single-family dwellings and or recreational cabins are also permitted in the conservation district.
So the applicants, Leisnoi, Tangirnaq Native Village and Koniag, asked the planning and zoning commission to allow them to treat the proposed cultural center like a church. Churches are permitted in a conservation district according to Kodiak Island Borough code.
“Hours of operation do seem to align with those of other assembly uses, such as a church, which it’s being compared to at this point. Staff believes that the similar use determination be approved as both the impact and character is similar to that of a church or an assembly use," Bronwyn Currie, the assistant planner with the borough’s community development department, said.
Tangirnaq Native Village said in its application documents that in the future the site may have personal-use cabins for Tribal citizens and Leisnoi shareholders, have small-scale agriculture focused on traditional foods and could host small groups or guided tours for cultural and educational purposes. But community and development department staff said during the Jan. 21 planning and zoning meeting that if cabins are going to be built on the property, then those must go through a separate permit application process and are not approved at this time.
After some back and forth between the four present planning and zoning commissioners, the commission voted unanimously on Jan. 21 to approve the request for a similar use determination. Athenas Williamson was absent and two seats are currently vacant on the planning and zoning commission.
But that’s just the first step in a multi-step process. Now that the commission has approved the similar use request, Leisnoi, Tangirnaq Native Village and Koniag must apply for a permit to build the cultural center, which will have to be approved by the borough’s community development department.
