Landowner gets variance to split land off Wasilla-Fishhook Road

A landowner near Wasilla-Fishhook Road can split a nearly 13-acre property into two lots, even though the state won't allow either one direct access to the road, one of the main routes up to Hatcher Pass. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Platting Board granted the exception Thursday.

The Alaska Department of Transportation denied the property direct access to Wasilla-Fishhook and required a note on the plat saying so for every lot. The owner reaches the lots another way, but borough code normally requires legal access to a maintained road, so subdividing meant asking for a variance from that rule.

One board member questioned whether the owner had created his own problem. "The lot that was purchased... had perfectly legal access, and it's only through their own desire to subdivide it that they've created this problem," the member said. "When you take action to create the problem, does that really fit the criteria for the variance?"

Planning Officer Tyler Young disagreed. The hardship comes from the state's access denial and from buildings already on the property, he said, and moving the new lot line inward to solve the access issue would force the owners to relocate or tear down an existing structure. The state had no objection to the revised lot lines, and a geotechnical report found both lots have enough usable ground for building and septic under borough code.

A neighbors' letter raised concerns about wetlands and water rights. Young said any future development would still need Army Corps of Engineers wetland permits, and that the state, not the borough, signs off on septic systems. The board attached seven staff conditions to the approval.