Fairbanks hearing officer to weigh merging 17 Salcha lots a planner links to a resort

Fairbanks North Star Borough Hearing Officer Kellen Spillman will decide Oct. 22 whether to merge 17 lots at Richardson Highway Milepost 319 in Salcha into a single 37.98-acre parcel. The hearing starts at 10 am and will take public testimony.

Bennett Engineering filed the application for landowner Terry Wayne Harriman. Borough transportation planner D. Galligan wrote that the area is understood to be headed for "some sort of resort," which would bring significant traffic and may require a Transportation Impact Analysis and state permits for access. Because the Richardson is an Interstate highway, "direct driveway access is prohibited," Galligan wrote. The land's Rural Estate zoning allows up to two homes, and any new use would need zoning permits.

Staff found the merger exempt from the borough's subdivision design and public improvement requirements because the lots were legally created and combining them adds no lots, violations or nonconformities. Staff recommend preliminary approval with nine conditions, including a state permit for any new driveway and flood elevation information for the part of the site in Flood Zone A, a federally mapped flood hazard area.