Kenai council waives road requirement quoted at $63,000

The Kenai City Council on Wednesday excused Zach and Lacey Rininger from building about 600 feet of road along Rainbow Drive and Misty Haven Lane. Zach Rininger said the work was quoted at $63,000. The council adopted the exception without objection.

City planning staff had recommended against it. The property will still carry a plat note making it subject to assessment if the city ever builds those roads. Planning Director Kevin Buettner said the note sets no cap on that cost.

Rininger said the family started the project more than a year ago, before the city's Pioneer Road standard, a half-width road on a deep gravel base, took effect in June. He said the requirement "was changed in the code right in the middle of our process" and would hurt the family and the surrounding area.

City Manager Terry Eubank said that, given that timeline, he was "confident that that was not discussed" when the family first applied. But the rule requiring subdividers to build dedicated rights-of-way has not changed, Eubank said. The Pioneer Road option, a cheaper way to meet it, is what is new. He said the city had overlooked the rule for many years, and Buettner said it had gone unenforced at times on his own watch.

Staff wanted the road built to open roughly 20 to 25 acres of undeveloped land to the north. The Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission found on Sept. 23 that the cost was a real difficulty and substantial hardship, and recommended the exception.

Council Member Bridget Grieme said the city had set a precedent by not enforcing its own rules and owed property owners notice before drawing a new line. Council Member Sovala Kisena called it unfair to ask one owner to spend $60,000 on a road the city would not maintain. Buettner confirmed Pioneer roads are not city-maintained.

City Attorney Scott Bloom said the case is unusual because it turns two lots into one rather than adding lots and traffic, reasoning that may not fit future subdivisions. He also said the property gives up its vote on any future street improvement district. Rininger told the council he would rather not carry that risk but accepted it.