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Home My WebLink About06032025 Planning & Zoning MinutesCity of Seward, Alaska Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 3, 2025 Volume 8, Page 121 CALL TO ORDER The June 3, 2025, regular meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chair Carol Griswold. OPENING CEREMONY Vice Chair Brenan Hornseth led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Carol Griswold, presiding, and Brenan Hornseth Nathaniel Charbonneau Vanessa Verhey Rhonda Hubbard Clare Sullivan June Pemberton comprising a quorum of the Commission; and Daniel Meuninck, Community Development Director Courtney Bringhurst, City Planner Kris Peck, City Clerk PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING - None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Sullivan/Pemberton) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Griswold requested that Resolution 2025-021 be deleted from agenda. The commission voted on deleting Resolution 2025-021 from the agenda. The motion failed 3-4. Griswold requested that Resolution 2025-021 be postponed until September. The commission voted on postponing Resolution 2025-021. The motion failed 3-4. Main Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 3, 2025 Volume 8, Page 122 The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approve the May 6, 2025, Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes Resolution 2025-019 of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Seward, Alaska, recommending Kenai Peninsula Borough approval of the preliminary plat of a portion of land located at 303 Second Avenue, vacating the interior lot lines and creating one lot SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATION, AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards — None City Administration Report Community Development Director Daniel Meuninck provided an update on the Comprehensive Plan surveys that closed at the end of May. Community Development was working with a consulting firm to finalize the results. The interviews for the Community Development Executive Assistant position were still ongoing. Meuninck had started up a mini library in the office with various books on city planning and parking that were available to the commissioners. Other Reports and Announcements - None Presentations - None PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing Resolution 2025-020 of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Seward, Alaska, Recommending City Council approval of the land use amendment to rezone the property located at 2500 Laurel Street from a Resource Management (RM) zoning district to an Auto Commercial (AC) zoning district and the property located at 1000 Hemlock Avenue from an Institutional (Ins) zoning district to an Auto Commercial (AC) zoning district Motion (Pemberton/Hornseth) Approve Resolution 2025-020 City Planner Courtney Bringhurst summarized the rezone from the agenda packet. This rezone provided more future potential for the land. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. The commission agreed the rezone would bring all split -zoned parcels into compliance and provide more development options for the city and adjacent property owners. Motion Passed Unanimous 1 City of Seward, Alaska Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 3, 2025 Volume 8, Page 123 Resolution 2025-021 of the Planning and Zoning Commission recommending City Council amend Seward City Code §15.10.220 and Table 15.10.222 Development Requirements regarding the language and regulations pertaining to building height Motion (Charbonneau/Hornseth) Approve Resolution 2025-021 Bringhurst explained the proposed code changes and the ordinance that would be recommended by the commission. She provided a summary of the proposed changes to the building height. Pemberton asked for clarification on the community survey, and felt the building height survey question was skewed and misleading. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Kelli Hatfield, outside city limits, said the current building height restrictions were making it harder and more expensive for smaller developers. Three stories would provide more housing which would require 38 feet. Generally speaking, long-term housing was being made more difficult with building height restrictions. Tom Tougas, inside city limits, said he had been dealing with the 26-foot limitation in the harbor for years. He was told the 26-foot limit was due to a personal vendetta from decades ago. Tougas wanted the harbor commercial building heigh increased to 38 feet. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Charbonneau felt the resolution was a mixed bag and not fully cooked yet. Hornseth noted the commission had worked hard on this topic and understood that building height was a contentious issue. The harbor did come up at one point and was addressed during the discussions. He felt all the issues had been addressed and this was ready to be pushed forward. Additional changes could always be made in the future. Amendment #1 The commission amended the resolution as follows: Table 15.10.220 Development requirements on page 34 of the packet under B.1.a.ii. from "East of Nash Road" to "East of Nash Road excluding Fourth of July Creek Subdivision No. 2, Tract G and the Alaska State DNR land to the east, or" Amendment #2 The commission amended the resolution as follows: Table 15.10.220 Development requirements on page 34 of the packet under B.1.a.iii. to strike iii: City of Seward, Alaska Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 3, 2025 Volume 8, Page 124 Amendment #3 The commission amended the resolution as follows: Table 15.10.222 Development Requirements, on page 36 of the packet, first row labeled Table of Maximum Building Height (ft), in the last column for Park zoning to strike 34 and 38-and replace with 26 under "P". Amendment #4 The commission amended the resolution as follows: Table 15.10.222 Development Requirements on page 36 of the packet, first row titled Maximum Building Height (feet), amended by striking 38-and retain 34 for RR, R1, and R2 Zoning Districts. Main Motion as Amended Passed 5-2 Yes: Sullivan, Charbonneau, Verhey, Hornseth, Hubbard No: Pemberton, Griswold NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Discussed upcoming work session topic for June 17, 2025 The work session topics would be: How to use and understand Title 15 — Planning and Land Use Regulations Parking requirements in city code INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Reminder of the upcoming P&Z Meetings Work session on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers Regular meeting on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers FINAL PUBLIC COMMENTS Tom Tougas, inside city limits, felt there was confusion about the mission on Planning & Zoning Commission. He said the 34 feet building height restriction added a million dollars to the cost of his Gateway Hotel. Tougas noted more and more restrictions for multi -family housing. Over the past year and a half, the message at P&Z meetings was to put more restrictions on housing and make it more expensive. There was a shortage of hotel rooms in Seward and hotels helped take the pressure off the housing crunch in the summer. Hotels served the customers who were spending time in Seward. 1 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes June 3, 2025 Volume 8, Page 125 Kelli Hatfield, outside city limits, echoed the previous comment about the difficulty of building multi -family homes in Seward. Hatfield described the struggles of building more housing and hoped for more clarity and less restrictions for development. John Wisel, outside city limits, spoke in favor of parking meters to reduce congestion and increase turnover. He described parking restrictions that were hampering development. Wisel had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars downtown and yet he still cannot build. Lastly, Wisel noted how the rules are written so an A -frame building could be 68 feet tall. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMISSION COMMENTS AND RESPONSES TO PUBLIC COMMENTS Meuninck said this building height legislation was the most nuanced legislation he had seen the commission delve into. He mentioned the amendments and the close 4-3 votes. Bringhurst thanked the public for following along with the meeting. She -made several maps for this meeting and was happy to provide more maps upon request. Pemberton thanked the public for coming to the meeting and speaking. She thanked the city staff and appreciated the maps. She also thanked the City Clerk. Hubbard thanked the chair for the discussion and amendments during the building height resolution. She noted P&Z meetings can be hard to follow because the subject matter was very complex. She encouraged the public to call with concerns and the commission would try to address issues and make things better. Charbonneau thanked city staff and the public. Hornseth felt the building height resolution was a compromise but still represented a step forward. Sullivan wished everyone a great night. She appreciated the discussion and different points of view. Pemberton encouraged attendance at City Council meetings. Griswold summarized the meeting by noting the Commission approved a recommendation for a preliminary plat, held two public hearings and recommended rezones to resolve split -zoning conflicts, and recommended changes to building heights to promote housing and ease multifamily and hotel construction constraints. Griswold recognized that city code was imperfect and looked forward to taking a closer look at Title 15. She thanked the public for their input and the staff for being a phenomenal support team. She appreciated the books, maps, and research. City of Seward, Alaska June 3, 2025 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes Volume 8, Page 126 r Kris Peck Carol Griswol City Clerk Chair (City Seal)