Borough attorney urges planning board to confine case comments to hearings to avoid appeal complications

Erin Ashmore, assistant borough attorney, told the Matanuska‑Susitna Borough Planning Board that members should make case‑specific comments during the discussion portion of the hearing and avoid raising opinions in closing comments.

"Quasi judicial cases should really never be discussed outside of the hearing on that particular case," Ashmore said, adding that planning board members act like judges when weighing evidence and applying borough code and that off‑record commentary can create problems if a case is appealed to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals or higher courts.

Ashmore said the memo in the board packet was provided so the written record would be complete for a matter scheduled to return on May 7. A board member asked for confirmation that the comments included in the packet had occurred during a meeting but not during the specific public hearing; Ashmore confirmed that was correct.

Ashmore said her role is to assist staff and the board with legal issues arising in hearings, and she encouraged members to reserve opinion statements for the allotted discussion period for each quasi‑judicial matter. No formal action was taken on Ashmore's guidance; it was presented as legal advice and clarification of best practices for hearings.