Homer's draft code would require engineered stormwater plans for far smaller projects

The Homer Planning Commission on Wednesday will discuss a draft rule that would require an engineered stormwater plan for more projects, lowering the trigger from moving 10,000 cubic yards of material to 1,000.

The change is part of the city's rewrite of Title 21, its zoning code, and applies to Level 2 standards, which typically cover commercial zoning districts. "This draft code as written will trigger more storm water plan reviews," a staff note says in a memo from Community Development Director Julie Engebretsen.

Under the draft, an Alaska-registered civil engineer would have to prepare and stamp the plan, and the City Engineer would have to approve it before work begins. If required improvements are estimated above $10,000, the developer would have to post a guaranty worth 150% of the cost.

Engebretsen wrote that the thresholds in the zoning code's grading and filling permit are "not sufficiently effective." The new stormwater trigger may help, she wrote, though judging its effect will likely take a couple of construction seasons.

She sees a bigger gap. A subdivision gets approved and its roads built, and years later, with different staff and a different developer, a home goes up. "Are there new drainage problems related to road culverts?" she wrote. "Are we catching changes over time?"

Staff's preferred next step is an internal drainage working group. "City staff continue to experience turnover and heavy project workload," she wrote. "Until a group of staff can have time to collaborate on this topic, I don't expect a lot of progress." The memo calls the grading and filling permit "a band-aid for the larger issue of drainage."

The departure of Public Works Director Dan Kort, who leaves in early December to become public works director in Valdez, may complicate that discussion, Engebretsen wrote, because her department doesn't oversee road design or construction.

Wednesday's work session is a discussion only, with no vote scheduled.