Eighteen construction companies showed up for this morning's draw of 35 Copper Ridge subdivision lots taking all that were available.

Bryony McIntyre, the land manager for the territorial Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, said the company names were put into a hat and drawn to establish the selection order.

Number one picked first, and once all 18 had taken a pick, the second round began with number one again, minus a number of companies that only wanted one lot to begin with, McIntyre explained.

The public lottery was held Wednesday morning, with 56 applicants putting their names forward for the last 119 Copper Ridge lots

Of the 56 applicants, 44 were successful in obtaining one of their preferred lots.

Some of the 44 will be turned back, as they were couples who entered each name but are only permitted to obtain one lot, McIntyre said.

She said the remaining 40 lots will be held for a public lottery next spring.

Under past practice, any lots left over from a government lottery would be made available over the counter on a first-come, first-served basis, with individuals or companies permitted to purchase multiple lots in accordance with policy.

McIntyre said it was decided through discussions with representatives of the city and Yukon Housing Corp., and upon request from the city, that any lots left over after the two lotteries be held for a second public lottery next spring.

Acting Mayor Dave Austin said yesterday with just over a third of the lots taken by the public, it begged the question of just how much a land shortage there really is.

But Don MacDonald of the Yukon Real Estate Association cautioned that today's lottery would be also telling in terms of demand for lots, and reiterateed the association's position that the crunch is coming for the supply and demand curve.

The government is expected to hold a lottery later this year for the first 52 of 109 country residential lots being developed in the Whitehorse Copper and Mount Sima area.

City hall is also contemplating a referendum be included in the Oct. 19 municipal elections to ask residents if they are in favour of redesignating a green space next to Arkell for the development of 100 single-family lots.

Aside from the 40 Copper Ridge lots being held for next spring, there is currently no inventory of urban lots in the city.

The city, however, has initiated a process to develop the lower Porter Creek bench as the next the city's next urban residential sprawl, providing for approximately 2,000 lots over several years beginning in 2009.