CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA Planning Commission Minutes of Meeting August 21, 2012

Present: Jeremy Twaddle (Chair), Tom Rogers (Member), Darrell Windsor (Member), Richard Parmelee (Member), Wells Williams (Planning Director), Melissa Henshaw (Planner I)

Members of the Public: Randy Hitchcock, Kim Rickard, Lowell Frank, Bob Medinger, Ken Dinsmore, Connor Nelson, John Rennie, Lowell Frank, Ken Creamer, Marilyn Corruzi, Ted Wright (STA), Allen Bell (STA), William Ferguson, Paul McArthur, Michael Harmon (Public Works Director), Stephen Weatherman (Municipal Engineer) Shannon Haugland ()

Chair Twaddle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Consideration of the Minutes from the July 17, 2012 meeting:

MOTION: M/S WINDSOR/ROGERS to approve the meeting minutes for July 17, 2012.

ACTION: Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote.

The evening business:

NARROWING OF AN EASEMENT 204 JEFF DAVIS STREET RANDY HITCHCOCK

Public hearing and consideration of a request to modify an existing easement that serves as a secondary access to the rear of Hames PE Center at 204 Jeff Davis Street. The request is to narrow the width of the easement from 40 feet to 20 feet. The property is also known as Lot 17 Campus Subdivision. The request is filed by Randy Hitchcock.

Planner Henshaw reviewed this request stating that the applicant would like to narrow the easement that aligns his property line the entire length of his property from 40 feet down to 20. The actual driveway does not extend past the 20 foot width. This easement is for Lot 17, Lot 12, and an emergency access for the Hames PE Center. Comments came in from Public Works due to the placement of the water line, they suggested a 30 foot width at Jeff Davis Street then taper down to 20 feet. The owner of Lot 12 has requested to narrow his easement down to 20 also. Letters in support from both the Fine Arts Camp and Dave Miller, Fire Chief came in.

Applicant: Randy Hitchcock came forward. He had the City locate the water line previous to asking for a reduction. In which is seemed that the water line was within the driveway portion of the easement. However, this morning Mark Buggins, Environmental Superintendent for the City has determined that the water line goes through the section that he is asking to reduce. Mr. Hitchcock would like the option to pursue moving the water line.

Public Comment: Stephen Weatherman, Municipal Engineer came forward. The water department looked at it once more since Lot 12 has applied for a reduction to this easement. Planning Commission Minutes August 21, 2012 Page 1 of 7 FINAL The water line is closer to the middle of the overall easement. The line is not up to City standards and it is privately owned. Public Works would ask that if the water lines is moved that it does need to meet City standards. Chair Twaddle received confirmation that the line would still stay privately owned. Mr. Weatherman answered Planning Director Williams question that Public Works would like to see 10 feet clearance on either side of the water line.

Planning Director confirmed with Commissioner Windsor that the applicant will need to have the go ahead from the Arts Southeast, Inc. to move the water line.

Kim Rickard owner of Lot 12 came forward. He would like to reduce his portion of the easement to 20 feet also. He has questions on where to move the water line, where it goes, and does it feed the Hames PE Center?

Ted Laufenberg came forward. He lives in the area, is the Chair of the building committee for the Sheldon Jackson campus, and is president of the Sitka International Hostel. The original water line was installed in the 50’s. New water lines were ran in the 80’s. This line is 26 feet from the property line and feeds the Hames PE Center entirely. It used to feed the hydrant (though it has been taken out and capped) and the incinerator. This water lines will probably fail in the next 20 years.

No motion was made this request will come back before the Commission at their next meeting on September 4th.

CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT NATURAL RESOURCE EXTRACTION PORTION OF LOT 1 USS3670 SUBDIVISION CITY AND BOROUGH OF SITKA

Public hearing and consideration of a conditional use permit request for natural resource extraction (rock quarry) and mining support facilities on a Portion of Lot 1 USS 3670 Subdivision. The request is filed by the City and Borough of Sitka. The property is at the end of Granite Creek Road south of Granite Creek Subdivision.

Planning Director Williams stated that this item may take several meetings with at least two being at the Planning Commission level with recommendations and conditions before it moves on to the Assembly.

Applicant: Stephen Weatherman, Municipal Engineer came forward. The Granite Creek Quarry Subdivision that has been previously brought forward and gone through the approval process has almost 100 percent wetlands and will take more time to go through mitigation plans in order to develop. Public Works started looking at other locations that has very little wetlands. In return for an access to this new proposed quarry site, the current quarry will extend further. At this new location the vegetation will be left along the outside property line as a buffer and there will be hours of operations.

