The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed the rewrite of local option zoning codes unanimously at Tuesday’s meeting.
Assembly Vice President Brent Johnson says one of the biggest changes to the regulations regarding how neighborhoods can create localized rules is a limitation on the largest acre parcel that can be included without the owner’s consent.
Asmb. VP Johnson: “The largest lot that you can include in an LOZ without the lot owner’s agreement is five acres. So lets just say you have a string on 20 lots together and in the middle of it is a lot that’s six acres big and that person doesn’t want in the LOZ, the other lot owners can’t force that person into the LOZ.”
He says most changes were minor in the rewrite passed on Tuesday, aimed at making the process to create an local option zone a little bit easier. Another change to help with that was reducing the number of lot owners required to agree on the formation of the zone to just six.
Some of the public comment at Tuesday’s meeting told assembly members that the process should not be simplified since it can impact people who do not agree with what their neighbors want.
Travis Penrod testified that he recently went through that process and appreciated the assembly’s efforts to make it more efficient. Vice President Johnson says there is a difference between making the process easier as opposed to making it easy.
Click here for the full ordinance that the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed.
