Following consideration of five appeals, the Haines Borough Assembly stepped back from a planning commission decision last week to authorize a new heliport at 24 Mile Haines Highway.

The assembly voted 4-2 to rehear River Adventures’ conditional use permit (CUP) application for the heliport, which had been approved for one year’s heliski season. Ben Aultman-Moore, Gabe Thomas, Debra Schnabel and Tyler Huling supported the move, with Cheryl Stickler and Jerry Lapp opposed.

All five appeals questioned the legality of the planning commission’s 3-2 vote granting the permit on Dec. 8. Haines Borough code requires an “affirmative vote of a quorum,” which is four members, for the planning commission to take action. On Dec. 8, one commissioner was absent and one appointee had not yet been approved by the assembly, bringing residents and representatives of the Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan (CIV) to question whether the vote was valid.

Former planning commission members Rob Goldberg and Lee Heinmiller submitted affidavits for the appeals to the assembly, claiming that borough code has consistently been interpreted over the past 20 years to require four votes to approve a CUP.

Borough clerk Alekka Fullerton told the CVN this week she has not found any record of a 3-2 vote on the planning commission, and says the borough cannot confirm or deny the validity of Goldberg and Heinmiller’s claims. Fullerton said their statements are an “erroneous” understanding of the code.

The assembly has since introduced an amendment to the language of borough code to specify that the planning commission requires at least four members to take any action, and four affirmative votes to pass any motion. The ordinance will be discussed at next week’s assembly meeting.

CIV representatives and residents outlined several of the eight conditional-use criteria they claim were not met by the heliport applicant. Borough code requires all eight criteria be met to approve a CUP.

Code requires an avoidance of “undue noise,” “nuisances” and “other dangers,” but does not define what constitutes “undue noise.”

CIV argued that storage of aviation gas at the heliport site could contaminate groundwater drinking wells used by residents living on native allotments within 1,500 feet of the proposed site. CIV claimed that aviation gas is “extremely toxic to aquatic and human life” and cited contamination of groundwater drinking wells as a “serious consideration.” CUP regulations require fuel to be stored 100 feet from the Chilkat River. The applicant claims that the fueling area will be contained and “set back” from the river, according to the borough manager’s recommendation letter to the planning commission.

CIV representatives also stated that the permit property exists within the floodplain, opening the potential for aviation gas to be carried off with a flood. CIV’s presentation claimed that the area flooded twice in 2022. The Klehini Fire Department noted these instances as “minor floods” in an email correspondence with borough manager Annette Kreitzer.

CIV also claimed that the applicant violated federal requirements by failing to notify the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the proposed construction. Chilkat River Adventures co-owner Sean Gaffney did not respond to CVN to confirm this statement.

Residents and CIV cited several other criteria and general use conditions that were not met by the planning commission. The assembly will meet on January 24 to reconsider if the criteria has been met, as well as the validity of the 3-2 vote.

The planning commission’s Dec. 8 meeting attracted opposition from two dozen residents, many expressing concerns about noise pollution.

The permit approved by the commission would have been valid from Feb 1. through May 3, 2023. The permit allows operation of one helicopter from March 1 to April 23 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with February and May operating as “set-up and tear-down time,” Kreitzer said.