Mat-Su Assembly weighs creating a community council district along Oilwell Road

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly takes up a resolution Tuesday, Nov. 17, that would create the Greater Oilwell Road Community Council District along South Oilwell Road. The meeting starts at 6 pm.

The area sits outside every existing community council district, according to the borough information memorandum. Without a recognized district, residents lack a forum for organizing and sharing their needs with the borough, the memo says. A designated district is also required before a council or association can seek Community Assistance Program grants.

The borough Planning Commission recommended approval Oct. 5 on a 5-0 vote.

The map covers South Oilwell Road from mile 0 to 25, next to the Petersville, Trapper Creek and Skwentna community councils. The memo says residents there have access routes, property ownership patterns and planning concerns different enough from neighboring council areas to warrant a separate district.

Residents and property owners formed the Greater Oilwell Road Community Association to push for the district. Its bylaws base membership on owning property, not living there, so the group does not meet the borough code definition of a community council.

"One key thing to note that this resolution does not do is identify or recommend Greater Oil Well Road Community Association as a community council," long-range planner Paul Clark told the Planning Commission Oct. 5.

A resident who lives at Mile 10 testified at that Oct. 5 hearing that the area has more than 400 properties. She traced the effort to 2023, when the Trapper Creek Community Council looked at extending its boundaries. The boundaries take in properties reached from the road or from its network of ATV and snowmachine trails.

Adoption would let residents form a recognized community council later under borough code. Clark said the district would make the association eligible for Community Assistance Program grant funds if it becomes state incorporated. The association has applied for nonprofit status and expects a decision soon, according to Oct. 5 testimony.