Unalaska, AK – The City will unveil the complete draft of its new comprehensive plan this weekend, including the major housing component. The plan is based on the Community Vision Statement developed by HyettPalma, which is based on surveys and meetings with community members and local organizations.

Housing consultant Martin Jarrett, who contributed to the project, said that the plan affects the entire community. "The comprehensive plan is a guide for the long-term future growth, development, and improvement of the City of Unalaska. And it affects everybody. It really sets the blueprint for how the city is going to evolve and change over the next ten years."

The housing component of the plan incorporates the results of the housing survey conducted earlier this year. The survey showed that not only does the community need more housing, but it also needs higher quality housing. Jarrett said the plan includes ideas for property improvement.

"There are several ways. One is having some very clear minimum standards, enforcement of a housing code, but also trying to create incentives. There are a lot of programs out there and resources to create housing programs to assist families to improve the housing they are currently living in."

The plan also focuses on ways to create more housing options because "people don't have the choices they really desire," Jarrett said. "There was a housing preference survey conducted. People seemed to say we moved into our current residence because it was the only thing that was available.' It wasn't because it necessarily met their needs but because that's what was available at the time. So creating more choice becomes very important."

Jarrett said that more land needs to be developed. Most of the currently available and accessible sites are in the Valley. He encourages the creation of development teams for the sites that include the land owners, city representatives, and community members.

"There's a tendency in the community for everyone to do their own thing. We're encouraging more cooperation, more collaboration. And if you have a potential site or series of sites or areas, create development teams so all the potential partners can work together to market and deal with any issues that come up to ensure that you have some higher level confidence that things will move forward."

The plan also encourages the development of a housing consortium with an advisory board of 12 people to create a plan for long-term housing needs.

To learn more details of the new comprehensive plan you can attend an open house-style meeting Saturday from 1 to 4 pm at the Grand Aleutian with a presentation at 1 pm.