American Legion Post 20 Cmdr. Ron Homan, center, is joined onstage by Past Cmdr. Dave Segura and Chaplain Mike Meredith while speaking during a Veterans Day celebration at the American Legion Post 20 in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

American Legion Post 20 Cmdr. Ron Homan, center, is joined onstage by Past Cmdr. Dave Segura and Chaplain Mike Meredith while speaking during a Veterans Day celebration at the American Legion Post 20 in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai OKs discount for veterans buying city land

Eligible veterans include those who are at least 18 years old and have lived in Alaska for at least one year immediately prior to the sale

Some U.S. veterans will soon be able to purchase residential land in the City of Kenai at a discounted rate following city council approval of a new city program last week.

The legislation, sponsored by council member James Baisden, allows eligible U.S. veterans a one-time opportunity to purchase residential land in the City of Kenai at a discounted rate. Baisden wrote in an Oct. 24 memo accompanying the ordinance that the program is modeled after one run by the State of Alaska, which similarly allows veterans to buy state land at a discounted price.

Baisden told council members that he is a veteran, but that he does not plan to take advantage of the program.

Eligible veterans include those who are at least 18 years old and have lived in Alaska for at least one year immediately prior to the sale. Interested veterans must also submit proof that they served in the Alaska Territorial Guard or on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces for at least 90 days. Veterans whose service was shortened due to a disability associated with their service are also eligible.

Baisden said during the city council’s Nov. 15 meeting that he timed the ordinance such that it would be considered around Veterans Day, adding that the program was one he’d had on his mind “for a few months.”

“In the State of Alaska, we have a large number of veterans — on the Kenai Peninsula specifically we have a lot,” Baisden said.

Per data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the 2022 American Community Survey, roughly 1 in 10 adults living in Alaska is a veteran. That rate is higher in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, where about 5,300 of roughly 47,000 adult residents — 11.2% — are veterans.

In other words, of the more than 533,000 adults estimated to be living in Alaska, about 54,000 have served in the military.

Of those, more than a third — about 35.6% — served after September 2001 and another 32.5% served between 1990 and August 2001. Roughly 31% of Alaska veterans served during the Vietnam War, and 2% served during the Korean War. Most Alaska veterans — about 87.4% — are male, while 12.6% are female.

Multiple council members during the Nov. 15 expressed support for the program. The ordinance passed unanimously.

Kenai City Council meetings can be streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Erin Thompson (courtesy)
Erin Thompson to serve as regional editor for Alaska community publications

Erin Thompson is expanding her leadership as she takes on editorial oversight… Continue reading

A woman stands with her sign held up during a rally in support of Medicaid and South Peninsula Hospital on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer residents rally in support of South Peninsula Hospital and Medicaid

The community gathered on Wednesday in opposition to health care cuts that threaten rural hospitals.

Hunter Kirby holds up the hatchery king salmon he bagged during the one-day youth fishery on the Ninilchik River on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska. Photo by Mike Booz
Ninilchik River closed to sport fishing

The closure is in effect from June 23 through July 15.

Señor Panchos in Soldotna, Alaska, is closed on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna restaurant owner remains in ICE custody; federal charges dropped

Francisco Rodriguez-Rincon was accused of being in the country illegally and falsely claiming citizenship on a driver’s license application.

Brent Johnson speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough to provide maximum funding for school district

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will receive less money from the state this year than it did last year.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School on Tuesday.
Pools, theaters, libraries in jeopardy as cuts loom

The district issued “notices of non-retention” to all its pool managers, library aides and theater technicians.

A sockeye salmon is pictured in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Fishing slow on Russian River, improving on Kenai

Northern Kenai fishing report for Tuesday, June 17.

Josiah Kelly, right, appears for a superior court arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man accepts plea deal for November shootings

Buildings operated by a local health clinic and an addiction recovery nonprofit were targeted.

Most Read