Mat-Su Assembly rejects major overhaul to waterfront no-build zone

What you need to know:

• The Mat-Su Borough Assembly unanimously rejected a proposed overhaul of local waterbody setback laws that aimed to update construction rules near rivers, lakes and streams and legalize some existing illegal structures.
• The proposal, created by a volunteer advisory board over 16 months and more than 20 meetings, was criticized for being overly complex and unenforceable, offering limited relief for property owners while adding new development restrictions.
• Assembly members said they will offer alternative proposals. Tuesday's Assembly vote marks the latest in a series of attempts to revise the setback rules, which originated from a 2023 effort by then-Assembly member Robert Yundt.

PALMER — The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly this week rejected a proposed major overhaul of borough law governing how and where structures can be built near the region’s waterbodies.

The changes were proposed by a nine-member board tasked by the Assembly in late 2023 with updating the borough’s waterbody setback law, which bans the construction of most structures within 75 feet of Mat-Su rivers, lakes and streams. The rules are designed to protect water quality and fish habitat.

The assembly voted unanimously to reject the proposal during its regular meeting Tuesday.

The board was asked to create a way for hundreds of structures illegally built within the zone, known as a riparian setback, to comply with borough code while also updating the rules to reflect modern best practices for construction near waterbodies.

Assembly members said the complicated and wide-ranging set of proposed updates created unnecessary new barriers to development, added layers of unenforceable regulation, did not fully address some construction issues, and failed to offer a path to compliance for the majority of illegal structures.

The changes would have allowed about 156 of approximately 750 problematic structures to newly qualify as legal, Borough Planning Director Alex Strawn told the Assembly during the meeting.

Owners of illegally constructed buildings can be blocked from selling or making major renovations that require financing because the structures are flagged during inspections. Owners can also be subject to borough fines.

Several Assembly members said they want to craft alternative proposals. Those could include scaled-back versions of the updates, convening a new revamped board, or requesting a citizen or assembly workshop on the matter, they said during the meeting. Related measures are expected to be introduced this fall.

Tuesday’s proposal was the result of 16 months of work and more than 20 meetings by the borough’s volunteer Waterbody Setback Advisory Board, which was required by code to include fish and wildlife experts, engineers and representatives from the housing industry. It was not required to include Mat-Su residents who live near a waterbody.

The board’s sweeping proposed changes included a new permit process for any excavating, grading or dirt work within 75 feet of a waterbody; a permit option for new and existing structures between 45 and 75 feet of a waterbody; a ban on new structures within 45 feet of a waterbody; a ban on certain structures, such as kennels, within 100 feet; and a requirement that fuel tanks installed within the 75-foot zone include an additional containment system. They did not impact commercial construction.

The recommendations were intended to balance development with protecting the region’s waterways, Strawn told the Assembly during an initial review this spring.

“My opinion of why these things ended up in this ordinance is that there was a desire to allow a path forward, going close to 75 feet, but also while maintaining water quality,” he said.

The Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission also unanimously rejected the proposal last month and recommended that the Assembly convene a new board to continue the work. The new group includes several waterside property owners, according to a commission resolution on the matter.

A series of other borough boards, commissions, and community councils also offered feedback on the proposal. While some of those groups supported the updates, most offered additional tweaks or rejected the changes.

The rejected proposal is the latest in more than two years of attempts to revise the waterbody setback regulations.

The issue was first brought before the Assembly in early 2023 by then-Assembly member and local developer Robert Yundt, who has since been elected to the Alaska Senate.

Yundt’s original ordinance would have grandfathered all illegal structures built within the setback into compliance and allowed new structures within the zone on lakes, provided a structural engineer and the borough approved them. That proposal was met with significant public outcry.

A revised version later that year tweaked those proposed allowances but still drew broad public pushback. Yundt ultimately withdrew the ordinance and instead introduced the measure that created the setback advisory board.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com