Planning Board approves subdivision and waives access rules for parcel tied to Fish and Wildlife purchase

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Board voted 7–1 on May 21 to approve RP016-25, a subdivision of Tract G in Northside Business Park, and to grant two variances that will let the Conservation Fund create a temporary private access easement instead of dedicating a public road and avoid constructing immediate frontage for the northern lot (Tract G1).

The decision matters because U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has funding in escrow to acquire Tract G1 for a planned Arctic Conservation Center and related public access improvements; the Conservation Fund said the lot geometry and federal funding requirements make the temporary easement the only practical path to complete a phased purchase and then replat the parcels into a single public tract.

Staff told the board that borough subdivision code (Title 17) generally requires internal roads or easements to be dedicated to the public and that lots must have constructed access; staff recommended denial of the variances on the basis that the subdivision could be reconfigured to provide constructed frontage. Planning officer George Stephan said a reconfigured lot could be made to reach Harold Bentley Avenue and that the dedication requirement was not demonstrated to be impractical.

John Ross, Alaska state director for The Conservation Fund, testified that the parcel sizes and boundaries reflect federal funding categories and appraisal constraints and that “the money drives it” — meaning the particular lot lines are tied to how federal acquisition and construction funds can be used. He described the access easement as a temporary measure, saying the Fish and Wildlife Service will “dissolve the lot line between Tract F and Tract G1 by a quick plat” after it takes title, opening permanent constructed access via adjacent Tract F.

Heather Bartlett, who said she represents the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the board the agency bought Tract F in December 2024 with recreation funds, has funds in escrow to acquire Tract G1 using land-and-water conservation funds, and intends to eliminate the boundary between Tract F and G1 soon after transfer. Bartlett said the variances requested are “a request for a temporary variance to facilitate a transfer of ownership. The variance would not be required permanently.”

Several local trail and recreation organizations, including the Nordic Ski Club and Fairbanks Trails Inc., urged approval during interested-person testimony. Stan Justice of Fairbanks Trails Inc. said approving the variance is “all about getting a connection” from Birch Hill to Creamers Refuge trails via a planned Johansen-Steese pedestrian underpass.

Planning Board member Randy Pitney moved to approve the subdivision and both variances; the board spent several minutes amending the motion to add findings. The final motion approved VR007-25 (waiving dedication of the interior access easement) and VR008-25 (waiving the constructed-access requirement for Tract G1) with findings that (1) the variances are consistent with public welfare and safety as presented in the staff report and (2) the requirements are impractical or unnecessary due to the unique complexities of the federal land transfer. The board also found that, with approval of those variances, the subdivision meets Title 17 requirements.

Vote (call): Guthrie — yes; Kirk — yes; Brooks — no; Perkins — yes; Levan — yes; Pitney — yes; Peterson — yes; Williams — yes. Outcome: approved, 7–1.

The staff report and applicant testimony emphasize this is intended as a temporary, procedural subdivision to allow a phased federal purchase; if the federal purchase proceeds as described, the Conservation Fund and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they will replat to remove the temporary easement and restore conventional access. The board noted the applicant’s timeline and the practical difficulty reconfiguring lots would create for the federal transaction.

The decision is appealable to the Board of Adjustment within seven days of the decision.