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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-10-24 P&Z MinutesPlanning and Zoning Commission Regular D4eeting, October 24, 1979 Kenai Public Safety Building, 7 p.m. Philip Bryson, Presiding Chairman ,) AGENDA 1. ROLL CALL 2. PUBLIC HEARING 3. AGENDA APPROVAL 4. APPROVAL OF D?INUTES OF September 26, 1979 5. OLD BUSINESS 6. NEh~ BUSINESS A. Change of Use - Lease on Lot 1, Block 2, GAA. Andy's Flying Service B. Church Subdivision: Final C. Doyle Subdivision: Preliminary D. Letter rec{uesting 5 acres of land for the Museum E. Complaint from Beaver Loop Laundry: Miles Dean F. Servicemaster - Complaint about sign and trucks operating in Urban Residential Zone ~` Lease Application: Fidal o I,,ot 7, Block 4: Gentry Enterprises r~ovec~ -~ T+er,^ (~ New ~u~ihess I~I~ Comprehensive Plan Discussion and Approval of Minutes o October 17, 1979 Public Hearing ~re~ot. -fo p ~ b 1 ~ c,, hear ~ h~ 7. OTHER BUSINESS A. City Council Report: Betty Glick B. Borough Planning and Zoning Report: Betty Glick C. Administrative Report D. Borough Report: Jim Hendricks 8. COMMISSION QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS 9. ADJOURNMENT ~ ~~. ~. ~etJ ~US-neSS '~ Zn~e-~- ~Y1S~'-^vtMCn~"S ,- Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission C~~'~o~?/> Regular Meeting, October 24, 1979 Kenai Public Safety Building, 7 p.m. Philip Bryson, Presiding Chairman 1. ROLL CALL Present: Phil Bryson, Sol Raymond, Karen Mahurin, Dwain Gibson, and Ex-Officio Member Betty Glick Absent: Jerry Andrews and Dave Curtis Others: Jim Hendricks, Borough Planner; Howard Hackney, Building Inspector; Ruby and Waldo Coyle; Dave Diamond; John Williams; Ron Malston; Bill Nelson, City Engineer; Estella Eagle; Ed Call; Bill Quandt; Mr. and Mrs. Tom Harvey; Ken Leader; Carmen Gintoli 2. PUBLIC HEARING A. Comprehensive Plan Draft Phil Bryson asked-that this item be moved up from Item H to the Public Hearing section and also requested that another public hearing be held on November 14 with the required two weeks' notice be published in the paper. There were no objections, and the meeting was opened to the public for comments. Howard Hackney noted that on page 89, Table 16, No. 11 the project description should be Rogers 3~oad not Princess. Phil Bryson stated that this chart would be gone over in detail when the planners go over Capital Improvements. John Williams was present representing the Kenai Harbor Commission which was formed by City Ordinance three or four months ago to review the problems with the Kenai River area and Harbor. He stated that the Comprehensive Plan itself as developed by Thorpe is relatively well done. He noted that there were errors in dates and that there were some ideas that do not fit in with their ideas. The Harbor Commission has a problem with the plan in that it has very little in the plan which addresses the Harbor. In the Harbor Development Plan that the Borough did recently there was no mention of the Harbor in Kenai., The Kenai River represents the largest river of its type on the Kenai and the planners did .not cover the river or Harbor to any great extent. There is a lack of information related to the river itself and generally any information at all deals with the wetlands. The Wetlands represent a very large portion of Kenai and most of it near the river. The City of Kenai has benefited by its location to the Kenai River yet there was no major discussion of the potential. of the river. This area equals the second largest area for commercial development in this area. Studies have shown that the cheapest method of transporting Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission Regular .Meeting, October 24, 1979 Page 2 bulk items is by water. Presently we are tied to Anchorage for transportation. The Comprehensive Plan appears to cover the rest of the City. Jim Hendricks questioned whether the Industrial areas as indicate in the Plan now are placed properly for future development of the Harbor. John Williams further noted that airport and harbor transportation are compatible and need to be combined. There is a need to specify what industries are compatible to the Airport and those to the Harbor and address them at the same time as they cannot be separate. He stated that it would not be an impossibility for a Spur railroad. We suffer from the lack of competition. Ruby Coyle stated that she noted and marked many places in the Com~ensive Plan the lack of recognition of the Kenai River and Harbor. She noted that the Heavy Industrial Zone does not have any gravel. The only gravel available is along the Beaver Loop Road and that is now the most restrictive zone. There is nothing about oil and gas drilling. She pointed out the most logical areas for this development and stated that it should be allowed to be developed once they meet the City's Ordinances. This is not addressed and should be. Concerned with her own property