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Planning board denies Shalom Acres variance for private easement access; preliminary plat discussion continued to Sept. 18
Summary
The planning board declined a variance request that would have allowed a new lot in the Shalom Acres subdivision to rely on a private driveway easement for legal and physical access. Staff opposed the variance; the petitioners said building a compliant road would cost roughly $108,000. The board later accepted a petition to continue and asked the p
The Matanuska‑Susitna Borough Planning Board on Aug. 21 voted against a petitioned variance for Shalom Acres that would have allowed one lot to rely on a private driveway easement instead of dedicated legal right‑of‑way access. After discussion, the board and petitioner agreed to continue the plat to Sept. 18 so the petitioner can submit a revised preliminary plat.
Planning technician Matthew Goddard presented staff findings and explained that the proposed Shalom Acres subdivision would create two lots on a roughly 4‑acre parent parcel. The petitioner sought a variance to allow the eastern parcel to use a private driveway easement along the southern boundary of an adjacent parcel for access rather than extending a public right‑of‑way.
Staff said the borough Department of Public Works predesign and engineering (PD&E) objected to granting the variance because a private driveway easement could be revoked, leaving the proposed lot landlocked. Planning staff also said the variance failed to meet the variance standards in MSB code because alternatives exist (for example, constructing a road or redesigning lots to provide frontage…
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