Session 09-08, a Regular
Meeting of the Homer Advisory Planning Commission was called to order by Chair
Minsch at 7:00 p.m. on May 6, 2009 at the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers
located at 491 E. Pioneer Avenue, Homer, Alaska.
PRESENT: COMMISSIONER BOS, KRANICH, MINSCH, MOORE, SINN
ABSENT: COMMISSIONER HAINA
STAFF: CITY PLANNER ABBOUD
PLANNING TECHINCIAN HARNESS
PLANNING TECHNICIAN
ENGEBRETSEN
DEPUTY CITY CLERK JACOBSEN
AGENDA APPROVAL
The
agenda was approved by consensus of the Commission.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The Public may speak to the Planning
Commission regarding matters not scheduled for public hearing. (3 minute time
limit) Presentations approved by the Planning Director, the Chair or the
Planning Commission. A Public Works representative may address the Planning
Commission.
Rika
Mouw, city resident, commented:
·
The
Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation Map is not meant to be, nor is it, a
zoning map. It is a tool for guiding future land decisions based on extensive
mapping of various on the ground conditions like wetlands, drainages, steep
slopes, development suitability, existing infrastructure, green infrastructure,
and existing uses already in place.
·
The
Commission previously stated that only public land could be designated for
conservation yet there is much more land in this area that is public and
therefore should be included in the Land Use Designation Map.
·
The
Commission’s Land Use Designation Map does not reconcile with the many
development suitability maps researched by professionals hired by the City, so
the Comp Plan as now presented contradicts itself.
·
How
did the Planning Commission’s Land Use Map find its way into the draft document
before it has gone through the public hearing process?
·
She
has concern about the process in handing the Comp Plan. Most of the discussion
was held during worksessions, which are public, but no minutes are taken and
therefore no record of the dialog is available. It is not understood how the
Commission arrived at their recommendations. The public hearings were not well
advertised, leaving a tremendous amount of professional and public input out of
the community’s document.
Mrs.
Mouw stated for the record that she believes the process has been mishandled
and needs to be reviewed. She provided map supporting her second point and a
copy of her comments for the record.
Elaine
Burgess, city resident, presented five reasons marsh land surrounding the Homer
Airport should not become industrial:
·
It
would degrade the oceanfront residential properties resulting in disinvestment
and waste of the resource. Property values would decline.
·
It
would encourage traffic patterns that conflict with the growing number of
recreation walkers and bicyclists that use Kachemak Drive as the connection
between East End Road and the Homer Spit. Tractor-trailer trucks would not only
accelerate costs of road maintenance and decay but also increase risk to
cyclists and pedestrians.
·
The
marsh is a vital watershed that is already being challenged by reckless
unregulated drainage practices, and encroachment but the airport leading to an
increase in flooding of homes and bluff erosion along Kachemak Drive.
·
The
marsh is vital habitat to moose, birds and other wildlife that would, along
with the residents of Kachemak Drive suffer significant noise, air, and light
levels while destroying valued habitat. Once the decision is made to develop it
is irreversible. The habitat cannot be restored. This also will negatively
affect out oceanfront residential setting leading to property decline.
·
The
benefit of industrialization serving the needs of a few is meager compared to
the benefit of serving the many residents of Kachemak Drive while also
protecting the natural resources that are vital to the whole community.
Mrs.
Burgess provided a copy of her comments for the record.
Jan
Needham, city resident, commented that she has lived on Kachemak Drive since
1975 and has had to fight three times to keep commercial from encroaching on
Kachemak Drive. It destroys the value of the homes on the bluff side, and there
are a lot of homes on the off water side of Kachemak Drive. To go in and
suddenly tell them that their home is going to be East End mixed use and
allowed to look like East End Road with the junk and everything else along
there is a terrible thing to do to Kachemak Drive. Where the mixed use is,
across the street from her, there are a lot of little homes coming in there,
growing and expanding, and beyond that it turns in to General Commercial 2.
There are three different zonings right in a row as she pointed out on the map.
She suggested that Lampert Lake should be purchased for park land in the City
of Homer; it would serve as an ice rink for the kids who already use it and the
birds and marsh during the summer. She finds the idea that commercial has to be
there next to the homes is described by words she can’t use in public. She is
very disturbed by watching this. This is unthinkable for an area that is so
beautiful and should have a bike path. She expressed concern regarding the drainage
problems they have from the whole hillside coming down. The drainage has to be
properly cared for before disrupting it and putting gravel on it, pressing down
the mosses and peat underneath, preventing the natural flow. Recently there have
been TV shows expressing the importance of getting through to the public how
important it is to save these wetlands as they are not just there for the birds
or moose, they are the filtering process of all this water that comes down.
