Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission approves setback encroachment for Kasilof garage

At its Sept. 22 meeting, the Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) Planning Commission approved a building setback encroachment permit for a garage at 51891 Linda Sue Court in Kasilof, allowing the portion of the structure within the borough's 20-foot setback to remain as shown on a 2025 as-built survey.

Staff recommended granting the permit contingent on findings from the record and identified standards in KPB code; the commission adopted those findings and approved Planning Commission Resolution 2025-22. The resolution, moved and seconded during the meeting, passed on a roll-call vote.

The application covers a 24.3-foot by 32.3-foot shop that staff said is located within the 20-foot setback; the current as-built shows the garage about 0.6 feet from the northern lot boundary. Staff told the commission that older imagery and county records had differed in what structures were shown, and a separate pole building that had appeared within the right of way was removed this summer and is not part of the permit request.

Resident Stacy Clark submitted a written comment read into the record opposing the permit. Clark wrote that when the current owners acquired the property she believed the owners knew of earlier encroachments and had removed some structures at their own expense; Clark wrote, “Granting her a permit to move the encroachment without any financial responsibility seems unfair and could set a concerning precedence for our community.” The comment included Clark’s Linda Sue Court address and requested that modifications be financed by the property owner.

Applicant Gretchen Druid, who spoke from the meeting, acknowledged she was a real estate broker at the time of purchase but said she believed imagery then visible did not show the garage within the setback. Druid said the as-built submitted in 2025 shows the garage position and that a separate pole building had been removed by her husband this summer. “The full building has been removed this summer as verified by the as-built,” Druid said.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the as-built survey and whether the applicant had possession of survey information at purchase; Druid said she did not have an as-built survey when she bought the property in June 2022 and relied on available imagery.

The staff report recommended approval of the portion of structure within the 20-foot building setback if the commission found by substantial evidence that the applicable standards in KPB code were met; the commission adopted findings cited in the staff report in support of Resolution 2025-22 and approved the permit.

The commission’s action allows the garage’s location as shown on the 2025 as-built; the decision did not impose a borough-funded remedy for the neighbor’s concerns, and the record notes the commission relied on the as-built survey and the staff findings when making its decision.

The permit applies to Lot 1D, Old Kasiloff Subdivision Addition Number 1 (Plat KN 82-060). Future development or changes to the structure would be subject to borough permitting and code requirements.