TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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Planning Panel Delays Action on Rock Quarry

By ABIGAIL BLISS

Sentinel Staff Writer

The Planning Commission postponed action Wednesday on a conditional use permit at the Sudnikovich rock quarry on Halibut Point Road. 

The permit request to allow new quarrying and rock crushing operations was filed by Roger Sudnikovich for properties belonging to Roger, John, and Judith Sudnikovich at 4660 and 4670 Halibut Point Road in the industrial district.

The decision to postpone came on the heels of City Attorney Brian Hanson’s characterization of the materials the applicant presented to the board Wednesday as “a detailed, new application” requiring advance public notice.

                  “This is a new application,” he said. “How can the public comment about it if they haven’t even seen the new information?”

Sitka General Code 22.30.120 requires “general circulation” of a notice for a hearing on at least two occasions at least three and five calendar days prior to the meeting, as well as letters notifying neighbors to be sent five to 20 days prior to it.

The Planning Commission still  took comments from six members of the public and from the applicants, who emphasized that the extraction would be conducted in “four or five smaller portions,” rather than 40 or so “consecutive days.”

From the public, Valorie Nelson and Lillian Feldpaush emphasized the importance of allowing time for the public to review the new materials.

Kris Pearson of K&E Alaska said he wanted to address the mistaken conception that there is a quarry monopoly in Sitka. He said his business serves any contractor or private individual who can pay.

                  “There’s definitely not a monopoly,” he said. “We don’t care if they open up a pit or six.”

                  Connor Nelson spoke about the current state of the local market for shotrock.

                 “Yesterday, at the meeting, we were hearing about how expensive rock is in this town, and how the prices are out of control. I have pricing back from 2007, 2008 at S&S,” he said. “Prices went up only 20 percent in the last 10 years, so I don’t think that’s a very valid argument.”

He told the Sentinel that the prices of peer businesses in town followed the same trend.

“I don’t see the prices being way out of line compared to what they were ten years ago,” he said.

Richard Guhl, a Halibut Point Road resident, expressed hope that quarry operations would be conducted during reasonable hours. 

                “It’s not what you want to have in place of your alarm clock,” he said.

                Planning and Community Development Director Michael Scarcelli read a letter submitted to the commission by Chris McGraw, who was concerned about the proximity of the potential quarry operation to his nearby cruise dock. McGraw said the work might pose safety problems for the public, as well create noise and dust that would not be welcoming to visitors.

The commission will take up the issue again at their next regular meeting, on June 28.

In other business at the Wednesday meeting, the commission approved amendments to zoning and subdivision development standards proposed by the City Planning and Community Development Project. 

At their Thursday meeting the commission members:

– approved a conditional use permit for a short-term rental at 208 Jeff Davis Street, with the addition of an occupancy limit of six people. The request was submitted by Randy Hitchcock.

– approved a conditional use permit for a residential dwelling unit at 308 Monastery Street, which is located in the central business district. The request was submitted by Colin Herforth.

– approved a conditional use permit for a food truck at 104 Cathedral Way. The request was submitted by Matthew and Julianne Stroemer.

– approved a conditional use permit for a short-term rental at 837 Lincoln Street. The request was filed by Matt and Naomi Christner.

– approved a conditional use permit for short-term rental at 453 Charteris Street. The request was filed by Melissa Pardy.

– approved the request for a minor subdivision to result in one lot at 114 Harbor Mountain Road. The request was filed by Don Seesz.

– postponed action on a variance request for 409 Halibut Point Road to reduce the required on-site parking for an existing duplex from four spaces to zero. The request was filed by Tim Riley. City staff raised concerns about the safety of the proposed parking arrangements, which they deemed “not ideal” for entering and exiting traffic on Halibut Point Road. Scarcelli read two letters from neighbors in opposition to the request. The commission will take up the issue again on June 28, by which time the applicant may have had time to work with staff to modify their request. The commission similarly postponed action on a conditional use permit request for a short-term rental at the same property.

– reviewed the preliminary composition of Sitka’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. Consultant Jill Missal presented an overview of the plan, which includes action worksheets on Sitka’s stormwater system upgrades, Gavan Hill landslide mitigation, public education, data collection plans, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) development, and improvements to food security for vulnerable populations. Missal said she would try to have a fuller draft to the commission by June 14, and was aiming to bring the plan before the Assembly on July 10.

– recognized the contributions of planning department staffer Samantha Pierson, who was attending her last commission meeting. During her two years and eight months as Planner I, Pierson assisted with the completion of the Sitka Comprehensive Plan and initiated the forthcoming Multihazard Mitigation Plan, Scarcelli told the Sentinel.

 

“Those two things alone are huge accomplishments,” he said, noting that Pierson had also contributed to projects like landslide studies and the marijuana conditional use permit ordinance, and “taken the lead” on department administrative tasks. “She was really integral to a small but efficient ship,” he said.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.

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