Kenai enacts subdivision, street design standards overhaul

The Kenai City Council voted May 20 to adopt comprehensive updates to subdivision regulations and street design standards. The changes replace existing code provisions with a detailed manual aimed at streamlining development review and creating predictability for contractors.

The council enacted Ordinance 3520-2026 after amending it to align minimum lot sizes with Kenai Peninsula Borough standards and to require water main extensions for larger subdivisions. The ordinance removes road design standards from city code. It replaces them with a Street Design Standards Manual that can be updated administratively without council action.

The new subdivision regulations set a 40,000-square-foot minimum lot size for properties using onsite septic and well systems, matching borough requirements. Smaller lots may be approved if engineered plans show well and septic placements that meet Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation separation standards.

The council also amended the ordinance to require water main extensions for subdivisions of 10 or more lots, or where 10 or more minimum-size lots could be created, when public water is available within 1,500 feet. The requirement brings water rules in line with existing sewer extension standards.

City Manager Terry Eubank said the changes aim to promote residential and commercial development by creating more predictability in design requirements. The manual provides detailed standards for road types and locations that designers can reference.

Eubank said the goal was to create more predictability and a standard that can be used. He said the approach also gives the city more flexibility from the administrative standpoint, with those specific things not being in code.

Eubank said the city currently has virtually nothing in code for street design standards. The manual sets technical specifications for right-of-way widths, road construction, and pathway design. Those standards can be updated as engineering practices evolve without requiring the ordinance process, which Eubank said can take a minimum of 60 days plus a 30-day waiting period.

Mayor Brian Naxstedt said the ordinance pulls together two long-standing projects: the new road standards and the subdivision code cleanup. He said the combined package clears up code that had been difficult to navigate and provides tools the city has needed for years.

Naxstedt said he appreciated the work.

Earlier in the meeting, during an administrative report on a citywide streetlight assessment, Public Works Director Lee Fry said the city will shift from direct-bury wiring to conduit systems for new streetlight installations. The change will reduce maintenance failures caused by cable shorts. The assessment documented aging LED fixtures and found that multiple owners result in inconsistent standards, inconsistent fixture types, and inconsistent maintenance practices. The city, Homer Electric, and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities each own streetlights in Kenai.