Alaska village residents: Lack of housing hurting community

KODIAK, Alaska (AP) – Some Alaska residents say a shortage of available family housing is having a snowball effect on the community.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports residents of Larsen Bay say the lack of available homes is making it difficult to attract more families to the village, thus forcing the closure of the local Larsen Bay School.

Some residents say the homes are being purchased by people from outside the state who maybe only use the home for a couple weeks.

Data provided by the Kodiak Island Borough’s Resource Management Officer Maggie Slithe shows there were 140 properties in Larsen Bay listed on the 2018 tax roll. Of the total number of properties, 74 are owned by individuals with a mailing address in Larsen Bay.

Larsen Bay Mayor Bill Nelson declined to comment for this story.
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Information from: Kodiak (Alaska) Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com