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Home My WebLink About2018-08-08 Planning & Zoning MinutesKENAI PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 8, 2018 — 7:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 210 FIDALGO AVENUE, KENAI, ALASKA CHAIR JEFF TWAIT, PRESIDING MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Commission Chair Twait called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. a. Pledge of Allegiance Commission Chair Twait led those assembled in the Pledge of the Allegiance. b. Roll Call Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: Staff/Council Liaison present: A quorum was present. c. Agenda Approval Chair J. Twait, Vice -Chair R. Springer, D. Fikes, K. Peterson, J. Halstead, V. Askin G. Greenberg City Planner E. Appleby, Deputy City Clerk J. Kennedy, Council Liaison H. Knackstedt Chair Twait noted the laydown PowerPoint presentation provided to include with Item 8(b). MOTION: Commissioner Halstead MOVED to approve the agenda with the addition of the presentation laydown to Item 8(b) and Commissioner Askin SECONDED the motion. There were no objections; SO ORDERED. d. Consent Agenda MOTION: Commissioner Askin MOVED to approve the consent agenda and Commissioner Halstead SECONDED the motion. There were no objections; SO ORDERED. *All items listed with an asterisk (*) are considered to be routine and non -controversial by the Commission and will be approved by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Commission Member so requests, in which case the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda as part of the General Orders. e. *Excused absences — G. Greenberg. 2. *APPROVAL OF MINUTES: July 25, 2018 The minutes were approved by the Consent Agenda. 3. SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENT: (10 minutes) None scheduled. 4. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENT: (3 minutes) None. 5. CONSIDERATION OF PLATS — None. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS — None. 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS — None. 8. NEW BUSINESS a. Surface Extraction Code Discussion - Discuss potential updates to the surface extraction code to obtain a permit Staff reviewed the currently active permits of surface extraction operations, and provided a recap of the annual report. A series of maps were presented showing the current permitted gravel pits, a map to show individuals interested in a gravel pit locations away from the flood plain risk, and a combined map showing the floodplain areas and the current permitted gravel pits. It was clarified that none of the current permitted gravel pits were in the floodplain. The City Planner recommended to the Commission to consider a Code amendment that would not allow surface extraction of natural resource conditional use permit applications within the 100 - year floodplain, 500 -year floodplain, or high -hazard coastal areas in currently mapped floodplain areas. Amending the site plan submission requirements for a conditional use permit for surface extraction of natural resources to state the site plan must be certified or prepared by the appropriate professional discipline, likely a surveyor or engineer was also recommended. It was noted this would ensure the City receives a site plan that clearly stated the proposed development, and the applicant had a greater understanding of what they were proposing. Staff noted that similar requirements existed under Code for the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the City of Palmer. The National Flood Insurance Program was referenced and suggested the City of Kenai develop one to have more control. Clarification was provided that a resident was unable to get flood insurance so it would be beneficial for the City of Kenai and residents for a future discussion and plan. Possible options for Code amendments, including waiting until the Kenai Peninsula Borough changes were developed early next year, recommending a moratorium on all gravel extractions, requiring a professional site plan with a conditional use permit application, increasing restrictions to require applicants to propose ends dates on gravel pit operations and only allowing specific hours of operations during summer months versus winter months, were topics discussed. MOTION: Commissioner Askin MOVED to amend the Surface Extraction Code as recommended by staff Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Page 2 of 4 August 8, 2018 and bring back to the Commission for review and Commissioner Halstead SECONDED. There were no objections; SO ORDERED. b. Sign Code Discussion — Discuss plans to update the sign code Staff reviewed the specific issues with the current Sign Code, the topics to be addressed in the Sign Code update, and the process. Goals for the sign code update were outlined as follows: • Work with the community to obtain appropriate guidance from residents and businesses; • Make the Code easy to interpret; • Make the Code enforceable; • Make the Code legal (no content -based regulation); and • Create appropriate standards for different categories of signs in different areas of the City of Kenai. Examples of varying signs outside of the City of Kenai for consideration in the Sign Code update were provided. It was recommended to start the process from scratch versus revising the existing code. Staff noted that it was a broad end goal to have updates to the Sign Code by summer 2019 and summarized the plans of the next meeting and moving forward. Commissioners expressed support in revamping the Sign Code, suggested following the City of Soldotna as a template and have a joint work session. The City Planner was thanked for the report. Resident, Kristine Schmidt spoke in opposition of reducing the code restrictions and noted the Beautification Committee and community members should be a part of the process. 9. PENDING ITEMS: None 10. REPORTS: a. City Council — Council Member Knackstedt reviewed the action agenda from the August 1 City Council Meeting. He specifically noted the City of Kenai was presented with a $2,000 grant from Enstar towards the Beach Sweeper project developed by Riley Graves through the Caring for the Kenai program. b. Borough Planning — Commissioner Fikes reported that the next Commission meeting was scheduled for August 13. c. Administration — City Planner Appleby reported on the following: • She met with the Airport Manager to help in some of the environmental clearances for possible future improvements fire training and the float plane area; • The SOAR lease was approved for development on an airport property parcel; • She attended a luncheon for the LNG plant development and noted the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation was continuing to investigate water source options in Kenai and Nikiski; • The local bike advocacy group submitted the application for a bicycle funding designation and waiting for the results; • The City of Kenai was in the process of recruiting a temporary lands person; and • Staff were exploring ways to make the Kenai Guide electronically available and an Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Page 3 of 4 August 8, 2018 audio guide; referencing various audio guides on the Alaska.org website. Appleby noted that she was accepting any high quality photos for unique Kenai points of reference to use in the audio Kenai Guide. 11. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT— None. 12. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS — None. 13. NEXT MEETING ATTENDANCE NOTIFICATION: August 22, 2018 Commissioner Peterson noted he would be absent and Commissioner Fikes noted she may be absent. 14. COMMISSION COMMENTS & QUESTIONS Commissioners discussed the outcome of the July 31 Kenai Dog Park meeting, initiated by previous Mayor Pat Porter. Commissioner Halstead thanked Kristine Schmidt for her comments and input regarding the Sign Code. 15. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Minutes prepared and submitted by: KEN.4/ �nenned-y O,••'"""Mg9!! Deputy City Clerk UUU ` •.;9N s i �l LADED 11 Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Page 4 of 4 August 8, 2018