ITEM TITLE:
Approval of Temporary Land Use Permit 24-02 with 907 Snowcat, LLC for an Approximately 2,200 Square Foot Portion of 3001 Richardson Highway, Tract F, ASLS 79-116 owned by the City of Valdez
SUBMITTED BY: Nicole LeRoy
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve of temporary land use permit 24-02 with 907 Snowcat, LLC for an approximately 2,200 square foot portion of 3001 Richardson Highway, Tract F, ASLS 79-116 owned by the City of Valdez with conditions.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Planning Department staff received a temporary land use permit (TLUP) application from 907 Snowcat, LLC for use of approximately 2,200 square feet of parking area at 3001 Richardson Highway, Tract F, ASLS 76-116. 907 Snowcat is requesting use of this property for staging a snowcat skiing/snowcat tour business. The permitted area under the temporary land use agreement would be for 20’ x 30’ parking area for the snowcat, and 40’ x 40’ area for client parking (see attached application.)
If granted, this temporary land use permit will be paired with an access agreement between the City and 907 Snowcat for use of an alternative trail route for transport of clients over city-owned land (see attached route map shown in application.) The access agreement is authorized separately from the TLUP, but staff’s recommended conditions of approval would apply to both agreements.
Public Works Director John Witte, Capital Facilities Director and Assistant City Manager Nate Duval, and Parks and Recreation Director Ken Wilson were solicited for comments on the temporary land use permit application and did not object to the proposed use.
Per Valdez Municipal Code, “use of the property under the permit shall not constitute a nuisance, substantially interfere with the use and enjoyment of adjacent property, or adversely impact public access or city operations.” The conditions below are proposed to allow 907 Snowcat to operate safely with other users in the area. These are the same conditions staff recommended for their temporary land use permit application in 2023.
Staff proposes that TLUP 24-02 be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission with the following conditions:
1. 907 Snowcat shall place signage at the opening of their route during their operations to alert the public they are operating in the area.
2. 907 Snowcat shall not use the Alpetco Road trail route, and instead utilize the alternative route adjacent to Alpetco Road, as shown in their application trail map.
3. 907 Snowcat shall be responsible for clearing snow from a section of 3001 Richardson Highway for their parking needs.
4. 907 Snowcat provide a copy of their client participant waivers for City review and approval.
Fees for temporary land use permits were established by City Council with Resolution #23-43 which states that “for temporary land use permits for areas that are less than two acres in size, the fee shall be a flat monthly rate of $311 per month or a pro-rated daily fee of $11 per day for those periods less than one month.” The permit term requested by 907 Snowcat is March 1st - April 15th, 2023. Permit fees for this duration would be $476.00.
Per Valdez Municipal Code, if temporary land use permit 24-02 is approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the decision will be reported to City Council. Staff will prepare a temporary land use permit document using standard language approved by the City attorney and include any additional conditions required by the Commission.