The Ounalashka Corporation will lease the tidelands, highlighted at left, for 50 years. (City of Unalaska)

City council voted to lease about three acres of tidelands near the Carl E. Moses Boat Harbor to the Ounalashka Corporation Tuesday night, over some concerns about the impacts of future developments.

The tidelands are on the back side of Little South America, around the point from the city harbor. OC wants to use them along with the uplands they already own to build a dock, barge loading facility and industrial complex.

That worried city councilor Tom Enlow. He asked if OC planned to blast away part of the Little South America hillside for that project, saying those hills shield the harbor from strong winds.

"Do we compromise the shelter and protection of the harbor that we spent millions of millions of dollars [on]? Is it the same?" he asked. "And if it does change that, then why would we lease tidelands for a project that would compromise a prior project’s integrity?"

But that was beyond the scope of what the corporation was asking at this stage, according to CEO Rick Miller:

"The potential uplands development really isn’t what’s on the agenda here," he told council. "What’s on the agenda here is the possibility of doing an in-the-water project on tidelands that we lease from the city, where OC is the only uplands owner."

What's more, the city was already obligated to trade part of the tidelands to OC, after the corporation relinquished an old barge loading facility to help make space for the Carl E. Moses harbor.

But councilor Enlow pointed out that Little South America is listed as a cultural site in the city’s two-decade-old historic preservation plan. Before the new harbor was built, past preservation commissioners weighed in on how it might affect archaeological sites in the area.  

Enlow asked why the newly revamped preservation board didn’t get to do the same for this lease.

"I just think it would be important to have this particular area reviewed, to see if people still feel that this area is a important cultural resource, or if it now is just more important to be an industrial zone," Enlow said.

But several councilors argued it was the city’s job to lease out the tidelands and kickstart development -- and that the state would assess any cultural or environmental impacts during their permitting process with OC.

At corporation CEO Rick Miller’s suggestion, councilors Dennis Robinson and Dave Gregory proposed an amendment to lease out the tidelands for 50 years, rather than the standard 30. Council made a similar exception a year ago, when they voted to increase a Captain’s Bay tidelands lease for Bill Shaishnikoff to 75 years.

In the end, council voted 4 to 1 to approve the extended lease, with councilor Enlow voting no.

And in their consent agenda, which typically covers housekeeping items, council voted to appoint a new member to the planning commission. It’s James Santana, the gatehouse manager for Horizon Lines. He’ll fill the last seat on that board, which also means he’ll sit on the historic preservation commission.

Council’s next meeting is Oct. 14.