The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly enacted an ordinance amending Borough Code, KPB 2.40.015 and KPB 2.40.030, to reduce the number of seats on The Planning Commission and provide for an orderly process for the seat reduction.
It was brought to the meeting by assembly members Elam and Hibbert.
In a memo sent to the Borough Assembly is states: Presently, there are nine Assembly members and fourteen Planning Commission members. There do not appear to be any other planning commissions in the State of Alaska with so many members. Additionally, Borough code requires the Borough to compensate its Planning Commission members at the rate of $175.00 per regular or special meeting attended. (The chairperson is compensated at the rate of $200.00 per regular or special meeting, and Planning Commission members serving on the plat committee receive an additional $25.00.)
Aligning the number of Planning Commission member seats to be consistent with the number of Assembly member seats will reduce the aggregate cost of compensation the Borough must pay to its Planning Commission members by approximately $40,698; The addition of a code provision for elimination of a Planning Commission member seat will allow for an orderly and fair process when Planning Commission member seats are consolidated.
On May 24, 2023, the Soldotna City Council infamously approved the action memorandum 2023-11 and directed the City Manager to send a letter on behalf of the council requesting the Assembly consider the following amendments to the ordinance:
2.40.015 – Apportionment
- The planning commission will consist of eleven members. Commission membership will be apportioned consistent with assembly member districts with two seats reserved for home rule and first class cities located in the borough.
- Only City residents may serve on a city seat and shall be selected by the Borough Mayor from a list provided by the City Council. The list will contain at least one applicant from the respective city.
- The city seats shall be set up on a rotational basis.
- No City may have more than one representative on the Planning Commission.
Discussion was raised by the public if all areas of the borough would be represented on the Planning Commission. Assembly President Brent Johnson answered the members represent the whole borough;
“Just like the Assembly, the nine districts encompass all of the borough. And so however we carve out the Planning Commission, everybody in the borough is going to be represented. Furthermore, each member on the Planning Commission has to represent all of the borough, not just the people in their area. This with the new ordinance is going to say.”
Assembly Member Tyson Cox submitted laydown ordinance substitute;
“I would like to move to amend with a ordinance. 2023-11 substitute is the one we discussed earlier today. The biggest change to this one is that there would be nine seats four the seats would be cities, they would be Seward, Homer, Soldotna and Kenai and then the other five seats would be. At large seats throughout the district, proportioned in the areas I talked about that it wouldn’t necessarily be by population, but more by district area.”
Then Cox offered an amendment to the substitute;
“In Section 4, I wanted to bring forward an amendment to add the words. I’m just gonna read the whole section so that you and I’ll tell you where I’m adding. Yeah, Section 4 would read that the assembly requests that the borough administration provide a map. What would be added is to be approved by resolution for the at large district boundaries that effectuates the intent of that large district boundaries. Well, why I’m adding that is I know there was concern earlier today on what that would look like and So what my wish would be is that at our next meeting have that come forward as a resolution.”
All of this was taken into consideration before the ordinance was enacted by a 5 to 3 vote to reduce the seats to 9. The no votes were Derkevorkian, Johnson and Ribbens.