Kenai Peninsula Borough plat committee approves multiple preliminary plats and grants exceptions

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Plat Committee unanimously approved preliminary plats and several exceptions to borough subdivision code during its May 11 meeting, granting preliminary approval to South Bend Bluff, Rex W. Eagle Homestead replat, Cuesta Woods Estates No. 9 and a name-change exception for Crane, France Subdivision.

Staff presented each item and recommended the committee adopt staff findings and grant exceptions where warranted. For South Bend Bluff (KPV file 2026-013), staff described a right-of-way vacation of a portion of Augusta National Road, recombination of three lots into four (ranging from roughly 1.192 to 27.251 acres), two dedications and three requested exceptions to KPB code; staff recommended adding a second access point to Jukanski Road before final plat approval. Petitioner representative Jason Young of Edge Survey asked the committee not to require additional dedications along the east, north and west boundaries, saying adjacent parcels are small or borough-owned and unlikely to develop.

The committee moved and voted by roll call to grant preliminary approval and to grant the three exceptions for South Bend Bluff (exceptions to KPB 20.30.170 block length; KPB 20.30.030 proposed street layout; and KPB 20.30.100 cul-de-sac requirements). All four committee members recorded "yes."

For the Rex W. Eagle Homestead replat (KPP file 2026-029), staff said the proposal divides a 9.554-acre parcel into two tracts (about 4.639 and 4.915 acres), with legal access on Golden Eagle Avenue and concerns about block length and a drainage/wetland area in the northwest corner. Staff recommended granting an exception to block-length standards and reviewing drainage easement needs. The committee granted preliminary approval and approved the requested exceptions by unanimous roll-call vote.

Cuesta Woods Estates No. 9 (KPP file 2026-033) proposes three new tracts from two existing tracts and would extend a privately maintained cul-de-sac. Staff noted the plat includes riverine wetland features and is partially in a FEMA flood hazard zone; the staff packet included a public comment asking that the cul-de-sac be extended farther west but staff said that request was for the developer, not the borough. The committee approved preliminary plat status and granted exceptions for lot-dimension and survey/monumentation requirements with unanimous roll-call votes.

The committee also granted an exception to KPB 20.25.070(a)(1) to allow the petitioner to rename Crane, France Subdivision Addition No. 1 to France Airpark Subdivision; staff had recommended approval and the motion passed unanimously by roll call.

The items were handled in standard order: staff report, petitioner presentation (where present), an opportunity for public comment (none offered for the contested items), and separate motions for each exception followed by the main motion granting preliminary approval. Where staff recommended conditions (for example, adding a second access point for South Bend Bluff or including FEMA panel and floodway notes on Cuesta Woods), the committee approved the preliminary plats subject to staff recommendations and future compliance with KPB code.

Next steps for each item include satisfying the staff recommendations and final engineering/design approvals identified in the staff reports before final plats are recorded.