Resident urges commission to reject Fuller Lake management plan ahead of July 21 hearing

At a Matanuska-Susitna Borough Planning Commission meeting called to order at 6:02 p.m., resident Esther Huddleston urged commissioners to reject the proposed Fuller Lake lake management plan and questioned whether the code changes would be limited to adding Fuller Lake.

The Fuller Lake item was introduced on the consent agenda as Resolution 25-11, a Planning Commission recommendation that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly adopt the Fuller Lake Lake Management Plan and an accompanying ordinance to amend MSB 17.59 (lake management plan implementation). The borough scheduled a public hearing on both measures for July 21, 2025; borough staff identified Scott Hogg as the current planner assigned to the legislative matter.

Huddleston, who identified herself as Esther Huddleston, said councils and planners should not restrict motorized recreation and argued that many lakes across the region already have restrictions. "We have over 200,000,000 acres of land in Alaska locked up in federal lands," she said. She told commissioners that people who oppose motorized recreation should choose restricted properties when buying real estate and urged the commission not to add Fuller Lake to the management plan. She also asked whether amendments to MSB 17.59 would be limited to adding Fuller Lake or include other changes, saying, "I know you can't answer that question, but please say no to the Fuller Lake management plan."

Commissioner Scoggins later reminded the panel that the commission will hold a public hearing to take comments on the Fuller Lake management plan change on July 21. The transcript does not record a staff response to Huddleston’s question about the scope of MSB 17.59 changes.

The next formal step recorded on the agenda is the July 21, 2025 public hearing before the Planning Commission; further action would follow any public hearing and staff reports and may require Assembly consideration.