[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6314177,"mediaKeyId","2384957-c4c1a5d7db21fcefa87541d8d73f4695","parentId",2384957,"title","Wasilla planners discuss code‑compliance process and surge in permit activity","audioSeconds",227,"startMs",1393000,"endMs",1620000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2384957-c4c1a5d7db21fcefa87541d8d73f4695&start=1393&end=1620","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2384957-c4c1a5d7db21fcefa87541d8d73f4695/thumbnail_1393000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6314177/Wasilla/Matanuska-Susitna-Borough/Alaska/Wasilla-planners-discuss-codecompliance-process-and-surge-in-permit-activity","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6314177-63f2c0da2d309d924f7876a03a342e9c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771205062&Signature=l-5l~YEooS2ujVed7SFLHl67CAe41DNVEQYgV-YMTy5l3WOnYlINuyDwohFRGT~pVt2R5g-GgSFmF047F5fNLcAc0S21M5vdlgwJjN7EHYa60KaXat7GXTahxBwntgHxaokhDwyxfJQqXfTQke~zQN6J~JQp1VUBAWJrTuZ2mB5jGHDHi2ZtW5f~-V985agTsglFglTZd6ozZ6UdOxboES-ISluYMAwFiCvwbzBalEeH0upByYG6SLyqpLed2d3UZGno54-nPzZfbruniYtDyGVCybRgCXwfRKdVGUViRsALIXkZJ7QaBTUkx8VJXrWDf67jpojIJFv8wm3cIaQmTQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Wasilla","date","2025-02-11T00:00:00Z","article","Commissioners at the Wasilla Planning Commission on Feb. 11 pressed planner Wellman for clearer procedures on code compliance and asked for more detailed reporting on recent permit activity.

Commissioner Brown asked whether the commission would be notified when a case escalates beyond the code compliance officer, asking specifically whether the police department, the clerk’s office or a hearing officer is involved. Wellman said she had not yet worked through escalation to court or hearing‑officer stage for local cases and that some aspects involving the police department’s software integration remain unclear.

“Well, I say no only because I don't know. I don't know. I haven't gone through that process yet,” Wellman said when asked whether adjudicated cases are reported back to planning staff. She said staff have discussed common wording differences in the code and will review whether the draft Title 16 rewrite needs edits to clarify what constitutes a “violation” and what triggers enforcement steps.

Commissioners also raised operational concerns about a recent surge in permit approvals. Wellman told the commission that the office has been unusually busy and that more than 30 permits were processed in the prior two weeks. She said many approvals were administrative and that staff plan to produce comparative permit reports and spreadsheets to show permit types and trends. The planning office uses CitizenServe for permit intake but noted limitations: the current CitizenServe setup does not include fine‑grained subtypes (for example, distinguishing types of commercial tenants) without adding new fields.

Commissioner Brown and others urged staff to create trigger measures or GIS layers to detect clustering of certain uses — for example, multiple home‑based bed‑and‑breakfasts on the same street over time — so the commission and public‑works staff can evaluate infrastructure and land‑use implications. Deputy Director of Public Works Robert Walden and Director Eric Shaw were described as part of staff pre‑application reviews for infrastructure, septic and parking capacity.

Wellman described the office’s pre‑application meetings as a way to screen projects before full application reviews and said that larger or more complex commercial proposals are elevated to the commission. She gave a permit example of a proposed commercial freeze‑dried food kitchen, listed in the permit log as Prepper Bends at 490 South Knick Goose Bay Road; that application included multiple pre‑application meetings and cross‑department review.

The commission agreed to pursue clearer internal tracking so members can review quarterly or periodic permit reports and better understand how administrative approvals affect neighborhood character and public‑works capacity.

