Assembly shrinks borough planning commission

The planning commission is responsible for planning the “systemic development and betterment” of the borough

The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

The George A. Navarre Kenai Peninsula Borough building. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

The group of Kenai Peninsula residents who advise the borough on planning decisions will soon get smaller following a Tuesday vote by assembly members to reduce the number of commissioners from 14 to nine.

The move to make the commission smaller started with assembly member Bill Elam, who cited cost savings for the borough in deciding to bring the ordinance forward. It’s estimated that reducing membership by five people would save the borough about $47,000 in compensation fees for commissioners.

The borough planning commission is responsible for planning the “systemic development and betterment” of the borough and has approval and rejection authority over plots of land.

Under the changes approved Tuesday, commission will now have nine members. Of those, five will hold at-large seats representing the areas of Nikiski, Funny River and Sterling, Cooper Landing and the eastern peninsula, Kalifornsky and Kasilof, and the southern peninsula. The other four seats will be held by the cities of Homer, Kenai, Seward and Soldotna.

As currently configured, the 14-member body includes five seats for the borough’s first-class and home-rule cities and nine seats covering the same nine districts as the borough assembly.

As initially approved by Elam, the borough’s first-class and home-rule cities would not have had designated seats on the borough planning commission. Rather, the nine seats would correspond directly with the district makeup of the assembly and of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education.

Some municipalities expressed concerns, however, about potentially being represented by residents who live outside of city limits, but still within a city’s assembly district. The City of Soldotna, for example, asked that the borough allow 11 members, with two seats rotating among the borough’s first-class and home-rule cities.

The borough’s process for appointing applicants to the planning commission underwent major changes after a monthslong back-and-forth between the borough and the City of Soldotna. The Soldotna City Council thrice nominated a candidate who the borough mayor would not appoint, and council members expressed skepticism about Elam’s ordinance as introduced.

Assembly members Tuesday ultimately approved an iteration of the original ordinance brought forth by assembly member Tyson Cox, who represents Soldotna.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Director Robert Ruffner testified in support of any initiative that brings commission membership down to nine during a Tuesday meeting of the assembly’s policies and procedures committee. Ruffner said the sooner the assembly votes on the issue, the sooner current commissioners can have certainty.

“I would also hope that we could just pass this tonight and move on with this because it does cause a lot of angst for volunteers that are serving as planning commissioners,” Ruffner told the committee. “So the sooner we can just pull the Band-Aid off (and) make a decision to get it done, the better off I think everybody would be in the process.”

Because there are more than nine commissioners currently sitting on the body, some will need to be dismissed. The ordinance passed Tuesday says Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche is authorized to remove commissioners while enforcing the legislation.

Tuesday’s assembly meeting can be streamed on the borough’s website at kpb.legistar.com.

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

More in News

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Candidate Bill Elam waves signs on election day on Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Voters take to the polls during Tuesday municipal election

Poll workers report low turnout across the central peninsula

Some of the pumpkins submitted to the pumpkin-decorating contest are seen here during the 5th annual Kenai Fall Pumpkin Festival in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai’s Fall Pumpkin Fest set for Saturday

The fun actually starts early, as a central element of the festival is a pumpkin decorating contest already underway

Aurora Borealis Charter School Art and Music Teacher Eleanor Van Sickle leads students in a performance of "Autumn Canon," a Hungarian song at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Student serenade

Aurora Borealis Charter School students sing at the assembly during the regular school board meeting on Monday

Bear 747, defending Fat Bear Week Champion, stands on the bank of the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. The winner of a Thursday matchup between Bear 128 Grazer and Bear 151 Walker will meet 747 in Fat Bear Week competition on Saturday. (Photo courtesy C. Cravatta/National Park Service)
Survival of the fattest

Paunchy ursine competitors go head-to-head in annual Fat Bear Week

Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
High costs stall work on school bond

A cost estimate for the reconstruction of Soldotna Elementary School came back $13.5 million over budget

(City of Seward)
Police standoff closes Seward Highway

Police say standoff was with ‘barricaded individual,’ not escaped inmate

Mount Redoubt can be seen across Cook Inlet from North Kenai Beach on Thursday, July 2, 2022. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska not included in feds’ proposed 5-year oil and gas program

The plan includes a historically low number of proposed sales

A copy of "People, Paths, and Places: The Frontier History of Moose Pass, Alaska" stands in sunlight in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Moose Pass to receive award for community historical effort

“People, Paths, and Places: The Frontier History of Moose Pass, Alaska” was a collaboration among community members

Most Read