A final decision from Homer’s Planning Commission remains forthcoming after a special meeting was held last Wednesday, Oct. 16, to review Doyon, Limited’s revised application for the proposed Lighthouse Village redevelopment.

After some commissioners said they felt they hadn’t had sufficient time to review the application and supplemental materials, including written public comments, the commission voted 4-2 to postpone their decision to the next regular meeting on Nov. 6. Commissioners Franco Venuti, David Schneider, Heath Smith and Charles Barnwell voted in favor of postponement. Commission chair Scott Smith and commissioner Mike Stark voted against. Commissioner Brad Conley was absent from the meeting.

No further public comment will be accepted on the revised application at the next meeting.

‘Sharpening our pencils’

Doyon’s proposal in their original application for a conditional-use permit for a planned unit development called for an 80,000-square-foot hotel with 85 guest rooms on three floors plus a fourth-floor/rooftop bar; an accompanying three-story, dormitory-style employee housing unit; and five triplex condo units. In an extended public hearing process, the community pushed back against the initial design, saying that it was too big and too dense for Homer. The commission denied Doyon’s original application on Jan. 31, on the grounds that the applied-for hotel footprint of 80,505 square feet exceeded what was allowable in Homer City Code Title 21, which calls for up to 75,000 square feet.

Doyon affirmed at the time that they would “go back and sharpen their pencils” and submit a revised application. An appeal of the commission’s decision was filed with the Alaska Office of Administrative Hearings in March. OAH remanded the appeal back to the commission in June, after the commission and Doyon agreed that the grounds on which the original CUP application was denied were incorrect. Doyon was then allowed to submit a revised CUP application with a revised site plan for the PUD and a narrative describing the revisions they made.

The revised application includes several major changes to the proposed Lighthouse Village development and takes into account the extensive feedback received on the project from the Homer community and the planning commission. Among these changes are the removal of the on-site employee housing unit, the reduction of the condos from five triplex units to two duplex units and one triplex unit, the addition of a 30-foot vegetative buffer on the west side of the site to create a “transition zone” between the development and adjacent areas including the residential neighborhood on Bay Avenue, the addition of an ADA-compliant 20-foot pedestrian pathway between the vegetative buffer and the development to improve access for both residents and visitors, the addition of two viewing platforms, and a reduced hotel footprint.

With the reduction of hotel rooms from 85 to 70 and the removal of the rooftop bar, the hotel’s current design has three total stories rather than four, and the footprint reduced from over 80,000 square feet to 62,775 square feet. According to Staff Report 24-052 outlining the revised CUP application, included in the agenda packet from last Wednesday’s meeting, the maximum building height proposed is now at 44-feet-6-inches, a reduction of approximately 20 feet. The hotel design retains the restaurant and convention space that were included in the original application.

Doyon Operations Manager Zach Dunlap also noted that although the on-site employee housing was removed in order to lessen the density of the development, they have “identified promising leads” for off-site employee housing and “remain committed to ensuring that the housing needs of our employees are met without contributing to any existing housing shortages within Homer.”

Mixed reactions

More than a dozen community members gave testimony in person or over Zoom during the public hearing portion of Wednesday’s meeting. In addition, nearly 50 pages of written comments were submitted to the commission.

Feedback from the public was mixed; several individuals thanked Doyon for their revisions that showed the corporation’s attention to the feedback given in previous hearings. However, several community members still expressed concern over the hotel’s new proposed height and the necessity of vacating the right of way at B Street in order for the development to move forward.

“I appreciate what Doyon has brought back, it’s come a long way,” said Cooper Freeman, joining over Zoom. “I would still support the city to reject the right of way (vacation). I think it would set a really dangerous precedent to just give a business like this the right of way. They should just develop on the land that they own, and the city really should continue to keep that right of way undeveloped.”

Freeman also called the right of way a wildlife corridor and an “important barrier” for the neighborhood on Bay Avenue.

Penelope Haas, speaking on behalf of the Kachemak Bay Conservation Society, underscored what she said was the “biggest issue that underlines all the other issues” — the total size and height of the proposed hotel building.

