The Soldotna City Council on Wednesday expressed skepticism toward changes proposed to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission, which could allow non-city residents to affect decisions about city land use.
The body during its Wednesday meeting was given a presentation by Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Director Robert Ruffner, who talked about an ordinance that will soon be considered by the borough assembly. The legislation, sponsored by assembly member Bill Elam, would decrease the number of planning commissioners such that it matches the makeup of the borough assembly.
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.
Of the 14 commissioners currently serving, nine represent the same single-member districts as the assembly and board of education. The other five represent the borough’s first-class and home-rule cities of Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Seward and Seldovia.
“Frankly, it’s a bit unwieldy, and I don’t really think that we make any better decisions by having that amount of representation,” Ruffner told council members.
Under the proposed changes, the commission’s individual city seats would be eliminated.
In cases where a borough legislative district contains a municipality, the borough mayor could consider two separate pools of applicants for the seat. In the first pool would be a list of applicants submitted by the city council from applications received by the city. In the second pool would be applicants from outside the city, but still in the legislative district, who would apply through the borough.
In proposing the changes, Elam in an April 20 memo to assembly members cited cost savings for the borough. Commissioners are paid $175 per meeting attended and the commission chair is paid $200. Taking into consideration commissioner’s car allowances, meals, hotels and mileage, a fiscal note says eliminating five members would cut costs by about $40,700.
Council members on Wednesday expressed skepticism about the proposed changes, which they said could give non-city residents the opportunity to make decisions that affect the city. Multiple council members also articulated heartburn over previous interactions between the city and borough over planning commission appointments.
Soldotna City Council members voted three times to recommend Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings for the city’s seat on the borough planning commission. Farnsworth-Hutchings, who also sits on the council, was the only applicant to apply the first time the city accepted applications.
Former mayor Charlie Pierce, who had run against Farnsworth-Hutchings in two separate mayoral elections, said he would not appoint her. Pierce said one name doesn’t count as a list as required by Alaska law and called into question whether or not Soldotna was adequately advertising for the vacancy.
The result of the back-and-forth, which dragged on for months, was sweeping legislation that bumped commission membership from 11 to 14, said the borough can do its own advertising for city seats on the commission and clarified that a list can mean “at least one applicant.’
Council member Jordan Chilson told Ruffner Wednesday that he is thankful to see a “change in direction” at the borough, but said administrations come and go and the situation could change in a few years. Chilson also said he sees how 14 commissioners could be too many, but that there needs to be a way for Soldotna to “have a seat at the table” when the membership is scaled back.
“There’s this whole situation we dealt with over the last couple of years with some conflicts between the city and then the borough and trying to make sure that we have proper representation of our city on the borough level,” Chilson said. “My concern … is that if we ever found ourselves in that situation down the road, again … we could potentially have someone that’s, you know, drug out of the woodwork specifically to be an oppositional commissioner on that body that operates contrary to the best interests of the city.”
Council member Dan Nelson, who attended Wednesday’s meeting remotely, was also apprehensive.
“I understand the perspective you’re coming from, but I agree with some of what’s been said,” Nelson told Ruffner. “It just doesn’t sound quite right, let me put it that way. I’m just a little bit uncomfortable right now. Maybe that’s just history talking.”
Ruffner acknowledged the history between Soldotna and the borough, but said he hopes the council can get behind good policy changes.
“I’m not one to typically mince words, so I’ll just say that we had a pretty significant kerfuffle between our previous mayor and the council here,” Ruffner said. “ … I hope that we can consider that water under the bridge. And let’s think about what is the best policy for making decisions that are relevant to the city,
Ruffner said he plans to visit other city councils on the peninsula to gather feedback on the proposed changes. The first public hearing on the ordinance, if approved by assembly members for introduction, would be held on June 6.
More information about the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission can be found on the borough’s website at kpb.us/planning-dept/planning-commission.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
