The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will be voting on the 2019 Comprehensive Plan at its next meeting.
The plan — required by statute —is prepared by the borough’s planning commission and submitted to the assembly as a proposal for the “systematic and organized development of the borough.”
“A comprehensive plan is a policy document created by a community, with a combination of big vision goals and practical short-term strategies,” the 2019 Comprehensive Plan says.
The borough hasn’t approved a comprehensive plan since 2005, according to the ordinance that would adopt the 2019 plan.
“The social, economic and environmental conditions of the Kenai Peninsula Borough have changed over the past fourteen years,” the ordinance said.
The plan lists a handful of core values the team highlighted, like economic opportunity, freedom with few restraints, rural small-town lifestyles, abundant natural resources, beautiful scenery and wildlife and strong community connections.
The next part of the plan portrays a vision of the Kenai Peninsula’s future, outlining goals for the future, including expanding and diversifying economic opportunities, supporting local food and agriculture industries, balancing economic benefits of tourism with residents’ quality of life, protecting important natural resources, promoting fiscally responsible government and maintaining infrastructure and services.
The rest of the plan goes into detail on making those goals achievable.
The work on the 2019 Comprehensive Plan began back in 2017, when the borough contracted Agnew Beck, a consulting firm, to facilitate updating the plan. Between 2017 and 2019, more than 2,000 residents of the borough shared their ideas with the project team.
The proposed plan was introduced in a public hearing held by the Kenai peninsula Borough Planning Commission in August. The commission recommended the plan at its Sept. 23 meeting. The Comprehensive Plan will be reviewed periodically and updated to reflect changing conditions, trends, laws and policies of the borough. The borough will vote on the Comprehensive Plan ordinance at the Nov. 5 meeting.