and how it will be zoned, Mrs.. Coyle wanted to know why the plan does not state whether she can have a garden, a greenhouse and woodshed, root cellar and a small shop and park a commercial fishing boat in her yard. They are in the most restrictive area - can they have these things? She requested that. the copy of her speech at the last public hearing be made apart of the minutes of that meeting. She questioned whether the City has any legal means to completely change the zoning. The plan is rezoning and changing the definition of zones and thus rezoning the entire City of Kenai. Jim Hendricks stated that a Zoning Ordinance is no different from any ordinance and can be changed or replaced. Ruby Coyle stated that it is included in the original Charter and it can't be changed without the vote of the people. Jim Hendricks explained that the City of Kenai had planning and zoning before the Borough and then it was given over to the Borough and they now have exclusive Planning and Zoning powers. Once the Comprehensive Plan is done then the City can recommend the ordinance to the Borough for approval. The Commission may decide to keep the original ordinance. Ruby Coyle suggested leaving out two items - changing the zoning ordinance and the portion on annexing North Kenai or Kalifonsky areas. Th.e City of Kenai is large enough as it is. If the City doesn't want them to do anything then de-annex Beaver Creek area. She also thought that the point of requesting all new subdivisions to pave up to existing pavement was discouraging development in outl~ng areas. Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting, October 24, 1979 Page 3 Leo Oberts again rec{uested that the Comprehensive Plan address his need to have his land zoned Recreational/Commercial so that he can develop a camper area with food., beverages, and service for boats. He stated that this property is not desirable for residential use because it is in the flood plain. He would also like to see certain districts set up as a standby district between certain zones to allow the land to go either way since these lands are presently unsettled. Waldo Coyle stated that he wants to oppose the Comprehensive Plan a oning Ordinance. It has a total disregard for our lifestyle; they know nothing about snow removal or frost heaves; and it is unthinkable to bring those kind of people up here to make up this kind of plan. There are a good number of discrepancies in this plan. They can't spell Skilak. We should not pay this amount of money to these people to make phoney recommendations when they don't know what it means to make roads and anything about soils, etc. We could have the best harbor if we took the money spent on Corps studies. Anchorage is trying to kill our plans for a harbor. People can't see the potential of the river. lNe now have more processors in Kenai than ever before and they are flying fish in from Bristol Bay. Nothing in the Comprehensive Plan addresses the harbor. Kenai use to be a port City and should be again. He thinks the City should "junk the Comprehensive Plan." John Williams discussed why the City of Kenai is having difficulty becoming a port and that it needs to be declared a port of entry. This should be addressed in the plan. As an individual he stated that he must defend some parts of the plan-.such as these projects that deal with street improvement programs and laying out priorities according to the way the citizens want them done. Also, the traffic control study is good - the amount of cars and accidents on the Spur Highway. He stated that they did a good job in some areas and a lousy job in others. There were no other comments from the public. Sol Raymond rec{uested that the Historical Society be asked to go over the plan and review the portion dealing with history to correct any inaccuracies. Karen Mahurin c{uestioned the fact that the planners had been asked to address the fishing industry and thought that it should be. Jim Hendricks also agreed and would get these comments to Thorpe. Sol Raymond stated that the area Mr. Oberts addressed does not seem to fit as anything but recreational and needs to be included in the plan. Jim Hendricks stated that this would be brought up to Thorpe again. ';a Kenai Planning and. Zoning Commission ` Regular Meeting, October 24,.1979 Page 4 Estella Eagle questioned the Commission as to how many came from a dig city and how many from a small town. She thinks that Kenai and Soldotna are trying to be big cities and should act like little towns and let everyone do what they want to do. Leave the Borough alone and leave everyone else alone. Bill Quandt stated that it would be a good idea to be cut off from the City as he is not getting anything for all his tax money. Ed. Call stated that most people coming here to get away from ig~ness and all this. There were no other comments and the public hearing was closed. There is to be another in 3 weeks on November 14, 1979.. 