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Planning board approves Alliance Estates preliminary plan; questions raised about community well and water availability
Summary
The planning board approved the preliminary plan for Alliance Estates (38 lots, ~24.07 acres) contingent on staff conditions. Board members and staff discussed water availability; the applicant said a utility operator has drilled a well and reported adequate flow.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough planning board approved the preliminary plan for Alliance Estates, a subdivision proposing 38 lots and one tract on about 24.07 acres, contingent on staff recommendations and conditions.
Planning staff (Chris Gurlan) told the board the proposal would create 38 lots and one tract served by a community water well, with lot sizes ranging from about 0.92 acres to 0.46 acres. Staff noted a geotechnical report (Dan Snyder, PE) confirming each lot has the required 10,000 square feet of usable septic area and 10,000 square feet of buildable area, and recommended approval with six findings of fact and nine conditions of approval. Seventy-two public notices were mailed for this case.
Board member Mr. Gilson raised a public comment included in the record expressing concern about impacts on water for nearby neighborhoods. Planning officer Fred Wagner told the board that borough Title 43 is silent on availability of water in the subdivision review process and that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is the state entity responsible for water. Dan Steiner, civil engineer associated with the project, said the water system will be owned and operated by Northern Utility Services, that a well has been drilled with "more than adequate flow" for the proposed development, and that the aquifer there has "a high capacity." Steiner added that impacts on nearby private wells would likely occur only if those wells were within a couple hundred feet of the new well and suggested private parties can apply for water rights to protect use.
After applicant representatives spoke and no public speakers appeared at the hearing, a board member moved to approve the preliminary plan "contingent upon staff recommendations 1 through 9," a motion that received a second and passed following a call for objections with none stated.
Staff noted that MSB predesign and engineering had commented about intersection spacing and site distance; the applicant provided intersection sight-distance measurements for a 40 mph design speed showing distances that exceed the minimum standard, which the applicant's representative emphasized during presentation.