Mr. Weatherman confirmed that the quarry will not be visible from Halibut Point Road; the mountaintop may disappear, the life of the quarry is approximately 20 years; a minimum of a 50 foot buffer will remain along the property line; the site is approximately 10 acres; that there will be storm water pollution ponds since Granite Creek is in the area.

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Public Comment: Bob Medinger came forward. He owns 4270 Halibut Point Road. All the owners have put a lot of money into their private road and it gets saturated with water. His biggest concern is possible landslides. He wants to know why the property line can’t be moved back. Chair Twaddle stated that they will take questions and then Mr. Weatherman can come back up to answer them. This is starting to take away the top of the mountain. Then he has concerns with a blow down. He suggested that Public Works should do mitigations and study this project He would like to know how much the City makes off this.

Marilyn Corruzi came forward. She lives at 4260 Halibut Point Road. She feels like this is almost in her back yard. She has the same concerns with regards to landslides and drainage. She would like to know what the implications will be.

Lowell Frank came forward on behalf of the Sitka Golf Association with concerns on the impacts of the golf course. He would like to know how this project will affect the course.

Ken Dinsmore came forward. He lives at 4274 Halibut Point Road. He stated that he sent in an email and would like to echo Mr. Medinger’s concerns. Mr. Dinsmore has worked for the Forrest Service for 35 years with his main interest in timber sales and road construction. He has been involved with hundreds of quarries and quarry development. Even with the best buffer there are accidents that will occur and natural incidents. To say that this will not be viewed from Halibut Point Road or from the water, is premature. The 50 foot buffer will cause wind throw. Prevailing winds come from the W and SW. Trees are rooted to resist wind from that direction, however when you remove the back side, it will create a different wind pattern. There is then concern with wind thrown timber which in turn would expose the site. This is in his back yard. He has concerns with the impacts with the drainage pattern. Why not pull the line and leave the knob alone? His questions also include: What analysis has been done. Impacts to property values, noise/visual, eagle nests, study of the soil. Planning Director Williams received an answer with regards to blow downs: When the golf course was developed, the winds has an area to get a start. There were two and three buffer strips that were privately owned, those have disappeared. There is not much of a buffer there any longer with a few trees going down every year. You can build the best of buffers, but it is just a matter of time before the trees blow down once you expose timber to wind that it is not resistant to in a natural state. Chair Twaddle confirmed also to as how far they will continue to blow down. To which Mr. Dinsmore replied that they will stabilize eventually. How far depends on the type of soil, the shallowness of the roots, this is an old growth area that will be prone to disease and breaking off and uprooting and then when it does uproot it creates mineral layer on the ground then drainage become a concern. He told of his neighbor’s tree falling onto his property because there are dead and dying trees in that area.

John Rennie came forward with concerns to the impacts of the golf course specifically with hole #2 and #1 fairway. Confirmation come from Mr. Weatherman that the access will come from Dormand MGraw’s pit and not next to the golf course and confirmed that there will be a buffer of a minimum of 50 feet from all property lines.

Michael Harmon, Public Works Director came forward showing the distance of Dormand McGraw’s pit and this one stating that Dormand’s is more likely to affect the golf course.

Connor Nelson came forward stating that even with the buffers the noise for residents of Halibut Point Road will be extreme. He questioned the addition to Dormand McGraw’s pit in exchange for access to this proposed one and expressed concern with the costly access to this new pit. If

Planning Commission Minutes August 21, 2012 Page 3 of 7 FINAL you take what the City wants to trade for access there is 6 to 10 million yards of rock. Why not start mining that section. Forget about tradeoffs.

Applicant: Stephen Weatherman spoke again with regards of the City trying to set aside enough area to develop a quarry. It can be scaled back. He also answered questions by confirming that no activities are allowed in the buffer zone; The royalties are currently as a base line of $1.55 per cubic yard as a minimum bid and it will be written into the lease; Distance closest to residential neighbors are about 300 – 500 feet to back of lot line; There are no impact studies done on this area; There has been a drainage analysis done showing that the runoff will be mostly toward the quarry not toward the residential areas; The developer will have to come up with a fully detailed plan; The idea is to try and set it up so that you cannot see it from Halibut Point Road; A rock crusher hasn’t been looked at as an activity and the developer will have to come back before the Board to allow that; There are minimal wetlands in this area and will work with the Army Corps of Engineers; He hasn’t thought about property values; He elaborated on Dormand McGraw’s 10 year lease that in return to having the access easement through his space that we would give him a reserve for that 10 years; The intent is trying to find a way to make more parcels available to other people for rock quarrying; There is about ¼ left for John McGraw’s quarry; Mr. Tisher’s quarry is about done; Dormand McGraw has a lot more to extract; Chair Twaddle said that he would like to see the approximate volume that would come out of this new quarry.

