"Greg Chaney"

Want to know the assessed value of your house or your neighbor’s? Who owns that lot you drive by every day? The year a home was built?

The 86-lot Pederson Hill subdivision — designed to build entry-level houses — has been given the nod by a key committee of the Juneau Assembly. The project will require the city to dip into its treasury reserves to help get the $8.8 million project off the ground.

A unanimous Juneau Planning Commission approved the first phase of the Pederson Hill subdivision, clearing a major hurdle for the city’s housing initiative. Now it will be up to the Juneau Assembly to decide how it will offload the 86 lots.

Boosters of Pederson Hill see scores of moderately priced homes for middle class families. Private developers fear competition from the city. Balancing free market principles against the barrier to home ownership experienced by middle class families is something the Assembly will have to grapple with.

The City & Borough of Juneau is looking at potentially massive expansions of its boundaries. A handful of people own property in one of the tracts aren’t pleased.

City officials met residents at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum to share their thoughts on how technology, transportation and industry influenced Juneau’s growth over the years.