Beluga Lake used to flow through there. We must save that land for the
filtering of that water.
Kyra
Wagner, city resident, commented regarding the wind turbines. She noted that
higher can be less of an eyesore and a common rule of thumb is 40 foot limit
above the tree line is how high you need to be for wind power potential. She
encouraged the Commission to come up with as much delineation as they can
instead of a special permit when people apply to put in a wind turbine. It
seems to be up and coming. A few months ago there was a wind turbine conference
here. There was little advertising and many people showed up. People are
interested in this, there is a business coming down from Kenai for it. The 35
foot height limit will be restrictive and that limit goes toward buildings.
This isn’t something you would need a ladder truck to put out a fire for.
Regarding the Comp Plan energy chapter, she encouraged the Commission to hammer
it out and include it in the Comp Plan before putting up to City Council so
that it doesn’t have to be rehashed on its own.
Annette
Koth, city resident, commented she lives on Kachemak Drive right at the end of
the airport. She has a letter included in the packet that talks about
development around the area where she lives and hopes to continue living
through her retirement years. Change is good, but a lot of change is not so
good as far as changing the zoning area there. It would damper a situation
where industry types could come in and take over the residential type look and
feel that has been there for some time. She would hate to see the young
families coming to Homer that go through Kachemak Drive and see the homes for
sale there now or places they could build a home for their family. If it is zoned
to become a commercial/residential type, their hopes and dreams are going to be
out the door. There are reasons people move there, there is the migration of
the birds that come through there. There are people there who want to keep it
the way it is and not bring in big production, the greedy ones, that want to
keep building and building. If that does happen because of the pressure of the
water that come flowing down there from the east it will end up floating us
away, as it has been trying to do since the road was built. She hates to see
something that is so truly beautiful be changed for reasons that aren’t
beautiful reasons. She recognizes that progress is one thing, but the places
that they are thinking of changing to zone so that commercial can build, it
just breaks her heart.
Amy
Bollenbach, city resident, said she agrees with the others who have testified
regarding Kachemak Drive. She commented about the drainage problems on Kachemak
Drive and industrial use has exacerbated those problems. She lives across from
Port Engineers and Caravan and fill has been extended to the very limits of
those lots on the north side of Kachemak Drive. The diesel fumes and noise are
pretty annoying for a residential area. She requested they keep as much of the
area as possible in conservation or residential.
RECONSIDERATION
There
were no items for reconsideration.
ADOPTION OF THE
CONSENT AGENDA
All
items on the consent agenda are considered routine and non-controversial by the
Planning Commission and are approved in one motion. There w
1.
Approval of Minutes of April 15,
2009
2. Time Extension Requests
3. Approval of City of Homer Projects under
4. KPB Coastal Management Program Reports
5. Approval of Draft Decision and Findings
regarding a Request for a Conditional Use Permit at 1028 Skyline Drive for
Public Utility Facilities and Structures per HCC 21.12.030(g) and 21.40.060(b)
The
Consent Agenda was approved by consensus of the Commission.
PRESENTATIONS
Presentations approved by the Planning
Director, the Chair, or the Planning Commission. A Public Works representative
may address the Planning Commission.
There
were no presentations.
REPORTS
A. Borough Report
There
was no Borough Report.
B. Kachemak Bay Advisory Planning Commission
Report
There
was no KBAPC report.
C. Planning Director’s Report
1. Staff
Report PL 47, City Planner’s Report
City
Planner Abboud reviewed the staff report.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
The Commission conducts Public
Hearings by hearing a staff report, hearing public testimony and the acting on
the Public Hearing items. (3 minute time limit) The commission may question the
public. Once the public hearing is closed the Commission cannot hear additional
comments on the topic.
There
were no public hearings scheduled.
PLAT
CONSIDERATION
The Commission hears a staff report,
testimony from applicants and the public, The Commission may ask questions of
staff, applicants and the public, The Commission will accept testimony or a
presentation on agenda items that involve an applicant.
There
were no plat considerations scheduled.
PENDING BUSINESS
A.
Staff
Report PL 09-30, Small Wind Energy System
Planning
Technician Harness reviewed the staff report.
SINN/KRANICH
MOVED TO POSTPONE WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS UNTIL IT IS BROUGHT BACK BY STAFF WITH
THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT WE REQUESTED.
Commissioner
Sinn commented that in order to make better decisions they need more a little
more information on sizes of blades and things of that nature.