No public comments were received at the meeting and staff reported no hearings scheduled for the evening.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Planning Commission Regular - 11 Feb 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Commissioners pressed staff for clearer code‑compliance procedures and more detailed permit reporting after planner said the office processed more than 30 permits in two weeks and that some compliance procedures and software integrations need clarification.","taxTitle","Wasilla, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska","taxId",52178,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6314182,"Wasilla planning commission previews Title 16 rewrite and shows new online zoning maps",400,164000,564000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2384957-c4c1a5d7db21fcefa87541d8d73f4695&start=164&end=564","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2384957-c4c1a5d7db21fcefa87541d8d73f4695/thumbnail_164000.jpg","/articles/6314182/Wasilla/Matanuska-Susitna-Borough/Alaska/Wasilla-planning-commission-previews-Title-16-rewrite-and-shows-new-online-zoning-maps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6314182-bfbb60bfb3121a4459c63e958d80aded/orig.mp4?Expires=1771205062&Signature=fy~rbIkfP~lOF8frsyYSjP5LES7jHtgq0XonRGLftSVvHEjZpKhokqjFzJG-Wd6afozwSHN99FUdVfuH9Q1fqn0Evl3tPVTMZtb5mwYnsdsyzVFbPL~UQ6hJ048TLB2Wz12DMCqthJARKAZ5Mw8UtZlxyAfPKCQWQ3SAXsL4i3NjZR6SiBBqOey4XYUSYO7DnhdhkQLTgGOgDHDQRO588DVH~squnpkhfoG-3hYzcARmhOeHp~sW2iXpbysrVrnOd7jZMcdIQO3PkgK3oeAFSMEC9vVJ4XqNXfuzmVRLpGrvCbF-VDhO41015seuWAROaxs25xDd5FEFsiJQ94lf8A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City planner Wellman told the Wasilla Planning Commission on Feb. 11 that the city is moving “forward with the next step of our Title 16 rewrite” and that the commission will return to joint meetings with council and staff to complete training and case studies.

Wellman demonstrated the city’s new online zoning maps, accessible from the City of Wasilla website and as a layer on the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat‑Su) Borough ArcGIS parcel viewer. She showed how users can search addresses, view zone-specific use charts and click links from the maps to code sections such as poultry regulations. Wellman said the borough is hosting a land‑use regulation layer under an existing memorandum of understanding or agreement so the city’s zoning information is widely available.

Why it matters: the online maps give residents, developers and real‑estate professionals an interactive way to check permitted uses and notice requirements before submitting applications. Wellman said the mapping tools use a Google‑based address search for the city layer and the borough uses its ArcGIS addressing, and she explained a wildcard workaround for borough searches when a street direction is not known.

Key details from the update: Wellman said staff are scheduling joint Title 16 work sessions and training on parliamentary procedure and quasi‑judicial case studies; the next joint meeting was described as March 3 at 6 p.m. She also noted two conditional‑use permits on the Feb. 25 agenda and corrected a typo on one application: “That should be a 20,000‑square‑foot facility, not a 40,000‑square‑foot,” she said.

Wellman described practical features available on the borough site, including a 2024 aerial imagery layer and a “view land use regulations” option that displays city boundary data, mayor and assembly contacts, and school board information. She said staff want to add a short disclaimer on the mapping site to remind users to verify details with the planning office before relying on the maps for final decisions.

During the meeting the commission approved the consent agenda, which included the minutes of the Jan. 28, 2025 regular meeting and the Jan. 29, 2025 special meeting. Commissioner Stafford moved to approve the consent agenda; the motion was seconded (recorded as “Landschel” in the meeting) and approved by voice vote. The meeting record did not include a roll‑call vote tally.

Planner Wellman thanked staff and volunteers who helped put the maps online, including Steve Culligan, and welcomed new planning clerk Julia Barnett to the office. She said having multiple reviewers will help keep the online use charts accurate and enable faster updates once the rewritten Title 16 is adopted.

Prognosis/next steps: staff will continue Title 16 rewrite work with joint sessions, finish trainings and plan map updates to align with the ordinance timeline so the maps reflect any adopted code changes when they go into effect.","City planner updated the Planning Commission on next steps for the Title 16 code rewrite, demonstrated newly available online zoning maps hosted by city and Mat-Su Borough GIS systems, and noted a correction on an upcoming conditional-use application. A consent-agenda motion to approve meeting minutes was approved by voice vote.","actionData","errors"]

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Wasilla planners discuss code‑compliance process and surge in permit activity

Wasilla planning commission previews Title 16 rewrite and shows new online zoning maps