Lutak Road work resumes after cease-and-desist
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Work on a gravel storage site on Lutak Road resumed after Southeast Road Builders paid a $600 fee for unpermitted work at the site, which sits just past the ferry terminal. The borough says the company may face more penalties for removing soil from the area without a required conditional use permit.
The 21-acre site, made up of three parcels, is a staging area for gravel - up to 20,000 cubic yards, according to a borough permit application - to be shipped to Kensington and Greens Creek mines.
Borough officials say the episode highlights regular occurrence they're trying to correct of people and businesses in Haines seeking permits after they've already started building projects.
"I don't know why people across all spectrums of development here may think that you can apply for a permit after the fact," said Andrew Conrad, the borough planner. "It's not just commercial contractors, it's a lot of people."
Road Builders assistant general manager Brian Maller said the issue on Lutak Road resulted from a misunderstanding and miscommunication with the borough. He said the company had been in communication with the borough since starting the project, and Conrad hadn't given any indication that the borough would send a cease-and-desist letter.
Maller said communication with the borough has improved since then.
"It's gotten better in the last few weeks," said Maller. "We have a better understanding of what their expectations are."
The borough sent Southeast a cease-and-desist letter on Aug. 7 after residents complained about what they saw as excessive truck traffic and potentially illegal construction. The company stopped its trucking operations immediately after receiving the letter, according to Kreitzer, and it has been cooperative with the borough since then.
Road Builders had gotten approval for work on the site in May, but not to the extent of the project that ultimately started, critics say.
In late April, project manager Roger Schnabel submitted a "site development application," proposing "clearing, grubbing and burning for a few years." The project, according to description, would cost about $20,000. In late July, Haines residents alerted the borough to apparent violations of the permit, as well as what appeared to be a much larger project than what Road Builders suggested with a $20,000 price tag.
Road Builders had already submitted an application in late July for a land use permit to store gravel but the permit hadn't been approved. Borough Manager Annette Kreitzer and Conrad issued the permit with a handful of requirements, including that the company "avoid negative impacts on surrounding properties, including excessive noise." The permit also came with a $600 fee, based on 3% of the total project value, which is written in borough code. But one critic called the $20,000 project value "absurd."
"Implementing our land use regulations that way makes a farce of Borough Code and public process," wrote Gershon Cohen, whohas been raising concerns about the project with the borough.
Meanwhile, more fines could be issued because Road Builders also removed earth from the site, which comes with a fee of $100 per load. According to Conrad, the borough is waiting to receive complete information about the number of loads and the amount of dirt that was removed before assessing the fine.
Last week, neighbors counted more than a dozen Road Builders trucks per hour along the trucking route that connects the Haines Highway to Lutak Road, neighbors say.
The truck traffic has frustrated residents, who say they've been woken up as early as 6:30 a.m.
"It's very bothersome, and very frustrating, and it's constant," said Fuzzy Von Stauffenberg, who owns a home on Second Avenue. "You can't sit in the front yard and enjoy a conversation without being interrupted by the trucks."
"They have responded in a way that we're not sure we can quantify yet the type, the amount of material they removed from the site," said Conrad.
Southeast Road Builders continues to work on the project, on some days carrying more than a dozen loads of gravel through the trucking route that connects the Haines Highway to Lutak Road, neighbors say. The road, which is owned and maintained by the state, doesn't require a permit for trucking unless more than 100 loads go through per hour, according to Michael Schuler, a right-of-way agent with the Department of Transportation.
That's frustrated residents, who say they've been woken up as early as 6:30 a.m. to the sounds of Southeast Road Builders trucks passing by their homes.
"It's very bothersome, and very frustrating, and it's constant," said Fuzzy Von Stauffenberg, who owns a home on Second Avenue. "You can't sit in the front yard and enjoy a conversation without being interrupted by the trucks."
Von Stauffenberg said this week, trucking has mostly stopped.
Schuler said Southeast Road Builders has been working with DOT to submit several permits to build industrial driveways on both sides of Lutak Road. He said the area has historically been used as a driveway, "so tacitly there sort of is some past permission," but he said because the new use of the area would require a new permit. He said the situation is fairly common in Alaska.
"We sometimes have to be playing catchup to that when we learn about something," he said. When asked about potential fines for violating current uses, Schuler said he didn't anticipate any. He said permits normally take about a month to complete.
