The Homer City Council will consider buying property next to Karen Hornaday Park at its next meeting. The council introduced an ordinance last week that would set aside $135,000 to buy a 20-acre property north of the park.
Council member Shelly Erickson co-sponsored the ordinance with council members Donna Aderhold and Storm Hansen. She said the land offers many opportunities for recreation.
“I think that the whole property just lends itself to so many different things, and I think that it's a very smart move, even though we had had no intention of buying any property,” she said.
According to a memorandum from Homer Community Development Director Julie Engebretsen, the land is a part of Woodard Canyon and has trail access going up the hillside. When the property went on the market last November, local residents purchased the land to give the city time to determine if they could buy it.
Homer-based author Tom Kizzia is one of the four landowners. He said the canyon is important for protecting wildlife and managing stormwater.
“To keep that land in public ownership and under public control, seems like a really good idea. And certainly to discourage anybody from building more steep roads and cutting into the, into the side of the bank and the unwise ways to build a house seemed like a positive as well,” he said.
Kizzia said they plan to sell the property to any interested buyer if the city decides against the purchase.
The city council will hold a public hearing on the ordinance at its next meeting on Jan. 27. Members of the public will be able to comment on the purchase before the council makes a decision.