Planning and Zoning approved review of a trio of preliminary plats zoned for waterfront development.
The first was Lot 5 at the Woodbury Tidelands Subdivision II, in Inner Harbor. Sale of tidelands at the site to owner Brett Woodbury was approved by the Borough Assembly last month at the recommendation of both the Planning and Zoning and the Port commissions.
In his application packet, Woodbury is requesting to purchase the additional tidelands in front of his property in order to reconstruct the existing float. This would allow him deeper water access, as well as square up the tidal limits of the property he owns in the area.
One member of the public appeared to speak on the matter, Petersburg resident Dave Ellis, who has property in the harbor two doors down. He advised the commission to look at other options in future, rather than selling off tidal properties individually.
“Doing this piecemeal like this probably isn’t the best,” he said. Eventually when Inner Harbor’s float network gets replaced, he said the city may find it difficult to work around. “You’re going to wish you had it back someday, sure as the devil.”
If depth and access were at issue, Ellis suggested dredging could help there. As the process can be cost-prohibitive for the city to undertake, he recommended it help facilitate private efforts to do so by providing a location to dispose of dredged-up material.
If the city was intent on selling those tidelands, however, Ellis expressed interest in purchasing some for his property. Commissioner Rolland Howell said the property owners were free to apply too if they wanted.
Commissioners approved preliminary review of the plat, but will additionally recommend to the Port Commission looking into provision of a dump site for dredging projects.
They approved a plat review put forward by Sea Level Seafoods, which requested to lease additional tidelands adjacent to its new building near Heritage Harbor’s north entrance.
The request was reviewed by Ports and Zoning back in February 2016, with both commissions recommending to the Assembly the tidelands disposal. Planning and Zoning had further recommended that the area be used for parking and surface storage only rather than a building, which the Assembly also approved as part of the tideland lease modifications.
Finally, preliminary plat review was approved for the Larsson-Buhler Replat, creating three new lots at the request of Diane Larsson. Vacation of a 10-foot utility easement centered on existing lot lines at the Mitchell-Buhler Replat was also requested. The items move next to the Assembly to approve its vacation.
The commission will also take up discussion of the accommodation of yurts, stick-built trailers and “tiny homes” in zoning code. Currently these dwelling types are not addressed by ordinance, and are only approved on a conditional basis by the commission.
“That’s why we do need to address it,” said Rushmore. A workshop on the topic will be scheduled for May.
In another ongoing matter, no progress has been made on the zoning of remote entitlement lands received by the state. The 8,931 acres of land is spread out among nine different areas within the borough. Parcel B on Zarembo Island is the only such property to have yet been surveyed, as the other areas need to be before zoning and eventual development can be undertaken.
“That will take a lot of money,” said Rushmore.
The commission had previously reviewed the lands during a series of meetings last year, prioritizing potential uses for the acquired acreages. Taking desirability and accessibility into account, commissioners also prioritized the order in which surveying and zoning should be undertaken, with the 1,600 acres on Zarembo high on the list.
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