3. AGEr?DA APPROVAL Phil Bryson requested that Inlet Instruments be added as Item H and as the representatives from Gentry Enterprises had a plane to catch Item G be moved to Item A and all others adjusted. MOTION: Karen Mahurin moved, seconded by Sol Raymond, to approve the agenda with the changes. There were no objections. ~ 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF September 26, 1979 MOTION: Karen Mahurin moved, seconded by Dwain Gibson, to approve the minutes of September 26, 1979 as submitted. There were no objections. 5. OLD BUSINESS 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Lease Application: Fidalgo Lot 7, Block 4: Gentry Enterprises Ken Leader was present and gave a brief history of the lease and stated that they still want to build a restaurant, Taco Time. The Commission reviewed the site. plan and drawings.. They would have a drive-in window and 28 parking spaces. They plan to avoid plastics and keep their sign close to the ground and non-obtrusive. They are asking for concept approval again as the lease has been submitted again.. The Commission discussed the questions raised in Gentry's letter concerning street, water, and sewer availability. Phil Bryson proposed that this be brought to Council to discuss possible development of the subdivision. The Commission discussed existing water and sewer lines to the lot on Caviar Street. Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting, October 24, 1979 Page 5 The Commission questioned Ken Leader as to whether he would ~ be interested in the lot on Caviar Street as the street is already in and water and sewer are not that far away. Mr. Leader stated that he had not seen the plat of this lot and would want to review it. He was further questioned as to whether he would be in agreement to table this item until he and the Administration had time to review this lot. MOTION: Karen Mahurin moved, seconded by Dwain Gibson, to table this item until the next meeting. The motion passed unanimously. B. Change of Use - Lease on Lot 1, Block 2, GAA Andy's Flying Service Dave Diamond from Andy's Flying Service stated that he would like to change the use of a portion of his lot and instead of putting up another building he would use the area for parking large aircraft instead. There was a memo in the Commissioner's packets which stated that Jim Swalley, Airport Operations Manager had no objection to this change. Mr. Diamond stated ~ that he would not be asking for a price difference on his lease rate. He already has 1 large aircraft based here in Kenai and now wants to get another. MOTION: Dwain Gibson moved, seconded by Karen Mahurin,'to approve the request for a change of use for Lease on Lot 1, Block 2, GAA Andy's Flying Service. The motion passed unanimously. C. Church Subdivision: Final Jim Hendricks briefly went over the memo from the Borough and stated that this subdivision has been before the Commission previously and-a11 of the conditions have been meta MOTION: Sol Raymond moved, seconded by Dwain Gibson, to adopt Resolution PZ 79-32 approving Church Subdivision: Final Plat. The motion passed unanimously. D. Doyle Subdivision: Preliminary The Commission discussed the plat. Jim Hendricks pointed out that there is a problem with the zoning of the plat. It should be Suburban Residential not Rural Residential for the size of the lots. The Borough has no problem with the layout of the lots. This area was looked at in the draft Comprehensive plan. This should be tabled until the rezoning. • Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting, October 24, 1979 Page 6 ~~~ MOTION: - Sol Raymond moved, seconded by Karen Mahurin, to table action on Doyle Subdivision: Preliminary and request that Administration contact the owners of the subdivision to advise them of the need to rezone this area. The motion passed unanimously. E. Letter requesting 5 acres of land for the Museum. There was no one present to represent this request. MOTION: Karen. Mahurin moved, seconded by Dwain Gibson, to table this item until someone from the Museum came to explain the request. The motion passed unanimously. F. Complaint from Beaver Loop Laundry: Miles Dean Ernie Schlereth commented on his memo to the Commission concerning this complaint. He explained that after researching the matter he found that the trailer is not in a dedicated right-of-way. Karen Mahurin stated that the City should look into matters more carefully before sending out letters. i G. Servicemaster - Complaint about sign and trucks operating in Urban Residential Zone Mr. Harvey of Servicemaster received a letter from the City requesting him to take down his signs advertising his business and the signs have been removed.. He reviewed the complaint that trucks for the business are being parked in his yard and this is taking away from the Historical value of the area. ~Ir. Harvey does not feel this is true and it does not take away from the attractiveness of the area