By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press


A preliminary idea to expand Spit parking on land now leased to small businesses, including La Baleine Cafe, will come up for discussion in front of the Homer City Council at its Monday meeting.

The parking idea, kicked off last month at a meeting of the Port and Harbor Advisory Commission, looks at two city lots along the Homer Spit Road, near the far end of the harbor. City leases are expiring there and also on lots leased by the U.S. Coast Guard and Pier One Theatre. Leases on all four lots will expire by April 15, 2027, with no options to renew.

The port and harbor commission passed a recommendation that the city work with Pier One to keep them in their current location.

The commission’s March 25 discussion about replacing the businesses with a parking lot touched off a stream of angry comments on social media, as well as calls for more parking spaces on the Spit.

The tentative agenda for Monday’s council meeting lists a memo from City Manager Melissa Jacobson that will address next steps for lot 88-2, anchored by La Baleine.

During  a lengthy back-and-forth in March, port and harbor commissioners expressed concerns for displacing businesses that may not have another place to go, preserving the Homer Spit charm and weighing community input – while also acknowledging the need for additional parking to serve the commercial interests at the end of the Spit. Some suggested revisiting the development of parking by the Seafarer’s Memorial, the last stretch of undeveloped beach in the area, which has been considered before but at considerable cost.

A video and complete transcript of the March 25 PHAC meeting is available online.

In social media, local opponents to the parking idea have suggested alternatives like off-Spit parking with shuttle service and have rallied around lyrics from Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit “Big Yellow Taxi” to express their displeasure: “They paved paradise and  put up a parking lot.” 

The commission ultimately passed a motion to recommend to the council that lot 88-2 not be put up for a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new lease, which would be typical for expiring leases with no option to renew, while the city decides its best use.

All businesses on the affected lots are expected to be operating through the summer.

In a follow up interview, Port Director Bryan Hawkins said, “ We have to see what the council says. The commission and I got ahead of ourselves in a lot of ways just talking about it (the parking idea). It is a topic that deserves discussion.”

Big projects move forward 

The council also plans to introduce resolutions to move several big projects forward, including short-term rental issues, harbor expansion and airport terminal repair.

Since the March 23 council meeting, Councilmembers Shelly Erickson and Jason Davis have worked with Julie Engebretson, community development director, to develop a resolution providing direction to the Economic Development Advisory Commission and Planning Commission to investigate specific short-term rental issues. The resulting resolution will be introduced for a vote Monday.

At the 5 p.m. Committee of the Whole meeting, Ronald McPherson, project manager for HDR, engineering consultants for the Homer Harbor Expansion project, will review a “tentatively selected plan” for the expansion. A council resolution endorsing “alternative 2” as the “Tentatively Selected Plan for the Homer Harbor Expansion General Investigation Study” will be introduced for a vote later that night. 

The city will introduce an ordinance requesting $100,000 for the damage assessment, remediation and repair of the Homer Airport Terminal after a water line break flooded the building with 200,000 gallons of water in March.

The terminal is once again operational, and building restoration crews have largely completed initial cleanup and stabilization work. Public access is restricted to the northeast entrance, with the interior screened for use of the ticket counter area only. The city reports that as engineering assessments are completed, conditions may change and access could be expanded or more significant structural concerns could require closure.

All city council meetings are open to the public at the Cowles Council Chambers of City Hall, 491 E. Pioneer Ave. Full information is available on the city web site for how to get agendas and supporting documents, submit written testimony and attend meetings in person, via Zoom or by phone. The regular meeting is broadcast live at 6 p.m. on KBBI public radio AM 890.