Note: This story was corrected on Feb. 25, 2024 after incorrectly stating Guiding Growth hosted the presentation and will host the Feb. 27 screening of “Cruise Boom.” The city of Homer is responsible for coordinating and hosting both events.
The city of Homer held a presentation providing a different way of looking at growing cities last Tuesday. The city invited Charles Marohn to speak at the Kenai Peninsula College Kachemak Bay Campus. Guiding Growth – a group of community members hosting a conversation series in Homer – assisted with outreach for the event.
Marohn is the founder and president of Strong Towns, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping cities grow in sustainable ways.
“The US economy since World War Two has been all about growth, and the sad, unfortunate thing is that the liabilities have become obligations of local government,” he said.
Marohn says the fast, widespread growth promoted by federal government programs made it extremely difficult for local governments to maintain.
During his visit, Marone noticed this trend of widespread growth in Homer, particularly among the houses on. Skyline Dr., a road that extends to the north of the city. He questioned if the cost of maintaining the road likely outweighs the amount the homeowners there pay in taxes.
“I totally get why everybody in the world would want to live up there. It is amazing,” he said, “I have no idea why you all built a road up there. I don't know why you plow it. I don't know why you maintain it. I don't know. I don't know how you do that.”
Marone instead suggested a step by step manner that is guided by what the community wants rather than investing in large-scale projects to expand the city.
“You create a system that lowers the bar of entry for doing the next incremental thing, so that the people in your community who want to do that incremental thing, have like the clearest guide path, glide path to doing it,” he said.
The talk comes as the city prepares to write a new comprehensive plan to provide direction Homer’s growth over the next 20 years. It also serves as a guide for how to rezone the city for that growth.
The city is working with Anchorage-based consulting group Agnew::Beck to develop the plan, and will hold meetings getting public input in the coming months.
The city will also continue hosting growth minded events with a screening of “Cruise Boom” on Feb. 27 at the Homer Theater.
