Nearly a year after their application first appeared before Homer’s Planning Commission, the conditional use permit for Doyon, Limited’s planned Lighthouse Village development has finally been approved.

At their last regular meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6, after reviewing Doyon’s revised application and outlining several conditions that must be met following approval, the commission voted unanimously to approve CUP 23-08.

City planner Ryan Foster did not respond to request for comment on next steps for Doyon or for the City of Homer with regard to the Lighthouse Village development as of press time on Tuesday.

Eleven conditions were established by the commission following their granting of a conditional use permit to Doyon.

First, the property located at 1491 Bay Avenue must be rezoned to General Commercial 1 zoning district in order for the property to align with the proposed commercial uses. The three lots owned by Doyon for the planned Lighthouse Village development are located at 1491 Bay Avenue, 1563 Homer Spit Road and 1663 Homer Spit Road. The two properties on Homer Spit Road are already zoned as GC1. 1491 Bay Avenue is currently zoned as Rural Residential.

The commission previously recommended to approve rezoning 1491 Bay Avenue. Rezoning authority lies with the Homer City Council.

Second, the long-contested B Street right of way must be vacated. A motion to recommend approval of the ROW vacation previously failed before the commission. The final approval of the B Street ROW vacation will be decided by the city council.

Third, a 20-foot public pedestrian easement must be dedicated “as depicted” on the architectural site plans submitted by Doyon.

The planned easement, along with a 30-foot vegetative buffer on the west side of Doyon’s property, are intended to provide a buffer between the development and a residential neighborhood.

Fourth, the applicant must contact the FAA before construction begins and confirm if they require a permit for construction cranes on the project.

Concern was previously raised during past public hearings that the planned Lighthouse Village presented a hazard to air navigation to the Homer Airport because of its location and size. The FAA determined that such a hazard does not exist.

Fifth, any outdoor lighting on the development must be downlit in compliance with Homer City Code 21.59.030 and the Community Design Manual.

Sixth, the maximum building height for the hotel must not exceed the height depicted in the planned unit development plans submitted by Doyon for the CUP. In their revised application, the planned development is anticipated to be approximately 44 feet tall, a 20-foot height reduction compared to the original application.

One of the points brought up repeatedly during past public hearings was that Homer City Code allows for a maximum building height of 35 feet in lots zoned as GC1. However, Doyon’s CUP is for a planned unit development, which permits flexibility and variation in many of the traditional controls related to density, land use, setback, open space and other design elements — including building height — according to HCC 21.52.010.

Condition 7 outlined several recommendations from the traffic impact analysis previously completed on the project and stated that these recommendations “must be implemented before occupancy and operations can occur, contingent upon approval by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.”

These recommendations are:

Implement improvements to enhance active transportation modes and potentially reduce vehicle demand at intersections and roadways.

Instead of the frontage road between the north and south access driveways on Homer Spit Road leading onto Doyon’s property, construct a pathway fronting the Lighthouse Village development to connect the site to the crossing at the Kachemak Drive/Homer Spit Road crosswalk. The pathway should meet DOT&PF standards and be located for compatibility with future pedestrian improvements projects along Homer Spit Road.

Construct a connection between the Lighthouse Village development to Bay Avenue using the B Street right of way to allow walking and biking trips to use to lower-volume, low-speed Bay Avenue for nonmotorized trip segments.

Install a marked median refuge and a potential marked crosswalk on the Homer Spit Road approach to the Ocean Drive/Homer Spit Road/Faa Road intersection. The crosswalk would only be installed if the crossing demand is established as 20 vehicles per hour or more at that location. However, the median refuge could be implemented without the crosswalk.

Consider implementing a rapid rectangular flashing beacon at the marked crosswalk at Kachemak Drive for the Homer Spit Road crossing.

The north and south access driveways may be constructed with two lanes, one inbound and one outbound, with the strong recommendation that if there is an outbound lane on the north access driveway, that it be a right-turn outbound lane only.

Alaska DOT&PF also provided explicit recommendations following their review, which are included in Staff Report 24-052 in the commission’s Oct. 16 meeting packet.

The eighth condition requested incorporation of the recommendations provided by the Public Works Department in the staff report.

Ninth, the applicant must submit their engineered water, sewer and storm drain design to Public Works for comment. After Public Works’ comments have been made and implemented, Doyon will need to submit their engineered design to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for approval.

Condition 10 states that per Homer City Code 21.52.070, construction of the PUD must begin within two years of the CUP’s approval. According to statements provided by Doyon in Staff Report 24-052, the initial development stage is currently slated for the 2025 construction season and primarily focuses on “comprehensive site preparation” for the entire project, including groundwork, infrastructure development and the “establishment of the foundational elements necessary for both the residential condo section and the year-round hotel with dining and convention space.”

Doyon currently anticipates the entire project to be completed by 2028.

Finally, condition 11 states that any changes of use from those in the submitted PUD would require a new or revised CUP.

Find Staff Report 24-052 and CUP 23-08 online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/hapc/planning-commission-special-meeting-7.

The Nov. 6 Planning Commission regular meeting recording is also available in full on the City of Homer website.