or that the complaint has any grounds. His business is not the type of business that generates traffic and is not offensive. Ernie Schlereth stated that it did not fit as a Conditional Use or home occupation. He asked for further time to review this. Howard Hackney stated that Mr. Harvey has taken down his signs as-requested and is now only parking his vehicles in his yard which hundreds of other residents do. The City Administration has no further complaint with Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey had distributed pictures of his home and the surrounding area to prove to the Commission the attractiveness of the home. Dwain Gibson could see no problem with parking his vehicles in his yard and was sorry that he had to take the signs down. Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting, October 24, 1979 Page 7 Karen Mahurin commented that the Commission would take no action at this point. Sol Raymond did not feel the complaint about the vehicles was a valid one as many people in town take their work vehicles home. H. Industrial Instruments It was noted recently that the company had constructed a building on City Leased land that violates the set back lines for the zone. The building was originally constructed before obtaining a building permit and when inspected found that the building was built 2 feet away from the back lot line instead of 20 feet. The City has sent a letter to Mr. Granath requesting him to move the building within 30 days. Mr. Granath replied to the City in the letter given to each of the Commission members. It stated that moving the building would create severe financial hardship on this individual. Ernie Schlereth stated that as a legal matter the building would have to be moved as it violated the zoning code.. Maybe the lot line could be moved and the company charged the additional money for the lease of the land. Karen Mahurin questioned why the building was issued even though the building was in violation of setbacks. Howard Hackney stated that he would have caught this error if he had come in for a building permit before he started building. He sent this into the State Fire Marshall's office for approval and it was OK'd. Ernie Schlereth stated that it would be a good idea to incorporate an ordinance to require that a survey be done before a building permit is issued. Betty Glick questioned why someone from the City did not notice the construction until it was completed. Sol Raymond stated that if the zoning ordinance is worth anything then the Commission should enforce it. The Commission discussed the setbacks in the Light Industrial Zone and whether they should consider changing them. They questioned whether the Fire Marshall would approve of the 2-foot set back and it was noted that they had no problem with the building located as it was. It was noted that some zoning ordinances make a difference between setbacks on buildings and accessory buildings as this one. MOTION: Sol Raymond moved to direct the City Administration to procede 1 with enforcing the set back requirements on the dry storage building on the Lot in question. The motion died for a lack of a second. Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting, October 24, 1979 Page 8 Jim Hendricks pointed out that the normal procedure is a variance but this cannot be used to correct a mistake. The .City can either change the requirements of the zone or replat the property. Ernie Schlereth stated that the City Administration could replat the property and charge the additional cost to Industrial Instruments. Dwain Gibson noted that Mr. Granath was trying to crowd the building in the space available to get more parking space. He probably knew full well what he was doing. MOTION: Sol Raymond moved, seconded by Dwain Gibson, to recommend that the Administration contact the Granaths and work with them to arrive at whatever legal means to reach a satisfactory solution. The motion passed unanimously. 7. OTHER BUSINESS A. City Council Report: Betty Glick The Council passed an Ordinance approving funds for the Addition to Fort Kenay and the contract to Carmen Gintoli; Council concurred with Wildwood Ext. being changed to Cook Inlet Drive. B. Borough Planning and Zoning Report: Betty 'Glick C. Administrative Report D. Borough Report: Jim Hendricks Thorpe will be up in Kenai on November 14 concerning the Capital Improvement Draft. 8. COMMISSION QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS Phil Bryson stated that the Commission should be initiating capital improvement projects and a good example is Fidalgo. The Comprehensive Plan might be an appropriate vehicle for the Commission to give their .recommendations to Council. 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Karen Mahurin moved, seconded by Dwain Gibson, to adjourn the meeting. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10 p.m. Respectfully submitted Janice E. Taylor, Sec~e• ary to the Co mission