VOTE:
NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Motion
carried.
B.
Staff
Report PL 09-33, Comprehensive Plan Forward through Chapter 4 and Land Use Map
KRANICH/BOS
MOVED TO BRING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE MAP TO THE FLOOR FOR DISCUSSION.
VOTE:
NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Motion
carried.
The
Commission discussed the mixed use portion along Kachemak Drive as shown on the
land use map in the draft Comprehensive Plan.
Commissioner
Moore commented that he would like to see the zoning changed back to the area
from north of the commercial back down to the boat yard back to residential.
His reasoning is because when people bought the property across the street on
Kachemak Drive, the property across the street was residential. The property
currently zoned as commercial, he would like to see stay that way as well.
Commissioner
Kranich agreed with leaving what is residential, as residential up on the East
End, as it is currently zoned. Leave the rest of the map as we have proposed
which basically leaves the commercial as commercial and expands somewhat the
conservation zoning.
Commissioner
Moore reiterated that what is commercial on the airport side of Kachemak Drive
should be left as commercial, those property owners have invested as
commercial, just as those on the residential side have invested in residential.
KRANICH/MOORE
MOVED TO AMEND THE COMPRENSHIVE PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION MAP TO REINSITUTE
RURAL RESIDENTIAL ZONING ON PROPERTIES TOWARD THE NORTH END OF KACHEMAK DRIVE
WHICH WE HAD PROPOSED TO BE IN THAT EAST END MIXED USE COMMERCIAL.
There
was discussion to review what the Commission had recommended at previous
meetings and attempting to clarify the intent of the motion. Planning
Technician Engebretsen outlined the area on the draft Comp Plan Land Use Map
that she understood Commissioner Kranich to be referring to and he concurred
she had the correct area.
Planning
Technician Engebretsen explained that the Comp Plan consultants recommended the
area be Transitional. Today it is zoned Rural Residential. The difference is
Transition Zoning would allow for more density possibly in the future. She gave
an example that a property owner on a Rural Residential lot with City water and
sewer could subdivide down to a 10,000 square foot lot, on the flip side a
property owner might have a single family home and want to have a B&B unit.
The Transition Zone is intended to allow some more density but maybe have more
design standards to keep a residential feel.
Concern
was raised that the motion was unclear.
VOTE:
NO: MOORE, MINSCH, SINN, KRANICH, BOS
Motion
failed.
Commissioner
Kranich requested a short break to write out the motion. Chair Minsch called
for a recess at 7:53 p.m. The meeting resumed at 7:57 p.m.
KRANICH/MOORE
MOVED TO AMEND THE COMP PLAN LAND USE MAP TO CHANGE THE PROPERTY AT THE NORTH
END OF KACHEMAK DRIVE AS OUTLINED BY PLANNING STAFF TO RESIDENTIAL TRANSITION.
Commissioner
Kranich stated that to him that reinstates what would be current zoning.
VOTE:
NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Motion
carried.
There
was brief discussion whether to forward this to council or wait for the energy
chapter. Chair Minsch noted that chapters 5 through 8 have already been sent
forward, they could move this forward, and then deal with the energy chapter.
It will be sent to council as one document.
KRANICH/BOS
MOVED THAT THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDS SENDING THE FORWARD AND CHAPTERS 1 THOUGH
4 AND THE LAND USE MAP TO THE COUNCIL
There
was no discussion.
VOTE:
NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Motion
carried.
C.
Staff
Report PL 09-42, Draft Steep Slope Ordinance
Planning
Technician Engebretsen reviewed the staff report.
KRANICH/BOS
MOVED TO BRING STAFF REPORT 09-42 AND ACCOMPANYING DRAFT ORDINANCE TO THE FLOOR
FOR DISCUSSION.
Discussion
included:
·
There
needs to be some clear boundaries set for the requirements of a CUP for
development on a steep slope. No one here has the knowledge to look at a plan
and okay it.
·
The
set back is an issue. If you are building on a steep slope it is understandable
to have the engineer requirements. But if you are on flat ground at the top of
the hill, what is the problem.
·
40
feet is the international building code and is the standard. Another consideration
is 1/3 the height of the bluff.
·
Part
of the reason for the standards is to have a blanket rules that fit a lot of
possibilities, for example if you were building 40 feet from the bluff and were
planning to have a 10 foot basement, it might not be safe at 40 feet. 40 feet
isn’t that far.
·
If
there is a responsible process in place, then people could be allowed to build
within the 40 foot setback.
·
If
the ordinance says the development will not change the natural drainage
patterns there will not be a road or driveway built on the side of a hill.
