housing

Pamela Hays speaks against a rezoning ordinance during a meeting of the Soldotna City Council in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Rezoning effort killed by Soldotna council amid neighborhood outcry

An ordinance would have rezoned part of a tract of land near South Kobuk Street to multifamily use

 

Tribal Council Chair Ronette Stanton and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge participate in a press conference announcing $7.5 million in federal funding designated for the Kenaitze/Salamatof Tribally Designated Housing Entity at the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Federal official announces $7.5 million for tribe’s low-income housing

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge visited Kenai on Wednesday

 

Soldotna City Hall is seen on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna bumps vote on use of accessory housing as short-term rentals

An accessory dwelling unit is a subordinate, detached dwelling unit located on a lot or parcel with an existing residence

 

Houses are seen in Seward, Alaska on Thursday, April 15, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Seward delays action on short-term rental regs

The limits are meant to ameliorate the city’s housing shortage

Houses are seen in Seward, Alaska on Thursday, April 15, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
From right, Soldotna City Council members Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings, Dan Nelson and Jordan Chilson listen to testimony during a council meeting on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Council to mull limits on use of Soldotna ADUs as short-term rentals

Accessory dwelling units refer to subordinate, detached units

From right, Soldotna City Council members Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings, Dan Nelson and Jordan Chilson listen to testimony during a council meeting on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna Director of Economic Development John Czarnezki, right, presents proposed changes to city code relating to accessory dwelling units during a work session on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna council greenlights new city housing type

Accessory dwelling units are now allowed in city limits

Soldotna Director of Economic Development John Czarnezki, right, presents proposed changes to city code relating to accessory dwelling units during a work session on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Houses are seen in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, April 15, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

Housing prices see steep hike, report says

Low interest rates, limited inventory and the increase in prices in 2020 contributed to a tight housing market

Houses are seen in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, April 15, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Courtesy Photo/ City and Borough of Juneau Dense residential housing in areas such as Douglas includes a mixture of more expensive homes occupied by long-term owners, rentals occupied by residents from various income categories and an increasing number of short-term rentals occupied by tourists.

Debate continues on short-term rentals in Juneau

Mandatory registration of Airbnb and similar rentals favored by Assembly members.

Courtesy Photo/ City and Borough of Juneau Dense residential housing in areas such as Douglas includes a mixture of more expensive homes occupied by long-term owners, rentals occupied by residents from various income categories and an increasing number of short-term rentals occupied by tourists.
Christina Burns, librarian for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, packs food for the day at her home in Anchorage, Alaska, around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Starved for new listings’

Low inventory, local landscape fuel housing crisis in Seward

Christina Burns, librarian for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, packs food for the day at her home in Anchorage, Alaska, around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Hailey Scott holds her daughter, Ryssa Curtiss, in a rental apartment on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Scott appied to rent the apartment. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Landlord’s market’

Renters battle limited housing inventory

Hailey Scott holds her daughter, Ryssa Curtiss, in a rental apartment on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Scott appied to rent the apartment. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
(Black Press file photo)

Peninsula rental rates some of state’s lowest

The median rent payment on the Kenai Peninsula Borough was about $1,009 in 2020 and about $1,023 in 2021

(Black Press file photo)
Photo illustration

Funds for mortgage, rent relief available

These funds were allocated by the governor and approved by the Legislature as part of the CARES Act.

Photo illustration
Alycia Backstrom (left) and Steven Taylor pose with infant Bailey Backstrom outside their rooms in Kenai’s new Clear Pointe six-plex — the city’s first income-restricted rental housing, constructed by the Homer-based not-for-profit Kenai Housing Initiative — on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After a roughly two-month search for a place to live, Taylor and Backstrom became Clear Pointe’s first tennants after moving in Monday. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai’s first income-restricted housing now open

The central Kenai Peninsula’s small low-income rental housing market grew six units larger with the recent completion of Clear Pointe, the first low-income housing building… Continue reading

Alycia Backstrom (left) and Steven Taylor pose with infant Bailey Backstrom outside their rooms in Kenai’s new Clear Pointe six-plex — the city’s first income-restricted rental housing, constructed by the Homer-based not-for-profit Kenai Housing Initiative — on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. After a roughly two-month search for a place to live, Taylor and Backstrom became Clear Pointe’s first tennants after moving in Monday. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)