Mat-Su planning commission rejects recommended water-body setback ordinance; asks staff to draft revised resolution

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Planning Commission on Aug. 4, 2025 voted down Resolution 25-10, a recommendation to the borough assembly on a proposed overhaul of water-body setback rules affecting lakes, streams and other waterbodies across the borough.

Planning director Alex Strahan told commissioners the measure grew from a multi-year effort by a nine-member Waterbody Setback Advisory Board and was intended to resolve long-standing enforcement gaps. "This water body setback ... is, right there at the top as far as interest level," Strahan said, summarizing the board's work and a GIS review that found roughly 750 likely setback violations in areas covered by lidar imagery.

The advisory-board draft would keep the borough's 75-foot baseline setback, expand the code to cover commercial and industrial structures, and allow limited encroachment to 45 feet if owners hire a registered engineer and meet stormwater and vegetation-protection standards. It would also ban paved parking and hazardous-liquid storage within 25 feet of water, prohibit fertilizer and herbicide application in that zone, restrict imported-snow stockpiles, and require permits for heavy machinery used inside the 75-foot zone. Property owners with fuel…