Mat-Su Assembly hears water-body setback report; committee recommends narrower setbacks with permitting, public divided

At its March 18 meeting the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly received the Water Body Setback Advisory Board’s report on recommended changes to borough code governing development near lakes and streams.

The advisory board recommended several changes to borough code, including a regulated path that could allow development closer than the current 75-foot setback — in some cases down to 45 feet — but only if a permit and mitigation measures are met. The board’s final vote on the draft ordinance was unanimous, recorded as 7–0, according to planning staff.

Planning Director Alex Strong told the assembly that the draft would require a land-use permit for “ground-disturbing activity” within water-body buffers and that engineering documentation would be required for structures proposed closer than 75 feet. “If you did what’s called ground-disturbing activity, which is really defined as bringing heavy mechanized machinery, which is defined as bringing heavy mechanized machinery along a waterfront, then yes, you’d have to get a land use permit,” Strong said.

The board’s proposal…