Unalaska’s planning commission will meet tonight to discuss new tools for responding to public nuisances.

That’s what it’s called when a resident breaks local rules on land use, zoning, or property maintenance. The city has the authority to fine residents $300 for those offenses.

But according to a memo from Planning Department staff, the process for doing that is ”procedurally disjointed and administratively complex to the point where it is nearly impossible for an actual penalty to be issued.”

Planning administrator Anthony Grande has been looking for solutions. 

"Everything is up for consideration right now in terms of the nuisance enforcement," Grande says.

One possibility is to issue tickets. If a resident failed to clean the junk out of his yard or secure a permit for a construction project by a certain date, he could automatically receive a fine in the mail.

The planning department started looking into the issue after questions from commissioners, like Jessica Earnshaw.

She wanted to know how the city was responding to nuisance complaints from the public.

"Because they just think that we’re just putting it on the back burner," Earnshaw says. "That the Planning Department’s not really moving forward. But what the public doesn’t understand is that there is a lack or shortage on all staff sometimes, especially during the holidays."

The Planning Department isn't the only one working on nuisances. Police officers and the Department of Public Works also accept and investigate complaints. 

"We're able to speak with the landowners and come up with solutions," Grande says. "Most of the time that works well. The biggest problem with the nuisance code is when it comes down to true enforcement. Really getting something behind it. That's the part we're looking at here."

Any changes to the code would have to go through public hearings and a vote by city council.

Also on the commission’s agenda: a public hearing on a tidelands plat owned by the city of Unalaska, and a proposal to conduct new GIS mapping. The historic preservation commission will also meet to discuss plans for the Henry Swanson House and the Manson’s Saltery near the South Channel Bridge.

The meetings will begin at 7 p.m. in City Hall.