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Code Review Commission recommends limiting planning-commission review of water-main extensions to conceptual design
Summary
The commission voted to recommend that the assembly amend Haines Borough code (Title 18.30.040(I)(1)) so that water-main extension projects are subject to planning-commission review only at the conceptual-design stage; the recommendation passed by voice vote and will be forwarded to the assembly.
The Haines Borough Code Review Commission voted March 31 to recommend that the assembly amend the borough project-review section of code so that water-main extension projects require planning-commission review only at the conceptual-design stage. The commission adopted language, proposed by Deborah (speaker 4) and read into the record during the meeting, that would exempt water-main extensions from mandatory 35%, 65% and 95% design-stage hearings and reviews.
The chair (speaker 2) read an email from staff member Chen that said Chen's earlier recommendation "does not make much sense in practice" and that defining "borough project" too broadly could create undue legal and administrative burden. Deborah told the commission her proposal would resolve the immediate operational issue: "Water main extension projects require commission review only at the conceptual stage of design," language the clerk captured and the commission moved to recommend to the assembly.
Brenda Josephson (speaker 3) supported the change for water mains, saying planning commissioners generally need a "heads up" on a project rather than repeated technical reviews: "I think that's the value of it." Other members cited examples that had prompted the discussion, including volunteer work at a cemetery and road/harbor infrastructure, and flagged the $25,000 threshold in current code as a related issue that may merit future review.
The commission moved the recommendation, the motion was seconded, and the body approved it by voice vote. The clerk said the approved language will be sent to the assembly for consideration as an amendment to Title 18.30.040; further code edits and a broader review of the "borough project" definition were left for future work by staff and subcommittees.
The commission scheduled follow-up work on project-definition questions and on whether the $25,000 borough-project threshold requires adjustment; no final change to the borough code has yet taken effect until the assembly acts.
