Mat-Su Platting Board approves six-lot subdivision near Engstrom Road

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Platting Board on Thursday approved Aileron Acres, a six-lot subdivision near Engstrom Road, with seven conditions recommended by staff. No members of the public testified, and the motion passed without objection.

The subdivision splits 8.71 acres west of North Engstrom Road and directly north of East Hart Lake Loop, a borough-maintained road that gives it access, into lots of 0.93 to 2.26 acres. A new internal road must be built to borough residential street standards. No upgrades will be required for existing roads, according to the staff report.

Two of the written comments focused on traffic. Northeast neighbors Bruce and Lisa Ruhl raised concerns about the Bogard and Engstrom intersection. Clayton Childs, who owns property to the southwest, objected "due to the condition of Engstrom Road and the traffic congestion" at the Engstrom and Bogard intersection, according to the staff report. A comment that arrived after the report was written cited concerns about reduced forest cover, timber and natural appeal.

The North Lakes Community Council did not oppose the plan and called the engineering analysis thorough. It asked that any plat adding traffic to Engstrom Road include the road's current capacity and traffic estimates before and after the development. Platting technician Matthew Goddard said that information goes beyond what code requires for this case.

At the borough's request, the petitioner added a building setback along Engstrom Road, a major collector, to allow for future widening.

The intersection the neighbors raised is the one a planned Engstrom Road-to-Trunk Road connector is meant to relieve, according to the borough's project page, Alaska News reported. In September, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted 4-3 for a northern route for the connector, a choice that stood after a reconsideration effort in October. The borough administration has said neither route has construction money.