Platting Board approves 3,590 sq ft public use easement at Brookwood Commercial Park

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Platting Board approved a request to create a 3,590‑square‑foot public use easement (PUE) on Lot 1 of Brookwood Commercial Park to provide a turnaround for city maintenance, contingent on staff recommendations.

Planning staff Chris Kerlin described the PUE as proposed in the northeast corner of Lot 1 and said the application included a legal description and scaled drawing. Kerlin said the PUE, if approved, would be accomplished by a public use easement document pursuant to MSB 43.20.210(h). He reported comments from the Alaska Department of Transportation and the City of Wasilla; ADOT requested a plat note barring access to KGB, and Kerlin noted that "the public use easement documents are not plats. We can't do a plat note." The City of Wasilla pointed out an extra dimension that staff proposed to remove (listed as condition of approval number 6). At the time of the staff report, no public comments had been received.

Gary LaRusso of Keystone Surveying, representing petitioner Todd Smith, said the turnaround is to meet city maintenance requirements: "we're making a turnaround so we can get, city maintenance because they require it. So he's gotta build it and pave it, and then there'll be a place for maintenance to turn around. And that's it." No public commenters spoke during the hearing.

A motion to approve the public use easement, contingent on staff recommendations 1–6, was made and seconded; the board approved the motion with no objections. The staff report noted ADOT and the City of Wasilla as commenting agencies and that utilities (NSTAR, MTA, GCI, MEA) had no responses at the time the report was written. Staff will finalize the PUE document and proceed with recording under the stated conditions.