KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
A 60-day public review period on the Kodiak Island Borough’s development code is coming to an end and the borough is making one last push to get more input. The borough’s development code was developed in the late sixties and early seventies and hasn’t been updated since. Duane Dvorak is an associate planner for the borough’s Community Development department. He says codes regarding subdivisions, zoning and land management will all be completely revised and reorganized.
"In addition we’ve had some troublesome cases in the recent past, appeals and things for code provisions for which we thought we understood or thought we had interpretations of. It seems like reasonable people could read these and come away with different impressions. One of the goals was to clarify, make the code less ambiguous as far as what hoops people need to jump through."
To help residents better understand the code and what it means, the borough is hosting workshops tonight and tomorrow in Kodiak and Chiniak. Dvorak says the workshops will focus on explaining the history of the codes and gathering more public input on how they can be revised.
"By looking at these things all together at one time I think it’s hoped that we can kind of reboot and do a complete makeover of these codes in such a way that it salvages the best of what was existing in the prior code, brings it into the 21st century and adds to it new tool that we didn’t have before, best practices that other communities have found work for them, and just a lot of clarification- more definitions, more clarification of how the process works."
A workshop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. tonight in the Kodiak High School cafeteria and another workshop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tomorrow night at the Chiniak Community School. The public comment period ends May 18. You can find more information here.
