Persistent vacancies on the commission meant to give Kalifornsky residents a way to participate in local land issues may cause the group to be dubbed “inactive” by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The group will become inactive if at least three more people are not put on the Kalifornsky Advisory Planning Commission.

The Kalifornsky commission, which, according to legislation passed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly earlier this month, held its first meeting in 2019, currently only has one active member. Other seats are either vacant or held by members who have quit or cannot be reached. Advisory planning commissions can have up to seven members and require four to make a quorum.

Advisory planning commissions are meant to give residents other ways to participate in land use activities proposed for their community, according to the borough’s webpage about advisory planning commissions. Advisory planning commissions can also give recommendations to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission, as well as to the assembly when requested.

Kenai Peninsula Borough geographic information systems show the Kalifornsky commission area bounded by the mouth of the Kenai River to the north and the mouth of the Kasilof River to the south. The area’s easternmost boundary is roughly where the Sterling Highway intersects with Kalifornsky Beach Road.

Two of the Kalifornsky commission’s seats became vacant last September. As of April 7, no applications had been received for either seat, according to a memo sent to assembly members. In January, the memo said, four other members submitted resignation or “cannot be reached.”

“This APC now only has one seated member and therefore the APC is not able to declare vacancies for the other seats per (borough code),” the memo says.

Because the commission only has one sitting member, the other vacancies were declared by the assembly through the passage of the resolution during the body’s April 19 meeting. If, after the 30-day period during which the borough advertises all vacancies, there are still not enough commissioners to constitute a quorum, the borough will list the commission as inactive.

Appointment applications for the Kalifornsky commission and for other vacancies can be found at kpb.us/planning-dept/planning-commissions/kalifornsky-apc.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.