By Chloe Pleznac
Homer News
An application for a permit to construct a gravel pad for vehicle and boat storage below the high tide line into Kachemak Bay on the Homer Spit has been filed with the Department of the Army. The application argues that the proposed work is needed due to a lack of existing parking and storage areas on the Homer Spit. It does not say how many parking spaces the project will create, if completed.
According to a public notice of the application from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the applicant, James Amundson of Homer, proposes discharging 1,300 cubic yards of gravel into 0.13 acres of Kachemak Bay, below the high tide line. If approved, construction is anticipated to begin in September and end in October of this year.
The project area is noted as within “the known or historic range” of the endangered Western Distinct Population Segment Steller sea lion, the proposed sunflower sea star, the endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whale, the threatened humpback whale, the endangered fin whale, and the threatened Alaska breeding population of Steller’s eiders.
The proposed project is also within the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale designated critical habitat, as well as within mapped “Essential Fish Habitat” for pink salmon, Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon, and coho salmon. The Corps is currently gathering information regarding these species and has yet to determine the effect the project might have on them, according to the notice.
The Corps has made a “No Historic Properties Affected (No Effect)” determination for the proposed project, although it also requests the State Historic Preservation Office’s concurrence and input.
The applicant plans to apply for a “Flood Hazard Development Permit and Grading Plan” from the City of Homer, and that a permit for the described work from the Army Corps will not be issued until a certification or waiver of accreditation, as required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217), has been received from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, according to the notice.
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period, that a public hearing be held to consider the application.
All comments regarding the public notice can be sent to the Anchorage Regulatory Division (1145) at CEPOA-RD, Post Office Box 6898, JBER, Alaska 99506-0898. Email comments can be sent to regpagemaster@usace.army.mil. All comments need to include the public notice reference number “POA-2025-00299.” The deadline to submit a comment to be considered in the decision is Sept. 5.
A map from the public notice of the application for the permit shows the proposed location of a gravel pad for boat and vehicle storage on the Homer Spit, with markers showing where the proposed parking pad would go below the High Tide Line (HTL).
