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Planning staff previews community survey for comprehensive plan and technical committee flags EV charging nominations
Summary
Planning staff reported ongoing comprehensive-plan outreach — seven to eight open houses and over 1,000 comments — and briefed the commission on 13 EV charging-station nominations after federal air-quality conformity was cleared; commissioners scheduled work sessions for Jan. 13 and Feb. 10.
Community planning staff told the Fairbanks North Star Borough Planning Commission on Dec. 16, 2025, that outreach for the regional comprehensive-plan update included seven to eight open houses, 'between 200 and 300' attendees per event, and more than 1,000 separate public comments being reviewed. Staff said a large community survey is planned for February and a work session on the comprehensive plan is scheduled in January.
"We're actually sifting through over 1,000 different comments," the director said in the meeting; staff also estimated roughly 2,000 people participated in earlier community outreach efforts. Commissioners and members of the advisory committee will convene in January to prepare more-specific actions and staff signaled another community-wide survey to gather input on implementation priorities.
Separately, the commission received a report from the Fairbanks Area Surface Transportation Technical Committee that federal authorities have lifted an air-quality conformity freeze, allowing the region to move forward with project funding changes. The technical committee has received 13 nominations for EV charging infrastructure around Fairbanks and North Pole — including municipal, nonprofit and private locations — and staff described a scoring and funding-allocation process that aims to prioritize about $1 million in federal funds for selected chargers.
Staff cautioned that estimating costs is challenging because of variable electrical requirements and proprietary equipment options and that the technical committee is working with DOT engineers to refine apples-to-apples estimates for scoring.
The commission set its next regular meeting for Jan. 13, 2026, when members expect to consider a work session on the comprehensive plan; staff also previewed items likely for the Feb. 10 and March 10 meetings (a setback variance, a conditional use for a marijuana cultivation site, and potential rezonings).
