Kenai planning commission denies permit for family RV park on Tundra Rose Lane

The Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 on Sept. 23 to deny Nicole and David Smith a conditional use permit for a non-commercial RV park and campground at 1518 Tundra Rose Lane, off Beaver Loop Road. The couple described it as a space for their family.

Kenai requires the permit for an RV park or campground in the Rural Residential zone. The Smiths were buying the vacant 1.16-acre lot on the condition that the permit was approved. Their application sought permission for private RVs, cabins and camping, with RVs first until a well and septic system went in.

Commissioner Krause voted yes. Commissioners Fikes, Woodard and Askin and Vice Chair Alex Douthit, who presided, voted no, according to the meeting minutes.

Planning Technician Jessica See's staff report recommended denial. It found the request failed two of six criteria in city code. Staff estimated five RV sites would bring about 25 round trips a day, more than double the roughly 20 now counted along the lane. "Staff finds the proposed use is not in harmony with the Comprehensive Plan as the recreational vehicle park and campground will not be comparable to the current low-density single-family dwellings in the surrounding area," the report said.

Staff found the sanitation, public safety and property-value criteria met. It proposed 10 conditions in case the commission approved the permit, including a limit of five RV or tent sites and no paying guests.

Neighbors Ronald and Ginger Pitts, who live next door, wrote the commission Sept. 21 raising questions about generators, fire pits, trash and bears.

At the hearing, the Pittses, Ken Corbett, whose Bowfin Properties LLC owns a neighboring lot, and Barbara Lichner-Brew opposed the permit. They cited the neighborhood's residential character, traffic, noise, lighting, trash and the Comprehensive Plan.

Nicole Smith said she and her husband, lifelong Alaskans and empty nesters, had outgrown a one-room cabin elsewhere on the Kenai Peninsula. She said 1518 is the first lot on the lane, so family traffic would pass no other homes, and that they accepted the 10 staff conditions. Chris Garcia, of Beaver Loop Road, spoke in support. "It sounds like to me that this really isn't going to hurt anybody, especially if they're basically using it for summertime," he said.

Under a camping ordinance the City Council passed June 3, staff said, three or more tents now make a campground. On Aug. 26 the commission approved, by unanimous consent, a permit for six existing RV spaces at the Kenai Elks Lodge.

Douthit noted the 15-day appeal period after the vote. Appeals go to the City Council sitting as the Board of Adjustment. The council's Oct. 7 agenda listed no Board of Adjustment hearing.