Planning commission recommends Marine Industrial Overlay for Skow Bay, limits vote to Skow Bay portion

The Petersburg Borough Planning Commission voted to recommend that the borough assembly amend Title 19 by adding Section 19.50, a Marine Industrial Overlay District aimed at protecting waterfront-dependent industrial uses in the port dock area and Skow Bay. Commissioners amended the motion to limit the recommendation to the Skow Bay portion; that amendment passed on a 5-1 roll call.

The recommendation — put forward during a public hearing on a zoning overlay for the Port Dock and Scout Bay turnaround area — is intended to reserve waterfront borough lands for uses that directly support a maritime economy, including commercial fishing and marine service businesses. “We just were awarded $8,800,000 for Skow Bay. It can now pay for the entire first leg of that project out there,” Gloria Ann Wallen, harbor master, told the commission during public testimony. Wallen said the borough previously received $4.1 million in an earlier session and that, combined, the awards total “over $13,000,000 for Skow Bay,” and argued the overlay would help keep waterfront lands available for marine uses.

The overlay narrows allowable uses on designated borough waterfront lots so that the principal use must be marine-related; accessory or incidental uses that are clearly subordinate and located on the same lot can be allowed. Commission staff member Liz explained that accessory activities — for example, a retail counter or bookkeeping office tied to a marine service business — would generally be permitted as subordinate to a primary marine-industrial use, while stand‑alone professional offices or businesses that do not rely on water access would not.

Public commenters and business owners voiced mixed views. Brock Snyder of Highland Refrigeration said he is not opposed to the overlay and argued it could limit land value increases so future generations can afford to enter marine-support trades, but he also warned that restrictions could create financial barriers for small operators. Multiple speakers raised concerns about privately owned buildings in the proposed overlay area — including property sold to a private operator in a prior transaction — and the risk that stricter zoning could reduce buyers or force owners to leave buildings vacant.

Commission discussion touched on grandfathering and enforcement. Commissioners and staff confirmed that existing, nonconforming businesses would remain grandfathered as long as they continue operating, but new uses would need to meet the overlay’s primary‑use requirement or seek a conditional use permit. Commissioners also discussed implementation scope: some favored applying the overlay only to Skow Bay to protect newly acquired tide and upland parcels there, while leaving other waterfront parcels unchanged.

Motion and vote: Commissioner (name not specified in the transcript) moved to recommend the Title 19 amendment adding Section 19.50 and to forward findings of fact to the borough assembly; the motion was seconded. An amendment to limit the recommendation to the Skow Bay portion of the proposal was offered and carried on a roll call: John — Yes; Philip — Yes; Marita — Yes; Heather — No; Chris — Yes; Jim — Yes. The commission chair and staff said the recommendation will go to the borough assembly for further action.

The commission closed the hearing after additional public comment and scheduled its next meeting for February 11. Staff said they will attempt to invite the Planning Commission to future related meetings with the assembly and harbor board.

The record of the meeting includes the motion, the amendment restricting the recommendation to Skow Bay, public testimony from the harbor master and local marine business owners, and staff clarifications about accessory uses and grandfathering. The Planning Commission’s recommendation does not by itself change zoning; it forwards the suggested ordinance change to the borough assembly, which must act to amend Title 19.