Parties to a longstanding neighborhood dispute in Haines have seemingly come to an agreement. For nine years a group of neighbors has been asking the borough to do something about the large gatherings at Viking Cove Guest Homes. Last week the owner of the business and representatives of the neighbors signed an agreement that allows some activity, with limitations.

Ten years ago, Bill Chetney bought a big house at the end of Mud Bay Road.

Chetney: “I’ve tried to be a really good neighbor, we’ve conducted activities, but tried to be very, very neighborly.”

Chetney built some cabins on the 12-acre property and received a permit to use them as vacation rentals. The permit allows for 20 guests to stay overnight. In 2015, he started advertising the property as an event venue. This rankled his neighbors. 

Kermoian: “Three, four days ahead of time, the traffic increases and increases.”

Patty Kermoian lives in the neighborhood.

Kermoian: “The day of the event, they would have tons of people coming out, they’ve had a wedding there for 150 people. People are parked on Mud Bay Road, they had parked in the neighbor’s driveway. They have amplified music till past midnight.”

A group of neighbors decided to bring the matter in front of borough officials. They passed around a petition against commercial events in the neighborhood. Kermoian says most residents signed it. Public comments on the issue became a fixture of planning commission and borough assembly meetings. The borough didn’t act to limit the activity at the property. Although Chetney claimed a maximum of 20 people stayed overnight at the cabins, his guests were allowed to bring their own guests. Hundreds of them. The planning commission ruled that Chetney did not violate the conditions of his permit, and the borough assembly didn’t hold a hearing. Until this month. 

On July 6th, a special meeting of the assembly finally addressed the issue. Representatives from the neighborhood asked assembly members to prohibit Chetney from holding large events.

Borough Manager Annette Kreitzer said the events have become permitted by default. 

Kreitzer: “Time marches on. The fact that the planning commission made certain decisions by omission really creates commission. It is still a decision when you decide to not go after something.”  

Kreitzer said the borough attorney reached that conclusion after observing that the planning commission declined to act multiple times on the residents’ complaints.

Assembly member Debra Schnabel said she found the legal reasoning baffling.

Schnabel: “When we are dancing way off of the law, and we are out here in the margins making things up, and then saying that it’s what was intended all along, It’s almost like a different reality for me, to be talking about this subject in the way we are talking about it.”

Two hours into the meeting, the discussion moved towards getting the parties to agree on a compromise. Mayor Doug Olerud pointed to a middle ground. 

Olerud: “Mr Chetney, if you had two wedding events that were over 75 people per year, and then you were able to have your other events up to eight that were under 75 people per year, and you cut off all music at ten o’clock, is that something that you would agree to if your neighbors agreed to it?” 

Representatives for the neighborhood came up with some restrictions that would diminish the impact of the venue. After discussions, the borough clerk drafted a document that both parties signed the following Monday.

Bill Chetney seemed relieved.

Chetney: “I want to be a good neighbor, and I made some concessions that made them happy.”

Patty Kermoian, representing his neighbors, said she signed partly out of weariness. She says she is not satisfied with the way the borough approached the issue.

Kermoian: “It really wasn’t a land use issue as the borough said it was, it really is a borough problem of non compliance of a conditional use permit.”

She drew parallels between this case and the permitting of a heliport in another neighborhood 26 miles from Haines.

Kermoian: “The borough has a problem in granting these conditional use permits and not following up on violations even when they are brought to them, the planning commission, we felt they often did not listen to what we were saying. The borough needs to take a huge step back and not grant any more of these permits if they can’t enforce them.” 

The agreement limits Chetney to hosting four events a year of up to 150 people. To limit traffic, a bus service to and from town has to be provided to the guests. Crews can set up one day before and clean one day after the event. And amplified music is to stop after 10pm. A review of the agreement has been scheduled for November.

Both Chetney and his neighbors say they are eager to put the dispute behind them.