Mat-Su board approves Willow-area land split without requiring a mile-plus road

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Platting Board on Thursday approved a preliminary plat splitting a 40-acre parcel near Willow into two lots and excused the owners from building the road that borough rules would normally require. No board member objected, and no one testified.

The parcel, to be called Deception Bluff, sits south of West Willow Fishhook Road at the far southern edge of the Greater Willow road service area. Inside a road service area, borough code requires new lots to have physical road access. Here, that would have meant building about 6,800 feet of road, more than a mile, the owners' surveyor wrote, as reported last week.

Surveyor Owen Dicks of Resolute Land Surveying wrote that the parcel has legal access from Willow-Fishhook Road through section-line and public access easements. Nearby parcels appear to be used for recreation and are reached by ATV and foot trails, he wrote, and building the road would cost far more than the property is worth.

Borough platting staff said legal access and usable area exist and recommended approval with seven conditions. The borough's pre-design and engineering staff had no objection. The board approved the variance and the preliminary plat without discussion.

The decision can be appealed to the borough's Board of Adjustment and Appeals within 21 days of the written decision, under borough code.