Construction has begun on a housing development along a bluffside stretch of the Sterling Highway leading into Homer. The build will feature 25 homes, four storage buildings, 52 parking spaces, and a maintenance building. South Peninsula Hospital has plans to lease the rentals for 10 years, in an agreement made with contractor Bill Hand of Two Hands Construction.
The project began after South Peninsula Hospital put out a request for proposals in September 2023. In a May interview, SPH Communications Director Derotha Ferraro said that during the hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment and the city’s Economic Development Survey, their biggest takeaway was that Homer needed more affordable housing. She said that at any given time, the hospital was renting up to 26 different downtown properties to house long-term and interim workers. She said that by creating more housing, designated for those workers, the hospital will be able to free up a sizable number of other Homer rentals.
Community concerns
Local geologist Ed Berg has expressed concerns about the development, which is placed along a piece of Homer’s highly erosive bluff. Berg noted that about an 800-foot slump of earth had fallen off the bluff in January, about half a mile from the development’s location. Berg called it the “West Hill Slump.”
He’s studied the bluff intimately over the years, both in his work documenting the spruce bark beetle epidemic of the 1990s as an ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and as a longtime Kenai Peninsula resident, walking the beach. He’s currently working on a study examining the coastal bluff geology from the Anchor River to the head of Kachemak Bay, part of a larger project — a book — looking at landscape history on the southwestern Kenai Peninsula.
A 2022 coastal bluff stability assessment conducted by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources rated the section of bluff where the new development will be placed with a “combined instability score” of 2.3 out of 3, the highest for any of the bluffs the study looked at in the area. They noted along with their scoring that the region has a high coastal bluff instability score due to the tall, steep slopes, considerable erosion, and little to no vegetation. They estimate the bluff erodes about a foot per year, on average.
Community members raised concerns about the permitting approval process last July and asked that the planning commission reconsider its approval and hold additional public hearings, due to the location of the development. Their request for reconsideration was voted down, 4-3, with Chair Scott Smith, commissioners Brad Conley, Mike Stark and Heath Smith voting against reconsideration. Vice Chair Charles Barnwell and commissioners Franco Venuti and David Schneider voted for reconsideration.
SPH CEO Ryan Smith said in May that the developer went through all the necessary processes and permitting with the city and worked with “an engineering team” to help foster information for those who were concerned. Ferraro said Hand has a history of completing other large-scale builds in Homer, in less visible locations, and they’re confident in his abilities.
Hand did not respond to a request for an interview.
