A change in town policy over seasonal employees sleeping in tents has fueled a housing shortage for year-round residents in a small Alaskan cruise ship town, according to reporting by Molly McCluskey, who used a seed grant from the Fund to conduct initial research and reporting into Skagway’s housing shortage for KHNS, the NPR-affiliate serving Alaska’s northern panhandle communities. McCluskey obtained public and private documents to determine that businesses were purchasing residential properties, displacing long-term residents, and converting them into short-term rentals for temporary employees. After the reporting aired, the town assembly created a housing ad-hoc committee, added multiple housing-related agenda items to meetings, and is coordinating with Oregon State University to conduct a study on how tourism is impacting the community.
Grantee uncovers causes of housing shortage in small Alaskan cruise ship town, prompting changes
