Soldotna building department

The Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) does not issue building permits. Its Planning Department’s Building / Construction Permit Information sheet (revised March 27, 2025) states that the borough has no structure building codes in its code and no building inspector. Outside the cities, the borough regulates where and how you develop, not how a house is framed. Its rules cover floodplains, salmon-stream setbacks, local option zoning districts, plat setbacks, gravel extraction, and work in borough rights-of-way. For areas without construction rules, the borough advises following the International Building Code or International Residential Code, which also helps with financing and resale.

Most development questions go to the Planning & Zoning Division at the Donald E. Gilman River Center, 514 Funny River Road, Soldotna, (907) 714-2460. Platting and the main borough office are at 144 N. Binkley Street, Soldotna, (907) 262-4441.

Who issues the permit

Project location or type	Permit authority
Inside Homer, Kachemak City, Kenai, Seldovia, Seward, or Soldotna	The city, for its own building permits, setbacks, and zoning
Commercial building, or residential building with 4+ units, outside Kenai, Soldotna, and Seward	Alaska State Fire Marshal (state building permit), 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, (907) 269-5511
Commercial or 4+ unit building inside Kenai, Soldotna, or Seward	The city, which holds a deferral for total code enforcement
Single-family home, duplex, or triplex in the unincorporated borough	No building permit. Borough land-use permits below may still apply
Septic system or private well	Alaska DEC, Soldotna office, 43335 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite 11, (907) 262-5210
Driveway or work in a borough right-of-way	KPB Road Service Area, 47140 E. Poppy Lane, Soldotna, (907) 262-4427
Driveway onto a state highway	Alaska DOT&PF Kenai Peninsula District, (907) 262-2199
Fill or dredging in wetlands or navigable waters	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (800) 478-2712

Borough permits that can apply to a rural lot

Anadromous Waters Habitat Protection District (KPB 21.18)

The borough enforces a 50-foot development setback from 793 salmon-bearing streams, lakes, and other waterbodies, measured from ordinary high water or mean high water. It applies in the West Cook Inlet, North Kenai Peninsula, and South Kenai Peninsula districts. Work within 50 feet needs either a staff permit or a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission, depending on the project.

• May be approved: tree cutting and vegetation removal (with a replanting plan), water-dependent utilities, streambank restoration, fishing platforms, bridges, and culverts.
• Not allowed in the setback: homes, sheds, gazebos, decking, gravel, lawns and other impervious surfaces, covered fish-cleaning stations, large angular rock, fire pits, and oversized platforms.
• Exempt: routine landscape maintenance, pruning up to 25% of trees and shrubs, removing naturally downed trees, planting native vegetation, and a single flagpole (up to 4 sq ft and 30 ft tall).

River Center staff will visit the site to help locate the 50-foot line. A tax credit program rewards habitat protection within 150 feet of salmon streams.

Floodplain development permit (KPB 21.06)

A floodplain permit is required before any development in a regulatory floodplain. That includes new or rebuilt structures, additions, fill, dredging, excavation, driveways, and fishing platforms. Travel trailers, mobile homes, and temporary structures have additional rules. Start by requesting a floodplain determination online, then apply to the River Center. Homer, Kenai, and Seward run their own floodplain programs. Around Seward, the borough also requires permits in the Seward Mapped Flood Data Area within the Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area, even outside FEMA-mapped floodplain. The River Center keeps a searchable database of existing elevation certificates.

Local Option Zoning Districts (KPB 21.44)

Some subdivisions have petitioned for stricter borough zoning, and new structures there require a LOZD New Structure Development Notice. As of the March 2025 list:

• Single-family residential (R-1): Anchors Aweigh North, Bings Landing, C & H Estates, College Heights, Correia, Diamond Willow – Fairfield, Diamond Willow – Ravenwood, Funny River Grove, Grande View Heights One, Kalifornsky Center, Murwood South, North Fork One, Ten Mar Ranch, Widgeon Woods
• Rural residential (R-R): Birch and Grouse Ridge, Russian Gap
• Multi-family (R-M): Discovery Park, Percy Hope
• Waterfront residential (R-W): Keystone Estates, Stephenkie Alaska Sub Block 8

Variances and non-conforming use applications for these districts are filed with Planning & Zoning.

Material sites (KPB 21.29)

Check with the borough before removing gravel or other material, even for personal use. Small operations may get a counter permit from the Planning Director. Larger ones need a conditional land use permit from the Planning Commission.

Setbacks and plats

Any plat recorded after May 7, 1968 carries a minimum 20-foot building setback along rights-of-way, and some plats set a larger one. Read the recorded plat notes before siting a building. KPB keeps a searchable subdivision plat database, and recorded documents are searchable through the Alaska DNR Recorder’s Office. The borough does not enforce private covenants. New lots outside the cities may need an E911 address, which you request online from KPB addressing.

Other agencies near water

• Alaska Department of Fish & Game Habitat Section (fish habitat permits), also at the River Center
• Alaska State Parks for Kenai River Special Management Area special-use permits, (907) 262-5581
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, (907) 262-7021, for inholdings, docks on Skilak and Tustumena lakes, the Moose Range Meadows conservation easements, and eagle nests