On June 6th Haines voters will decide in a special election whether to change how seats on the planning commission are filled. There are arguments for both sides but many residents have yet to learn about the issue.
In Haines, planning commissioners are appointed by the mayor. A series of unpopular decisions by the planning commission have prompted some residents to sign a petition to change the borough charter. The petition gathered enough signatures that a special election will be held on June 6th. The question voters will have to answer is this: should planning commission members be elected by residents, or appointed by the mayor.
Most towns function by appointment, but some elect their commissioners. Petersburg is one of them. Petersburg Borough clerk Debra Thompson says the system works smoothly, and doesn’t cost the borough anymore than the appointment system would.
Thompson: “I’m used to having them on the ballot, because most of our boards are actually elected.”
Haines resident Tom Morphet put forward the initiative to bring the issue to a vote. He says it’s really about accountability.
Morphet: “The planning commission has made decisions that are way out of whack with I think what the general public or an elected commission would do.”
Morphet cites a decision by the commission this winter to approve a heliport in the Chilkat valley. Five different entities appealed, and the elected borough assembly overturned the decision. In recent weeks the planning commission approved another heliport in the valley, this one even closer to residences.
Morphet: “So there is no heliports downtown but they are all up in the valley where people obviously are not represented well.”
Morphet says the decisions of the planning commission have a large impact on residents.
Morphet: “They are the ones who decide whether a gravel pit goes on your residential road in the townsite, if a junkyard is operating next to your property. They are an empowered board. Empowered boards make decisions that are final unless appealed to the borough assembly.”
Morphet says because they have so much power, planning commissioners should be elected by residents. Diana Lapham holds a seat on the planning commission. She says the current system already provides accountability.
Lapham: “I know one of the things that they have said is that we are not held accountable to the public. And we are. We have to take an oath of office, just like the assembly does, we have to disclose financial statements, just like the assembly does.”
Lapham says she would run for her seat on the planning commission if she had to. Planning commissioner Richard Clement says running for a seat would be costly.
Clement: “I’ve run for assembly before, and it costs somewhere between 500 top 1000 dollars right out of your pocket.”
Clement worries that people running for election would receive money during the campaign, and would then be inclined to return the favor. Morphet says the process wouldn’t necessarily cost anything.
Morphet: “You don’t have to run. You just have to stand for election. In other words you go out you fill out the paperwork, and your name goes on the ballot. So there is no requirement for a person to campaign or go door to door, you just have to say yes, I would like to be on the planning commission, and fill out the paperwork.”
An informal survey of Haines residents showed many people hadn’t heard about the special election.
Andrew Letchworth is the director of the Haines Chamber of Commerce. When asked about his opinion on the issue, he cites the importance of a stable regulatory environment.
Letchworth: “The reason why they are appointed is because you have to know code. And you’ve got to understand why the rules are there and what the rules are so that you can have consistency for business owners. On behalf of the chamber of commerce one of the things we want to see is we want to make sure that code is stable, that business owners can depend on it, that they don’t have to worry about it changing based on someone’s opinion or on the feelings of the people that got them elected.”
Mario Benassi lives in the Chilkat Valley. He has felt the impact of decisions by the planning commission, and he wants it to be more receptive to resident’s concerns.
Benassi: “Interesting that we are forced to have an election just because we are not getting a fair and balanced process in the planning commission. They are not really listening to the community. And the community is not really all one sided, There’s two sides, and so we should have, representing the community, people on both sides of an issue. And we are just not seeing that right now.”
Early voting is now open at the borough offices, as of Thursday afternoon, 48 people had cast a ballot. Absentee voting is available, by mail and electronically. The special election will be held at the ANB hall and at the Klehini fire hall, on Tuesday June 6th. The polls will close at 8pm.