ITEM TITLE:
#22-23 - Authorizing a Gravel Lease for Harris Sand and Gravel, Inc. on 55.9 acres consisting of Parcel E 1, Tract A, ASLS 79-116, Plat 2002-12 and Tract C-1, ASLS 79-116, Plat 2002-13
SUBMITTED BY: Bruce Wall, Senior Planner
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution #20-23, authorizing a gravel lease for Harris Sand and Gravel, Inc. on 55.9 acres consisting of Parcel E 1, Tract A, ASLS 79-116, Plat 2002-12 and Tract C-1, ASLS 79-116, Plat 2002-13 with the recommended conditions from staff.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Harris Sand and Gravel has submitted an application for a gravel lease on 55.9 acres located at 1001 Airport Road. Their current gravel lease on the property was signed on May 29, 2002 and expires on May 1, 2022. VMC 4.08.240 gives the current lessee a preference right to re-lease those lands previously leased by the lessee if all of the other factors are substantially equivalent and; provided, the lessee is not in breach or default of any of the terms or conditions of the lease.
Lease Area Information
Property Owner: City of Valdez
Acreage: Tract C-1 - 14.40 acres, Parcel E 1 - 41.50 acres
Access: Airport Road via adjacent State land.
Current Uses: Gravel extraction
Adjacent Uses: Gravel extraction, airport, campground, and landfill (construction and demolition).
Zoning District: Tract C-1 - Public Lands and Parcel E 1 - Heavy Industrial
Adjacent Zoning Districts: Heavy Industrial, Public Lands, Light Industrial, and Airport
Comprehensive Plan Place Type: Industrial Hub
Application Process
The Planning Department accepted the gravel lease application on January 31, 2022 which was 90 days prior to the expiration of the current lease.
Planning staff has determined that the applicant meets the qualification requirements contained in VMC 4.08.040. Planning staff has reviewed the application and has determined that the application contains the information required in VMC 4.08.050.
Natural resource extraction is permitted in both the Public Lands District and the Heavy Industrial District with a conditional use permit. A conditional use permit for this property was approved on April 15, 2002 for gravel extraction. The Valdez Comprehensive Plan designates the place type for this property as Industrial Hub. The plan states that the Industrial Hub place type is characterized by land uses that generally have more impacts on the environment and surrounding land uses and may have the potential to affect the public health and safety due to sound, odors, and vibrations.
The applicant has requested a 21-year lease of the property for gravel extraction. Staff is recommending that the lease be restricted to five years in length. The 2005 City of Valdez Property Management policies and procedures states that “leases of City land should not be for greater than five (5) years, unless it is in the public interest for the City to enter into a longer-term agreement.” VMC 4.08.130 states, “The term of a lease shall depend upon the desirability of the proposed use, the amount of investment in improvements proposed and made, and the nature of the improvement proposed with respect to the time required to amortize the proposed investment.”
The city intends to begin the process of developing a new gravel management plan this year. Staff believes that a five-year lease will allow the applicant the assurance of his continued operation at this location in the immediate future while allowing the city to reevaluate its gravel leases once the gravel management plan is completed. Because the applicant is not proposing an additional investment in improvements, staff does not believe that a lease longer than five years is justified.
In 2019 the city council approved a five-year gravel lease near Valdez Glacier Lake and in 2020 it approved a 20-year gravel lease adjacent to this property.
Staff has recommended that a volumetric survey be completed to establish the current conditions of the property and estimate the available quantity of material remaining in the lease area. This information can also be used along with future surveys to verify the quantity of material being removed.
The planning and zoning commission met on April 13, 2022 and voted to recommend approval of the lease to the city council.
1. The lease shall be for a duration of five years.
2. The City will have a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment done on the property to determine baseline conditions of the land prior to establishment of the lease agreement, as required by the 2005 Property Management Policy and Procedures. The applicant will be responsible for reimbursing the City for the cost of the Phase 1 Environmental Assessment.
3. The City will have a volumetric survey done on the property to determine existing contours and quantity of stockpiled material prior to establishment of the lease agreement. The applicant will be responsible for reimbursing the City for the cost of the volumetric survey.
4. No gravel extraction shall occur within the section line easement.
5. Gravel extraction shall be limited to Parcel E 1.
6. Uses on Tract C-1 shall be limited to that which directly is in support of the gravel extraction on Parcel E 1.
7. Any storage of imported material or storage of equipment that is not actively being used in the gravel extraction is prohibited without a separate land lease.
8. The lessee shall have a land surveyor mark the boundary of Parcel E-1 and the section line easement at sequentially visible intervals to ensure that operations do not encroach upon adjacent properties.
9. The lessee shall be responsible for the restoration of the land and removal or reversion of improvements upon termination of lease, as required by VMC 4.08.260.
10. The lease shall not be effective until after public notice is provided pursuant to VMC 4.08.160.