Michael Harmon spoke again about how there is a need for pits. There is no real active area other than Granite Creek that the City has open for pit sites. There are a lot of projects in the near future such as Halibut Point Road, Sawmill Creek Road, the airport, and breakwater that this town needs rock for. It is important with regards to the economy and infrastructure. This is a community decision and a big picture planning function of where both rock pits and waste sites can be. Chair Twaddle stated that he would like to see having a rock crusher allowed in a quarry, to which Mr. Harmon replied that they do go hand-in-hand. Planning Director Williams added that it is an added noise. It needs to be in the application since noise has come up as an issue and that hours of operation need to be looked at. Mr. Harmon asked the community to holistically look at this site/area/location big picture wise since studies such as tree blow downs, slope stability and noise can be costly. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of citizen money can be spent on such studies. There are always ways to mine things to limit the impacts. Mr. Harmon confirmed with Chair Twaddle that the closer you get to the river, the rock degrades. No name mountain is known to have very good rock although the problem with that location is the access. Commissioner Parmelee asked about the other end of town to which Mr. Harmon replied that it isn’t readily accessible. Chair Twaddle also brought up the fact of the overburden sites in that they need to be close to the actual quarry.

Bob Medinger reminded the Board that alternatives have been talked about. He asked who is responsible if there is a landslide into the houses on the residential side.

Ken Dinsmore would also like to see the volume of material that would be available in the proposal. He would like to see a second question in terms of the volume available if you pulled the line back and if it didn’t go over the top of the ridge.

No motion was made. This item will come back at the next Planning Commission meeting September 4th.

ZONING MAP AMENDMENT SITKA TRIBE OF ALASKA Planning Commission Minutes August 21, 2012 Page 4 of 7 FINAL 456, 458, 460 KATLIAN AVENUE

Public hearing and consideration of a zoning map amendment at 456, 458, 460 Katlian Avenue to change the zoning from R-1 single-family and duplex residential district to WD waterfront district. The request is filed by Sitka Tribe of Alaska. The property is also known as Lot 11, 12, 23, 24 Sitka Indian Village, US Survey A&B.

Planning Director Williams introduced this proposal by starting with explaining that the waterfront district is seaward of Katlian Avenue. The zoning lines goes through the middle of the street. Upland from that is R-1. Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA) has their Administrative building on what is labeled as Littlefield Way. On the property adjacent from Katlian Avenue, STA would like to build a new office building. STA asked the question to the Planning Department of how to get this new office building at this location. Due to the fact that it is an R-1 zone, they could not place it there. In order to get there they would need to avoid spot zoning by expand an existing zone to incorporate the properties into the waterfront district. The application states that the current Admin office was constructed over 30 years ago and predates the current zoning code. Chair Twaddle confirmed that it is now considered a legal non-conforming structure.

Applicant: Ted Wright General Manager of STA and Allen Bell Staff Attorney of the Tribe came forward. Mr. Wright explained that STA couldn’t continue in multiple offices and leases as it is not affordable or accessible. The best option was to build a new building that would have parking underneath and a two story building above the parking to accommodate all offices and they would like to renovate the Administrative office to a community center. Mr. Bell confirmed with Chair Twaddle that STA granted an easement which is Littlefield Way, also known as Tribal Way for the residential homes neighboring the property. STA had a neighbor meeting in which all attended except one. They have 40 or so employees some being seasonal and grant driven.

Public Comment: None.

Planner Henshaw encouraged STA to bring their requests to the next meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission. Planning Director Williams also showed other possible options.

No motion was made. This item will come back for the next meeting on September 4th.

VARIANCE REQUEST WILLIAM/IRENE FERGUSON 207 OBSERVATORY STREET

Public hearing and consideration of a variance request at 207 Observatory Street. The request is filed by William and Irene Ferguson. This is for a reduction in the front setback to 9 feet for a covered porch. The property is also known as Lot 2 Rigling Way Subdivision.

