The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will be considering Ordinance 2021-40, amending KPB 2.40.015 regarding Planning Commission Membership and Apportionment at its December 7th meeting. The ordinance re-establishes city seats on the Borough Planning Commission, which were reduced by Kenai Peninsula Borough Ordinance 2016-25 Substitute.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce says that, in the past, code hadn’t been followed:
“You would have a position open up on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission. The cities have a seat at that table. The cities would just commonly appoint their planning commissioner. They have planning commissions, too. Cities have individual planning commissions. What they were commonly doing was the mayors of those cities would just put on the list whoever was the planning commissioner for the cities and send it over to the mayor of the borough and the borough mayor would just appoint. It sounds reasonable, but if you read the code, it says that the positions will be advertised and what had also occurred was there was a number of individuals that came to my office and made me aware that, ‘Hey, I applied. I tried to go over to the city and apply and they told me that the application period was closed.’ There was some disconnect between what the cities were doing in advertising and what the borough should have been doing, I believe, in advertising and there was a disconnect there.”
Assembly Members Tyson Cox and Lane Chesley said that some disagree with the KPB Mayor and legal department’s interpretation of the law. According to a separate memo, the Assembly will have three questions to contemplate, which includes:
- How many seats should be on the planning commission?
- Should cities be required to submit more than one applicant to the KPB Mayor for selection to the planning commission?
- Should any eligible resident of the borough be allowed to apply for planning commission city seat, or should the applicant be required to be a resident of that city?
2021-65