Since appearing on the Haines Borough Planning Commission’s agenda in October, the issue of siting a heliport at 35 Mile Old Haines Highway has been postponed four times.
Complicating the question is the change in tactics from Mike Wilson, who originally applied for the conditional use permit in October. Wilson, who manages Coastal Helicopters, owns the property with Alaska Heliskiing owner Sean Brownell, though Brownell’s name isn’t on the title.
After applying for the conditional use permit, Wilson and Brownell ditched that approach and instead argued their heliport didn’t require a conditional use permit because the property had been used 25-35 times for landing helicopters since 2009.
That would mean it was used as a heliport prior to 2011, when the law changed to require conditional use permits for heliports in a general use zone.
At the request of the commission, interim manager Julie Cozzi weighed in, determining that while the property owners had a pre-existing right to use the property, that right was limited to its historical use.
“She made a decision that, yes, they did have a pre-existing right to use the property, but only at the limit that they had been historically using it, which was 5-10 landings a year. So she said yes, but she put a severe restriction on the number of landings,” said planning commission chair Rob Goldberg.
Wilson is appealing Cozzi’s decision, so the commission will have to decide whether to overturn or uphold it.
Cozzi also pointed out that code is very specific about which heliports in the borough can be used for heli-skiing. In Title 5, it states heli-skiing permit holders can use the airport, 18 Mile heliport, 33 Mile heliport or “any heliport authorized by the Haines Borough planning commission as a conditional use.”
“Julie said, ‘Even if I approve this as a pre-existing use for a heliport, in order to operate out of there with a heli-skiing business, the site has to have a conditional use permit from the planning commission,’” Goldberg said.
The commission postponed the issue for a fourth time at its meeting last month for several reasons, including that Cozzi was on vacation and wasn’t present to answer questions. Commissioners Heather Lende and Donnie Turner also were absent.
The commission will take up the 35 Mile heliport question for the fifth time at its Thursday, Feb. 11, meeting.