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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-09-21 Council Minutes - Joint Work Session with Historic District BoardKENAI CITY COUNCIL HISTORIC DISTRICT BOARD PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION JOINT WORK SESSION SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 ?:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS Council Present: Bookey, Moore, Smalley, Williams, Swarner and Bannock. Council Absent: Measles Staff Present: Graves, Freas, Kebschull, La Shot. Planning & Zoning Commission Present: Graveley, Werner-Quade, Glick, Bryson, Mahurin and Nord. Absent: Goecke Historic District Board Present: Kluge, Claussen, Gray and Richards. Others present: Mike Huhndorf and Debbie Sonberg. The work session began at approximately 7:06 p.m. Williams introduced Al Thornton who lived in Kenai from 1948-54. Mr. Thornton talked to the group, giving some history of the area when he first came to Kenai. One point of interest he discussed was the building of the Kenai Elementary School (first masonry -type school built because of local input). Thornton also noted, when he first came to Kenai there were about 300 people in the area, and how the area had grown. He congratulated the city for the growth and prosperity over the years. Cunningham Park-- Williams reported the Kenai River Classic was wishing to donate money for the upgrade of the Park and have asked the city to put $12,000 into the project for the engineering. The Classic planned to put $100,000 into the improvement project. It was requested the Parks & Recreation Commission discuss the matter and make their recommendation. Councilman Bannock requested it be investigated whether the $12,000 could come from the Daubenspeck Funds. Sears Store -- Williams reported the Sears store was investigating moving their store either to a larger area in Soldotna or into Kenai. U.S. Coast Guard -- Williams reported the U.S. Coast Guard was very interested in becoming a working partner in expanding the MAPTS school's cold water recovery program. Williams added, he was working with the Coast Guard and City Manager Ross was working with the University. Ward Cove Cannery -- Williams reported the Ward Cove Cannery was closing. He added, he had been contacted by a number of citizens who wanted to know if there was something the council could do. Williams noted, he didn't know if anything more than writing letters of support could be done. JOINT WORK SESSION 2 SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 PAGE 2 Swarner stated she would support a letter of support to all the processors in the area noting they are a big source of the local economy. Smalley asked if council would want to do a resolution to the Governor and Legislature in regard to the industry. Council was requested to give ideas of what to put in the resolution to the Clerk. Title 14 -- Smalley reported the Commission had discussed reviewing Title 14 in several work sessions, noting areas of conflict, needing revisions, etc. He asked if council would be interested in attending work sessions to this regard. Council decided to discuss the matter further at their October 8 council meeting. Commissioner Graveley noted, in Title 14 there were some issues with regard to land use documents versus conditional use permits. The Commission was hoping to remove the conflicts and streamline the process. Graveley also noted, he had concerns with regard to the formatting of the Code. He believed the Code was hard to read and cumbersome. Bannock stated he believed it a good idea to review the whole Title 14, but thought it would be reinventing the wheel if they wanted to make changes to the Land Use Table. Attorney Graves stated, there was concern there are conflicts in the code which should be revised in the large part. Also, there was some feeling that conditional use permits and variances needed to reviewed to see if the rules needed to be changed. Williams requested council forward their concerns to Attorney Graves prior to the next council meeting. Role of Historic District Board -- Williams noted, council needed to review the documents presented to them to decide how to make the board concept work better and still fall within the guidelines of the State. It was noted, Board Member Gloria Wik telephoned the Clerk and verbally resigned from the Board. Board Member Dorothy Gray stated, the Board needed some direction as to the need for the Board. She noted, Old Town no longer had the single-family residences it once had, however the area included a National Land Mark (the only one on the Kenai Peninsula) which is an important tourist attraction and a support to the tourist industry. She suggested the ordinance be revised if council wanted to the Board to continue reviewing and making recommendations in regard to development in the Townsite Historic Zone. Gray stated, the Board had discussed whether monthly meetings were required as it was sometimes difficult for their group to meet monthly. She added, the ordinance required the Board to meet at least twice annually. Williams asked if the Board was disbanded, would it keep the city from receiving Certified Local Government (CLG) matching grants. Bookey stated, he would not JOINT WORK SESSION 3 SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 PAGE 3 want to disband the HDB and lose the CLG standing. Moore suggested the Board could meet on an as -needed basis, however there may be issues that arise needing the Board's recommendation. Swarner suggested the meetings be cut to two annually with the option of holding special meetings. Swarner asked if the duties of the Board were given to the Planning & Zoning Commission, would that satisfy the qualifications of the CLG. Kebschull answered, yes, that would fulfill the requirements. She added, one member of the Commission could act in the capacity of the Board if needed. Swarner suggested the Board meet twice yearly. Swarner also suggested people interested in appointments to boards, commissions or committees should be required to write an essay of why they are interested in the board, commission or committee and what background and experience they have to offer to the entity. Smalley stated he did not want to disband the board either and would support their holding two meetings a year with the option of holding special meetings when issues arise needing their input. He noted, cutting the amount of meetings may also help in attaining quorums for meetings. Graves noted when it was suggested the Board could meet informally, that the Board had to answer to the Open Meetings Act requirements. Board Member Kluge stated, when he joined the Board, he was interested in what was to happen to development in Old Town. Because platting is a hodge-podge in Old Town, it would be difficult to do a large project and get property owners to agree. He added, he would still like to see the Board have an impact of how Old Town could be developed and encourage development. He added, the road improvement on Mission Avenue helped in upgrading the area, as well as the street lights. He believed