CITY OF HOMER

HOMER, ALASKA

Ladd

RESOLUTION 04-13(A)

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HOMER, ALASKA, PROVIDING INPUT TO THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH ASSEMBLY REGARDING THE BOROUGH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

WHEREAS, the Kenai Peninsula Borough is undertaking a project to update its Comprehensive Plan, and

WHEREAS, the current KPB Comprehensive Plan provides a detailed description of the Borough as of 1992, including issues, goals, policies, and recommended future actions related to local government, population, demographics, land use, economy, public facilities, and environmental policy, and

WHEREAS, the plan now needs to be updated to reflect changing conditions and issues on the Kenai Peninsula, and

WHEREAS, changes in demographics, land use, the local and national economy, state and federal regulations, and other conditions will necessitate new policies and actions at the Borough and local levels, and

WHEREAS, public involvement in the plan update process is essential to creating a suitable plan that serves all citizens of the Borough, and is an effective guide for future decision-making.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Homer City Council that the following list of issues is submitted to the Mayor and Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Members for consideration and inclusion within the Borough Comprehensive Plan update:

1. That the KPB support the development of the Port of Homer as a transportation hub and container facility serving the northern Gulf of Alaska, Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay, and the Lower Kenai Peninsula as a key to the Peninsula's economy and linkage with the Southwest Alaska Transportation Plan.

2. That the KPB recognize Homer's docking facilities as a tremendous potential for area-wide economic growth by directly and indirectly creating Peninsula employment within: commercial fishing, sport fishing, logging, cruise ship industry, freight, Coast Guard support, Alaska Marine Highway, numerous governmental agencies, and private businesses.





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3. That the KPB recognize the economic benefits from Lower Peninsula recreation and tourism to the entire Kenai Peninsula, and aggressively market this industry as a year-round activity.

4. That the KPB work with the State of Alaska to obtain the necessary funding and resources to develop a Kenai Peninsula highway system capable of handling commercial and private traffic in a safe and efficient manner. All residents and visitors to the Kenai Peninsula are dependent upon long narrow, sections of winding highway for vehicle access to and from Anchorage, and each year highway fatalities result from these travel conditions.

5. That the KPB require developers to construct roads to borough standards and to provide pedestrian connectors prior to final recording of the subdivision plat.

6. That the KPB define steep slope terrain and develop regulations and standards in which land development and construction therein shall be permitted. Regulations and standards shall protect the topographic character of steep slope areas by insuring that development does not result in soil erosion, silting of lower slopes, slide damage, flooding, water quality impacts, and severe cutting and scarring.

7. That the KPB provide adequate funding for school district co-curricular activities. Seventy percent (70%) of school district students enrolled in grades 7-12 annually participates in co-curricular activities. These activities encourage students to remain enrolled in school, contribute to student academic performance, and prepare young people to be successful citizens.

8. That the KPB lobby the State of Alaska Legislature to adjust the State Education Funding Formula to properly accommodate Peninsula cultures and the unique geography within the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. Present funding allocations to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District from the State of Alaska do not recognize or compensate the Kenai Peninsula School District in a manner that properly accounts for the school district'sunique geographic character.

9. That the KPB adopt zoning regulations needed to restrict conflicting uses throughout the Borough.















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10. That the KPB and the City of Homer enter into an "area of city impact agreement" to promote the orderly development of land within one mile of Homer City limits. Because land in the area of "city impact" is in direct proximity to the City of Homer, it is an area in which growth and development is expected to occur and have future impact on the City of Homer. Proposed changes to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Comprehensive Plan would include a proposed "impact area" surround the City of Homer where management of land uses is jointly approved by the Homer City Council and the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.

11. The City recommends that the Borough accept trail and public access easements when offered by subdividers and donors, and that it amends its subdivision Ordinance to encourage the establishment of public access trails and easements where feasible and prudent.

12. That the Kenai Peninsula Borough establish a permitting process to review any development on the shoreline of Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay for the purpose of stabilizing the beach or the bluff face along the shoreline.

PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER, ALASKA, this 22nd day of_March, 2004.

CITY OF HOMER









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ATTEST: JACK CUSHING, MAYOR

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MARY L. CALHOUN, CMC, CITY CLERK

Fiscal Note: NA