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Planning board approves Bartlett Hills Track 30 preliminary plat with variance on access
Summary
The board approved a four-lot preliminary plat for Bartlett Hills Track 30, granting a variance to defer road construction; staff outlined habitat and code concerns and the petitioner urged acceptance of the variance.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Planning Board approved the preliminary plat for ASLS 79-109 Bartlett Hills Track 30 on May 21, 2026, granting a variance from the borough's physical-access requirement so the four proposed lots can be created without immediate road construction.
Platting staff told the board that the subdivision proposes four lots totaling about 257.7 acres and that legal access for all lots is through a section-line easement on the western boundary. Staff noted a topographic narrative was submitted in lieu of a soils report because each proposed lot exceeds 400,000 square feet and recommended findings and conditions for approval both with and without the variance. Staff also flagged that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game identified Middle Fork and North Fork of Montana Creek as anadromous waters providing habitat for Chinook, coho and chum salmon and said a habitat permit is not required now but may be required for future work in or below ordinary high water.
Platting staff questioned whether the petitioner had shown the variance criteria under MSB 43.20.140 (physical access), saying staff "does not feel that the justification provided by the petitioner is sufficient to grant the variance request" and that the petitioner had not demonstrated undue hardship under the code. The petitioner, Dan Bush of Bush Construction Survey, said the existing Pioneer Road and trail access are adequate for the four lots and argued the lots cannot be further subdivided because of agricultural restrictions. "I would encourage you to accept the waiver," Bush said, adding he is a registered land surveyor.
Tyler Young, planning officer, confirmed there is legal access to the north through a 100-foot section-line easement and that any future development of the northern lot would need to come back before the planning board; the practical question is who would bear the burden of constructing a road if development occurred. After board discussion, a committee member moved to approve the preliminary plat "contingent upon the staff recommendations and with the variance approval," a second was recorded and the motion carried with no objections recorded in the transcript.
Why it matters: the variance allows creation of four lots now while delaying road construction; staff conditions and agency review (including final Division of Agriculture approval from DNR) remain part of the approval and could affect future development or permit needs.
