City Land Use Plan On Hold Until 2026

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Category: News

Created on Friday, 20 December 2024 15:47

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Reacting to the Assembly’s vote Tuesday to postpone action until late January on a commercial recreational land use permit ordinance, city staff is proposing the implementation date be moved by a year, to Jan. 1, 2026.
    The intent had been for a new permit system for commercial operators on city recreational lands to go into effect at the start of 2025. The Assembly’s comments and decision on Tuesday to delay action until late January would create problems for commercial operators as well as staff, City Administrator John Leach and other city staff said today.
    The Assembly considered an updated permit policy for guides, outfitters and transportation providers in addition to the ordinance on commercial uses of recreational lands.
Both agenda items related to commercial operations on city trails, such as Thimbleberry and Heart Lake; water access areas, such as Swan Lake; and special use areas such as Baranof Warm Springs and Goddard Hot Springs.
    The Assembly voted to delay action until the second regular meeting in January. The Assembly in their comments before the vote said they wanted the Planning Department, Parks and Rec Committee and city staff to continue work and present a new ordinance to the Assembly January 28, taking into account testimony by Assembly members and commercial operators.
    A prepared statement from Leach addresses only the permitting ordinance, which was passed on first reading Nov. 26. The statement sent out Thursday outlined the reasons for the delay in implementing the new rules.
    “Under the newly proposed process, permit applications and issuance take a minimum of 60 days,” he said. “Were Ordinance 2024-30 to be passed on second and final reading January 28, 2025, and take effect on that date, operators would not receive their commercial recreational land use permits for 2025 until early-to-mid April which coincides with the beginning of the visitor season.”
    City representatives working on the updated ordinance included Planning Director Amy Ainslie, Parks and Rec Coordinator Kevin Knox and the parks and recreation committee.
    Leach said, “After careful consideration of the impacts that would result from implementation of the new process in late January 2025 on both operators and staff, CBS staff sponsors of (the ordinance) have decided to submit a revised version of this ordinance that would not take effect until November 1, 2025.”
    This means the new process would be implemented in time for the 2026 season.
    Ainslie said Thursday that city staff is preparing a revised ordinance for the January 14 Assembly meeting, which could be taken up on final reading January 28. She said the decision to move the implementation and effective dates will allow more time for review and ensure success of the new system for both operators and city staff.
    The city has been working this past year to overhaul the commercial recreational land use permitting process.
    Both Ainslie and Knox in earlier interviews have highlighted the goals to modernize and streamline the permitting process and establish target levels of commercial uses for recreational areas.
   Public input and current commercial uses were taken into account in creating the updated process, they said. The work is intended not only to update fees and commercial carrying capacities, but to respond to some of the comments from residents in the past year about increased commercial use of their favorite recreation places.
    Ainslie added today, “We’re confident this new permit process will be an improvement over our current system... we’re looking forward to dialing it in and seeing the results in 2026.”