Valdez Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - May 28, 2025
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Valdez Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - May 28, 2025
The Valdez Planning and Zoning Commission held a regular meeting on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers. All commissioners were present except Commissioner Goodrow. Commissioner Wade participated by phone. The meeting covered approval of minutes, informational reports on temporary land use permits, an update on the building code adoption process, and a director's report on several ongoing projects.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The commission unanimously approved the minutes from four previous meetings: April 27, 2022; June 22, 2022; September 14, 2022; and March 12, 2025. No corrections were noted.
Discussion Items
- Temporary Land Use Permit 25-01 (Valdez Adventure Alliance): Director Huber reported on the permit for an approximately 6,000 square foot portion of 1500 Valdez Glacier Road, Tract A, ASLS 79-116 and 3351 Falcon Avenue Lot 5 Block 9, Robe River Subdivision. A typo was noted in the fee section ($9 vs. $11 per day). Director Huber confirmed the correct fee is likely $11 and will verify with the fee resolution and billing.
- Temporary Land Use Permit 25-03 (Fat Mermaid Restaurant): Director Huber reported on the permit for 518 square feet of public right-of-way adjacent to Lot 1A, Block 39A, Harbor Subdivision. Commissioner Walton raised concerns about sidewalk slope and ADA access, noting past experiences on crutches but that no formal complaints had been filed. Director Huber clarified that under the new Title 17, repeat permits with identical requests can be approved administratively for up to four years. The fee was confirmed as $11 per day.
- Building Code Adoption Process: Director Huber presented a detailed update on updating Title 15 from the currently adopted 2009 codes to the 2021 International Codes (IBC, IMC, IFGC, NEC, UPC) and the 2021 International Existing Building Code. The update also includes incorporating state amendments, updating flood hazard regulations per FEMA feedback, and adopting the tiny house appendix for smaller dwellings. The ordinance will be presented to city council for first reading in July or August 2025. No significant new local amendments are planned at this time, but future work will address mobile/manufactured home ordinances. Commissioner Raditch asked about tiny houses on wheels; Director Huber confirmed the new appendix allows smaller homes but still requires foundations. Commissioner Wade asked about septic system standards; Director Huber clarified that state regulations govern septic design and are not part of this update.
- Community Development Director’s Report: Director Huber reported on several projects:
- Permitting Software: A new building permit software is being implemented to allow online inspection requests, project tracking, and short-term rental permitting. Launch expected toward the end of the 2025 building season.
- Title 16 Subdivision Code Update: A joint work session with council was held; staff is responding to consultant questions and will begin drafting. Commissioner interested can watch the recording or meet one-on-one.
- Housing Needs Assessment: Over 400 community survey submissions received. Preliminary short-term rental data (count, average price, occupancy through April) will be on the June 3 council agenda. A work session with council is scheduled for July 15, 2025. Stakeholder interviews will follow this summer, with a final report expected in fall 2025. The assessment aims to provide data for housing initiatives and short-term rental regulation.
- Short-Term Rental Tax and Permitting: The finance department has updated the public accommodations tax ordinance to include short-term rentals. Larger platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are assisting with tax collection. The Title 17 short-term rental permit process (with inspections) will go live when the new permitting software is operational, likely in fall 2025. Planning will share permit data with finance to improve compliance.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: All four sets of minutes were approved unanimously.
- No Formal Votes on Reports: The temporary land use permits and other reports were informational only; no commission action was required.
- Next Steps: Director Huber will verify the fee for Permit 25-01 and communicate the fee resolution to commissioners. The building code adoption ordinance will be presented to city council in July or August 2025. The new permitting software and short-term rental permitting will be implemented later in 2025. The housing needs assessment work session is scheduled for July 15, 2025. Commissioner Raditch requested that future minutes include the topics of director reports; Director Huber agreed to coordinate with the clerk's office.
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call this meeting of the Valdez Planning and Zoning Commission for Wednesday May 28th to order. Let the record show that all commissioners are present with the exception of Commissioners Goodrow and Moulton. Oh, he is here. Sorry. With the exception of Commissioner Goodrow. And Commissioner Wade is on the phone. Can you hear us, Rhonda? I forgot you walked in at the last minute. I can, thank you. All right. Um we have approval of minutes first. Did anyone have any problems or any corrections to the minutes from April 27th, 2022? I realize there's only a couple of us that were actually present. But we need everyone to vote so we can pass it. Yeah. Or yeah, just need your assent. Anybody see any mistakes or all right? How about June 22nd, 22? September 14th, 22. And then our last meeting on March 12th, 2025. All right. Minutes are approved. Public business from the floor. This is a chance for anyone in the audience to address us on a non-agenda item. Seeing none, we have no new business. We'll move right to reports. First report is a temporary land use permit for Adventure Alliance. Do you have anything to add? Um, no, just acknowledge that you know this is quite a bit after the fact. So this is a report that we shared um informally um in a written form with the commissioners who are present at a previous meeting, but um this is you know a requirement for the public. It's also reported to city council, so that happened in a more timely manner. Um, but because we didn't have any other agenda items, that's why there was a delay in this report. All right, thank you. Anyone have questions? And it's yeah, stand for questions, of course. Did have one question just on the report in the fee section. It says it's a daily rate of nine dollars, then parentheses says 11 dollars. Just serious which one it's supposed to be. That's number five on page 23. Yeah. Um, actually, can you hear me? Because I'm just seeing the 11 dollars. Oh, read of $9.11. Oh, nice kids. Yeah, that is um interesting. So those fees are set by resolution. So I am gonna pull that resolution and find out. Um, I don't know off the top of my head if it's 11 in the agenda statement. Yeah, so I'm guessing that 11 is correct and that's a typo, but I will make sure of that and we'll look back at the billing and make sure that it was done correctly. So thank you for pointing that out.
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