development needed to continue on that path. Kluge also noted, instead of just having the Board to keep the CLG status, he would like more emphasis on cleaning up the area and further development. Kluge suggested a master plan be developed for Old Town in regard to street improvements, landscaping and developing additional areas for tourists to view. Bookey noted the federal government would be involved in any development, etc. in Old Town because a large majority of the land was owned by the federal government through the BIA. Administration was requested to identify ownership of parcels in Old Town. Mike Huhndorf stated he thought about either disbanding the Board or holding fewer meetings. He suggested, the key was in determining how active the Board wanted to be. He believed there were a number of projects to do that would keep the CLG certification and involvement in the community. Discussion continued in regard to purchase/trade of Old Town property and uses of the property. It was decided, identification of the property ownership was necessary first prior to discussion about use, acquisition, etc. JOINT WORK SESSION 4 SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 PAGE 4 Board Member Richards stated she was new to the Board and felt preservation of Old Town was important. She was in favor of less meetings. Kebschull stated she agreed, the Board could perform the required duties with fewer meetings. She noted, in the last nine months there had been one meeting where the Board had to review an application having to do with Old Town. In order to review an application that comes up, a special meeting of the Board would have to be called (if there are fewer regular meetings) . Kebschull asked who would fund any title searches necessary to determine property owners of Old Town properties. Graves stated, ownership of BIA properties could be done through BIA in Anchorage. Commissioner Mahurin stated she felt part of the problem for the HDB was making quorums. With the change of make-up of the Board (to seven members) and number of meetings, making quorums should be easier. She felt the Board would have the opportunity to approve development or take on other planning tasks. She noted, there was a lot of work for the Board to do. Mahurin referred to Swarner's suggestion for essays by applicant prior to appointments. Mahurin stated it very important that those who are serving on the Board are those who want to give time to the development/improvement of the area, and not be appointed for political reasons. She added, she believed the Planning 8. Zoning Commission was not the appropriate place for pre -planning for Old Town and that the best interest of the city and public would be to maintain the Board. Swarner asked Mahurin if she felt it important to have a person on the PZ Commission who was also on the Board or as a liaison to the Commission/Board. Mahurin stated she felt it important a design be set to preserve Old Town and the council should be trusted to keep a balanced Board of people who care about Kenai's history and want to preserve it. She added, she didn't think there should be someone from P&Z to serve on the Board. Kluge stated he would like to meet three or four times a year, i.e. April during the beginning of development through July and then special meetings in the off season as needed. Williams suggested the Board develop a plan of what they want to do in the future, i.e. number of meetings, projects, etc. Upon developing this plan, bring it back to council (within a few months) . Their development plan could include suggested changes to the TSH ordinance. Gray stated she believed it important those who volunteer on the Board and others, know they have council's support and encouragement. Kluge asked if it was the desire of council to see development promoted in Old Town and if so, was council willing to participate by developing a master plan to identify areas for development and determine whether development is needed in Old Town to promote tourism. Williams stated, the Board would need to develop a plan of JOINT WORK SESSION SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 PAGE 5 suggested projects and from there it would be determined of the amount of help council would need to put in the project. 5 Mahurin noted, she believed the Board wanted council's approval of their work. Smalley stated he believed some of the validation the Board needed came through the evening's discussions. He noted, he wanted to see development in Old Town and thought the Board was a great entity to be able to investigate ideas. A big concern was funding and who owns the properties. He added, he wanted to see some of the historical apparatus displayed. He believed council wanted the Board's work to continue. Smalley asked the Commission members if they had comments, had comfort with the process, wanted to see a change, if meeting two to four times a year was acceptable, etc. Commissioner Werner-Quade felt changing the number of membership (nine to seven) and reducing the number of meetings would help the Board. Williams summarized: The Board was to refresh their plan of operation; bring the plan to council (number of meetings, when, how many members, etc.); council will then review the costs to carry out the Board's plan; and Graves was to begin identification of ownership of Old Town properties. Bannock stated he saw the role of the Board as a recommendation board to the Planning 8. Zoning Commission. He liked the work session discussion, but didn't like the discussion circumventing the Commission. He added, the Board is advisory to the Commission. If the Board has a problem, it should be taken to the Commission and on to the council. This is the flow required by the Code. Discussion followed in regard to these concerns. Break Taken: 8:41 p.m. Back to Order: 8:50 p.m. Preservation Plan: Williams noted the Plan would be reviewed by the Commission and then to council for adoption (by resolution). It was noted the Commission had no negative comments in regard to the Plan. Swarner stated she liked the Plan and asked if more funds were needed to print additional walking tour brochures. Williams summarized: Identification of property ownership would be made, a resolution accepting the Preservation Plan would be prepared, and the Board would develop a plan of operation and bring it back to council for review along with suggested modifications to the Code. Swarner asked if it was clear to whom the Board reports. Williams answered, the Code requires the Board to do some reporting to the Commission as well as some to the council and the Commission. However, for continuity, the Board should report to the Commission. It was suggested the Code be reviewed by administration to see if there were gray areas in regard to reporting. Smalley stated, he believed if it was a decision -making matter, the issue should be brought to the Commission. JOINT WORK SESSION SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 PAGE 6 L9 The work session ended at approximately 9:04 p.m. Notes transcribed and prepared by: fY,.-. elx, zefe� Carol L. Freas, City Clerk