“In code, as we pointed out for this zoning area, there is no allowable flexibility for above 35 feet,” she said. “It seems to me very important … to verify if you can have a height over 35 feet with a PUD when it is not allowable under a CUP. So whether or not you even can do what is being asked is the first question, and then whether or not you should do what is being asked is the secondary question.”

Haas also compared Doyon’s revised proposal to the Aspen Suites hotel in Homer, which she said is a three-story, 35-foot-high hotel with a total square footage of approximately 43,000 square feet. She encouraged the commission to “not move too quickly” on deciding whether to approve the revised application.

“It’s an important decision that has a big impact on our community,” she said.

Don McNamara agreed, saying that Doyon will be “a great neighbor,” but “35 feet is the law.”

Bruce Petska came in on the other side of the argument and said that Homer needs growth, opportunity and investment in the community.

“Doyon has put together what appears to be a viable business opportunity for both their shareholders and for Homer,” he said. “It isn’t exactly what maybe you want or what you would have done with the property, but it’s their property. It’s their investment. … Tell me the last time an investment anywhere near that amount was put into our community, especially by private money.”

Glenn Seaman, who lives on Bay Avenue within 300 feet of the proposed development, said that he was “very impressed” not only with Doyon’s revised application but with the way that Dunlap and other project team members have been listening to what the Homer community has said about the project.

“Doyon wants to make this work and they want to be a good neighbor,” he said. “One point is the setback — it’s really, really important to us neighbors to have that. The mitigation plan is pretty much focused on-site, (it) didn’t look off-site. You’ll see in many other comments too, we want to look off-site to see that it doesn’t impact it.”

Seaman also suggested that in the event the B Street right of way is vacated, that the setback and easement through the property “needs to be permanent and binding.”

Following the public hearing, Doyon and the city planner provided rebuttal to some of the comments that were shared.

“It’s important to know now that the current access on the B Street right of way is to sort of the edge of the slope, and if you walk it, it’s an unimproved path through the trees,” Dunlap said. “It’s not something everyone can access, certainly no one with mobility issues will be able to access that.

“Secondly, Doyon owns the lots on either side. So there’s no access outside of that lot to anything.”

Regarding the proposed height of the hotel, City Planner Ryan Foster reiterated that Doyon’s application is for a conditional use permit.

“It’s a conditional use permit for a planned unit development, which allows flexibility over land use, density, development requirements, etc. The building height — the ask is at 44 feet, 6 inches. The question for the commission is whether that’s something the commission can support,” he said.

Staff Report 24-052 also calls the proposed height “a better and more appropriate building height for a three story hotel, which, by their nature, is often higher than 35 feet,” and states that there are “no health, safety, or welfare concerns” with the proposed hotel building height.

Find the full meeting recording on the City of Homer website at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/hapc/planning-commission-special-meeting-7.

The next regular Planning Commission meeting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers.

Don McNamara points to a schematic of the proposed Lighthouse Village hotel development while giving public comments to the Planning Commission on Doyon, Limited’s revised application during a special meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Eric Engebretsen, owner of Bay Weld Boats, provides public comments to the Planning Commission on Doyon, Limited’s revised application for the Lighthouse Village redevelopment during a special meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Homer community members gather in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers for a special Planning Commission meeting on Doyon, Limited’s revised application for the Lighthouse Village redevelopment on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Doyon representative Zach Dunlap (right) presents the revised application for the Lighthouse Village redevelopment during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Homer city planner Ryan Foster reviews Doyon, Limited’s revised application for a conditional use permit for the Lighthouse Village planned unit development during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A schematic site plan of Doyon, Limited’s revised Lighthouse Village redevelopment design is on display during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A schematic rendering of the proposed upper viewing platform in Doyon, Limited’s revised Lighthouse Village redevelopment design is on display during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A schematic rendering of the proposed pedestrian pathways in Doyon, Limited’s revised Lighthouse Village redevelopment design is on display during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A schematic rendering of the hotel main entrance in Doyon, Limited’s revised Lighthouse Village redevelopment design is on display during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A schematic rendering of the southwest view of Doyon, Limited’s revised Lighthouse Village redevelopment design is on display during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

A schematic rendering of the proposed lower viewing platform in Doyon, Limited’s revised Lighthouse Village redevelopment design is on display during a special Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)