The Diamond Willow Homeowners Association in the Ciechanski area is looking at possible litigation in the rezoning case the Kenai Peninsula Borough assembly postponed.
Homeowner’s association member Travis Penrod confirmed that the association would use litigation against the Kenai Peninsula Borough as a last resort.
Penrod: “What we will do as a homeowners association is we will get with a lawyer and seek legal council.”
As of now the homeowner’s association has three different petitions in regards to the local option zoning that the residents have been trying to achieve.
One concern of the local residents is that in an old gravel pit which the water aquifer has been dug into and possibly disturbed or contaminated however the Alaska Department of Conservation sent a letter to the borough in November saying, “In the last year, many of the materials stored at the site have also been removed, which significantly reduces any possible environmental impacts at the site. Our most recent inspection, on September 25, 2014, showed only two minor violations, which were both addressed immediately.”
The main goal of the homeowners association is to utilize the local zoning option tool in order to prevent lots in that area from being used as gravel pits.
This stems from an older gravel pit which was improperly used and people reportedly dumped trash, appliances, and even fish waste into.
Penrod said that although he and other residents have been fighting this for years, the borough has turned a blind eye to many offenses.