The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will once again consider the rewrite of local option zoning codes Tuesday during a joint work session with the Planning Commission, followed by the Assembly meeting.
Assembly member Brent Johnson sponsored the ordinance which went up for public testimony during the February 2 meeting but was postponed.
Asmb. Johnson: “The Planning Commission met and there was so much to absorb, it’s a very thick change that’s going to take place, kind of a whole rewrite of that section of code. So what we did is set up a joint meeting with the Planning Commission on the 23rd, that way we can have a work shop with them and get their input on it and whether or not we would actually pass anything that same day, or wait until the Planning Commission has the chance to actually bring something forward at their next meeting, I don’t know.”
The local option zoning regulations could be applied to neighborhoods that want to include or exclude marijuana establishments; he says planning department and assembly members recognize the deadline of February 24, the date the state will begin accepting commercial pot business applications.
Johnson says another main concern was the potential impact of some regulations about gravel pits near local option zoning districts.
Asmb. Johnson: “The local option zoning makes the setbacks 500 feet from the boundary of the local option zoning, so somebody with a lot on the edge of the local option zoning, the gravel pit would have to be 500 feet back from [the parcel line] unless the gravel pit was pre-existing. Both an Assembly member and someone from the Planning Commission thought that was too strict for gravel pit operators.”
Borough Assembly members and the Planning Commission will consider the ordinance during a 1:00 pm work session Tuesday, February 23, followed by more discussion at the 6:00 pm regular meeting. Both of those will be held in the Assembly Chambers.