Cutting into or filling a hillside will change the natural drainage pattern.
·
Line
166 setback exemptions granted by CUP. What are the conditions are considered
in the CUP in that instance.
·
When
we started this we were going to do a separate piece in the Sensitive Ordinance
for the Coastal Bluffs.
·
Line
71 and 72, should it refer to a change in elevation rather than the change of
topography.
·
Line
123 talks about the sites where you can’t do any development without a site
plan approved and a zoning permit. Consideration could be given to have it say
zoning permit issued.
KRANICH/BOS MOVED TO RETURN THE
DRAFT STEEP SLOPE ORDINANCE TO STAFF FOR UPDATE AND RETURN TO THE COMMISSION.
There was no discussion.
VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS
CONSENT
Motion carried.
Chair
Minsch called for a short recess at 8:27 p.m. for staff to prepare. The meeting
resumed at 8:29 p.m.
D.
Staff
Report PL 09-43, Draft Overslope Ordinance
Planning
Technician Engebretsen reviewed the staff report.
·
There
was brief discussion regarding parking. Currently the thought is that if the
development is taking place on the overslope, the remaining lot area is
available for parking. Input from the Port and Harbor Commission regarding
parking is necessary.
·
Overslope
development having direct access to the ramps is being considered as an option
to have limited access to the wharf.
·
It
is a good idea to bring people in the areas that are proposed. It is a good
start and it makes sense.
MINSCH/KRANICH
MOVED TO POSTPONE ACTION UNTIL IT IS BROUGHT BACK BY STAFF.
There
was no discussion.
VOTE:
NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Motion
carried.
NEW
BUSINESS
The Commission hears a report from
staff. Commission business includes resolutions, ordinances, zoning issues,
requests for reconsideration and other issues as needed. The Commission may ask
questions of staff, applicants, and the public. Any items brought before the
Commission for discussion are on the floor for discussion following
introduction of the item. The Commission w
A.
Staff
Report PL 09-46, Draft Comprehensive Plan: New Energy Chapter.
City
Planner Abboud reviewed the staff report.
BOS/KRANICH
MOVED TO BRING THIS BACK AT A WORKSESSION.
The
draft needs to be edited to be applicable to Homer and what is already
addressed in the Comprehensive Plan. Point was raised that a lot of this
information is addressed in the Climate Action Plan.
There
was discussion regarding the time frame of reviewing this new chapter and
getting it to Council.
VOTE:
NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Motion
carried.
INFORMATIONAL
MATERIALS
A.
US
Army Corps of Engineers, Public Notice of Application for Permit dated April
17, 2009
B.
Notice
of Decision of KPB Plant Committee meeting of April 13, 2009 regarding Forest
Glen Subdivision, Kalie’s Addition Preliminary Plat
C.
Notice
of Decision of KPB Plat Committee meeting of April 13, 2009 regarding Harrington
Heights 2009 Preliminary Plat
COMMENTS
OF THE AUDIENCE
Members of the Audience may address
the Commission on any subject.
There
were no audience comments.
COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION
Commissioners may comments on any
subject, including requests to staff and requests for excused absence.
Commissioner
Moore said he is sorry to see Commissioner Storm go, she will be missed.
Commissioner
Kranich concurred with Commissioner Moore. While sometimes he didn’t agree with
her viewpoint it was quite often very valid. For being ultra conservative she
weighed a lot of things and if they didn’t make sense all the way through she
weighed them along with her personal convictions on things. It was a very good
viewpoint to have involved in the Commission.
Commissioner
Bos agreed that her view point will be missed. He thanked staff for their work
and the presentations they have made.
Commissioner
Sinn commented that Commissioner Storm was reasonably easy to work with and
while sometimes she was the only dissenting view she was reasonable, cordial,
and professional in discussion. He thanked the Commission and staff, it has
been a tough couple of meetings and he thinks they have all done good work.
Chair
Minsch commended the Commission. She reminded them they are moving away from
the Comp Plan type of work back to Ordinance type of work with more formal
business meetings. It will be on the agenda next meeting to elect a Vice Chair.
She encouraged the other Commissioners to give it a try.
ADJOURN
Meetings adjourn promptly at 10 p.m.
An extension is allowed by a vote of the Commission. Notice of the next regular
or special meeting or work session w
There
being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting adjourned
at 8:54 p.m. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for May 20, 2009 at 7:00
p.m. in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers. There is a worksession at 5:30
p.m. prior to the meeting.
MELISSA
JACOBSEN,
Approved: