Homer draft would require engineered stormwater plans at 1,000 cubic yards, down from 10,000

The Homer Planning Commission on Wednesday will discuss a draft rule that would require an engineered stormwater plan for Level 2 projects moving 1,000 cubic yards or more of material. Current code sets that trigger at 10,000 cubic yards, according to a memo from Community Development Director Julie Engebretsen.

Level 2 standards typically cover commercial zoning districts. Level 1 standards, which apply to all development, already use a 1,000-cubic-yard trigger.

The change is part of the city's rewrite of Title 21, its zoning code, which drew 905 individual comments from 92 people during an earlier public review. "This draft code as written will trigger more storm water plan reviews," a staff note in the memo said.

An Alaska-registered professional civil engineer would have to prepare and stamp the plan, and the City Engineer would have to approve it before work begins. If the engineer estimates required improvements above $10,000, the developer must post a performance guaranty worth 150 percent of that cost, as a surety bond or cash deposit.

Other Level 2 triggers include diverting an existing drainage course, clearing or grading on a slope over 20 percent or within 10 feet of a wetland, watercourse or water body, impervious coverage above 60 percent, 25,000 square feet or more of new impervious surface, and grading one acre or more.

"In my view, the current thresholds are not sufficiently effective," Engebretsen wrote. She said the 1,000-cubic-yard requirement may help, though judging its effect will likely take a couple of construction seasons after adoption. Staff prefers prioritizing an internal drainage working group, the memo says, calling the Title 21 grading and filling permit "a band-aid for the larger issue of drainage." The memo also asks commissioners to discuss letting the City Engineer require third-party engineering review case by case.

Engebretsen said the departure of Public Works Director Dan Kort, who leaves in early December to become public works director in Valdez, may complicate the broader drainage discussion, because her department oversees Title 21 but not road design or construction.

The worksession begins at 5:30 pm. It is a discussion item, with no vote scheduled.