Planner Henshaw reviewed this request stating that the applicant lives on the corner of Observatory Street and Rigling Way in the downtown area. He would like a reduction in the front setback along Observatory Street from 20 feet to 9 feet in order to construct a small covered porch with stairs from the elements. It is a 4 foot deep by 5 foot wide addition. No comments have come in. This is a minor expansion. This request has gone through the Historic Preservation Commission process in which they recommended approval.

Applicant: William (Bill) Ferguson came forward. He removed some concrete steps that had started to settle and were causing draining back into the house. There is minimal coverage on Planning Commission Minutes August 21, 2012 Page 5 of 7 FINAL the door now and this is the side that the weather hits. They are getting some rot issues. The stairs went right into the house which doesn’t currently meet the building code, so by adding a pad it will. Chair Twaddle confirmed that the current covered entryway always has been part of the original house. The addition would replace the stairs that were there and add a cover or roof to protect the door from the elements.

Public Comment: An audience member, Ted Laufenberg commented in favor of this request.

MOTION: M/S PARMELEE/ROGERS moved to approve a variance request at 207 Observatory Street. The request is filed by William and Irene Ferguson. This is for a reduction in the front setback to 9 feet for a covered porch. The property is also known as Lot 2 Rigling Way Subdivision.

ACTION: Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote.

Staff recommended the following findings in support of the recommended request:

MOTION: M/S PARMELEE/WINDSOR moved to approve the following findings in support of the approved variance as a minor expansion: 1. The municipality finds that the necessary threshold for granting this variance should be lower than thresholds for variances involving major structures or major expansions due to the size of the expansion; 2. The granting of the variance is not injurious to nearby properties or improvements; and 3. The granting of the variance furthers an appropriate use of the property by protecting the front door from the elements.

ACTION: Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote.

REPLAT TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH OF SITKA 1900, 1904, 1906 HALIBUT POINT ROAD

Public hearing and consideration of a replat at 1900, 1904, 1906 Halibut Point Road. The request is filed by Trinity Baptist Church of Sitka. The properties are also known as Lot 7-A Geeslin Subdivision and Lot 7-B Geeslin Subdivision of Lot 7 US Survey 2417.

Planner Henshaw reviewed this request firstly by stating that this address is known as 1904 for the church and the property closer into town is 1900 however, in the address map had all three. The applicant would like to take out the lot line of the two properties and make it one piece at 65,849 square feet. It has an easement by the State of Alaska for the Cascade Creek intersection.

Planning Director Williams elaborated on the easement stating that the State wanted the intersection to match up with the Sea Mart entrance/exit. There is a stream on the outbound side of the property that is protected by an easement. The beneficiary is unclear, however there is a code requirement to place an easement on it. Chair Twaddle had a discussion with Planning Director Williams regarding the Sheldon Jackson College stream and received comment that there is value of having an easement although no management is in place for it.

Planning Commission Minutes August 21, 2012 Page 6 of 7 FINAL Applicant: Pastor Paul McArthur has been pastor of the church for about 25 years. He talked about the history of the properties. The church purchased the property 7-A from Fred Geeslin in 1996 and constructed the building that is on the site. At the rear of the church the property is very steep. The church then purchased the other property 7-B from the Hames Corporation. They have a legal parking agreement that allows Hames to park on the property. The church would like to expand the building 30 feet in the future which would go over the property line so therefore, they are replatting this to consolidate it.

Public Comment: None.

MOTION: M/S PARMELEE/ROGERS moved to approve the replat at 1900, 1904, 1906 Halibut Point Road. The request is filed by Trinity Baptist Church of Sitka. The properties are also known as Lot 7-A Geeslin Subdivision and Lot 7-B Geeslin Subdivision of Lot 7 US Survey 2417.

ACTION: Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote.

PLANNING DIRECTOR’S REPORT: The pulled item F will most likely be on the agenda for the next meeting. Planning Director Williams informed the Commission that the GIS site has been enhanced which allows for large monitors to fill the screen. This system works best with Fire Fox. This new system is a work in progress. He also informed the Commission that Joan Vanderwerp passed away. She worked for the City for many years. Her husband Bob Ellis is one of the architects that worked on the land use section of the 1999 Comprehensive Plan.

PUBLIC BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR: None.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION: M/S PARMELEE/ROGERS to adjourn at 9:40 pm.

ACTION: Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote.

______Jeremy Twaddle, Chair Melissa Henshaw, Secretary

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