By admin 
A small but crowded coastal Alaska town has gotten the state legislature’s blessing to spread its wings a little.
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The state Senate on Friday gave final approval to a measure, House Bill 216, that allows the Prince William Sound port town of Whittier to buy land from the state-owned Alaska Railroad.
The bill will return to the House for a final procedural vote before going to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for enactment or veto.
The city and railroad have struck a deal for the sale of three parcels, all located in the central part of town, and they are close to agreeing on a sale for two more parcels, both located closer to a new cruise ship terminal that had its first full operating season last year.
But under state law, any sale of railroad land must be approved by the legislature.
That is where HB 216 comes in. It gives explicit permission for the railroad to sell the land, including the two parcels for which deals have not yet been completed. The city may offer cash or other land to the railroad in exchange.
The parcels amount to about 85 acres in total, said Rep. Ky Holland, I-Anchorage, the bill’s prime sponsor. They do not cover much space, but the spots are strategic, he said.
The land is currently being used for things like parking or boat storage. Ownership by the railroad precludes any kind of building on that land, but city ownership would open up options for new business or housing or other opportunities yet to be explored, said Holland, whose South Anchorage district extends to Whittier.
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The bill does not specify any particular use for the land once it is sold. “What they do with the land is not my deal,” he said.
Whittier, home to about 275 people, has long been famous for its tight living quarters. Nearly all the residents reside under a single roof, in the high-rise Begich Towers that also houses several businesses and public offices.
Originally built in World War II as a military site, Whittier is now a transportation hub, served by the railroad, numerous cargo shippers, the Alaska Marine Highway system and the single-lane Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which is North America’s longest combined rail-auto tunnel. It is a recreation, fishing and tourism hub as well, with much of that activity crammed into a tight space between the mountains and the shore.
The town gets about 700,000 visitors a year, City Manager Jackie Wilde said at a Feb. 10 legislative hearing.
“While Whittier is very small, it is very mighty,” she told the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee.
To accommodate all those people, the city and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities have been working on a transportation master plan called “Whittier Moves.” The city is also working on a long-term waterfront and economic development plan.
Whittier is likely to get busier in the future, Holland said.
Coming to town this fall will be a celebratory commissioning of the USS Ted Stevens, a U.S. Navy warship named for Alaska’s late U.S. senator.
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Reporter James Brooks contributed to this article.