MEMORANDUM

KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH

LEGAL DEPARTMENT

144 N. Binkley Street Tel. (907) 262-8609

Soldotna, Alaska 99669 Fax (907) 262-8686

TO: Ronald Wm. Drathman, Assembly President

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Members

THRU: Mike Navarre, Mayor

THRU: Colette G. Thompson, Borough Attorney

Lisa Parker, Planning Director

FROM: Holly B. Montague, Assistant Borough Attorney

Rachel Clark, Planner

DATE: May 5, 1999

SUBJECT: Technical amendments to KPB 21.25 and KPB 21.26

The administration proposes some technical amendments to recently adopted KPB 21.26 "Material Site Permits" and one technical amendment to KPB 21.25 "Conditional Land Use Permits." Several versions of the new material site code were considered prior to adoption, and numerous amendments were made to the final version resulting in several inconsistencies not detected until staff attempted to apply the revised code.

The single revision to KPB 21.25 clarifies that the planning commission must issue written findings of fact when making a decision regarding a material site permit.

The application procedure set forth in KPB 21.26.010 is clarified to require either a reclamation plan or an AS 27.19 letter of intent. The amendment is necessary to enforce reclamation criteria for material sites under five acres.

KPB 21.26.010(D) is amended to reflect the date the ordinance was adopted (February 16, 1999) rather than the original proposed date of adoption, February 2, 1999. The registration date is revised to January 1, 2001, to be consistent with the deadline for applying for prior existing use determinations.

KPB 21.26.020 "Standards for sand, gravel or material sites" is revised to clarify that the section addresses only conditional land use permits and not counter permits. The floor amendments to the counter permit provisions of KPB 21.26.010(B)(1) requiring a vertical four-foot separation from the seasonal high water table make dewatering a nonissue for counter permits and, thus, the criteria set forth in KPB 21.26.020 is no longer applicable to counter permits. The word "variance" is deleted in favor of the word "exemption" since it was not intended that the exemption for extracting material from an aquifer also follow KPB 21.05 variance provisions. The term "water table" is modified by the term "seasonal high groundwater" in order for references to the water table to be consistent throughout the code.

KPB 21.26.030 "permit conditions" is clarified so that it is clear that paragraph 3 "aquifer" and paragraph 5 "water source separation" do not apply to counter permits as the amendments to the counter permit provision in Ordinance 98-33 make these paragraphs inapplicable. Paragraph 7 is clarified requiring the planning director to approve the voluntary permit conditions for counter permits since these types of permits are not submitted to the planning commission. The term "planning director" is added throughout this section where the planning commission is referenced. It is necessary to reference both the commission and director as the former makes determinations regarding conditional land use permits, and the latter makes the decisions regarding counter permits.

KPB 21.26.040 is amended as the wording allowed prior existing use status for material sites in operation seven years prior to May 21, 1996, while the intent was to allow prior existing use status for material sites that had been in operation ten years prior to the initial enactment date of the ordinance (May 21, 1996).