Group homes may be cut from Wasilla zoning areas

WASILLA - Group homes will have less freedom to build within the Wasilla city limits if an ordinance amendment scheduled to go before the Wasilla City Council is passed Monday.

The amendment was brought forward by the Wasilla Planning Commission, which passed a resolution at its Oct. 10 meeting that group homes be excluded from zoning districts R1 (residential - single family), R2 (residential), and RR (rural residential).

Tim Krug, Wasilla's city planner, said the amendment was brought forward by the commissioners after a use permit request was presented to allow Kids Are People Inc. to operate a group home in the Venture Estates subdivision. The amendment followed a request by a landowner to amend the zoning to exclude group home construction from R1 and R2 construction.

Wasilla City Councilman Howard O'Neil, who was initially involved with the issue as a planning commissioner, said he suggested RR zoning be added to the list because the Venture Estates land was zoned RR, and those residents specifically requested group home construction not be allowed in their area. O'Neil said the issue did not arise because the council was opposed to group home construction in general.

"It's not that I don't think they're necessary, because I think they're very necessary," O'Neil explained. "But basically they're a business."

After meeting with the residents and representatives from Kids Are People, the commission agreed to allow the operation of the home, but put forward the resolution to prevent further problems between homeowners and groups wishing to operate group homes.

Krug said the amendment would change revisions made to the city's code in 1996, under John Stein's administration. Under those changes, group home construction became allowable in every zoning district but industrial.

Stein, now the executive director of Kids Are People, said the open access at the time was not due to any political motivation on his behalf.

"I joined Kids Are People about a month after I was with the city," Stein said. "Politically, I had really no interest."

Stein said several issues came up when the city-wide rezone took place, but he did not remember group homes being one of those issues. He said he did encourage residents in single-family neighborhoods who wished to be protected from major development to request a neighborhood rezone to R1 - although at the time, group home construction was also allowed under R1.

Before the resolution recommending the change was passed by the commission, Krug contacted city attorney Tom Klinkner regarding the issue. Klinkner, in a letter of response to Krug's inquiry, said the recommended amendment was, as far as he understood, consistent with federal and state law.

O'Neil said the council planned to double-check the attorney's decision prior to the public hearing.

If the council determines group homes should be restricted from development in those three areas, Krug said there are still a number of options for construction. A use permit for construction could still be obtained for construction in residential multi-family, commercial and public zoning areas. Krug said, while there is little land held privately in publicly zoned areas, there is still some space available in areas zoned multi-family and a significant amount of space available in commercially zoned areas. Additionally, he said, rezones are available.

"It's not to say we can't create more residential multi-family zones," Krug said. "People can come in and rezone areas to a higher density."