Wasilla commissioner asks if city should pause commercial development

A Wasilla planning commissioner asked Tuesday whether the city should halt new commercial development until the state resolves road funding problems, calling it "just my thoughts." Chair David Seals pushed back. He said Wasilla pays its 10 percent local match on road projects out of commerce revenue, so limiting commerce would limit that money too.

The exchange came during a committee of the whole discussion on the city's Official Streets and Highways Plan, which ran from 2005 through 2025 and has now lapsed. The plan was supposed to be updated at least every five years. Those updates never happened. An earlier Alaska News article reported the commission opened this discussion earlier in the month. No motion followed Tuesday's exchange. The commissioner who raised the idea said the city has been planning streets and highways for 20 years without results.

Acting City Planner Crystal Nygard cited state permitting and traffic-mitigation delays as obstacles for applicants seeking driveway permits or traffic impact analyses. Parts of the city wait a year to 18 months, she said, because the transportation department lacks money for mitigation work. She said it has many vacancies and has moved staff to the Mat-Su from Anchorage rather than hiring.

Nygard also said the city inherits state-built roads without money to maintain them. Once a road goes in, she said, the department has "given us ownership with no prior discussion and no maintenance money." The city does have agreements spelling out who pays for and maintains the downtown couplet.

Another commissioner said the plan's population and traffic projections are off, because much of the traffic comes from borough residents living outside city limits. He said driving from Church Road to Walmart can take 30 minutes.

The city's economic development report counts 37,400 daily vehicles on the Parks Highway downtown, up 10 percent since 2012. Traffic on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway is up 24 percent over the same period.

The council funded the plan update in the last budget cycle. Nygard said a request for proposals will go out within 30 days, and commissioners' written comments will be passed to the selected contractor. The commission separately voted without objection to support updating the Parks and Trails Master Plan.