Wasilla's first new growth plan since 2011 heads to public comment in January

Wasilla residents will get to weigh in on a draft of the city's new long-range plan in January, when the city plans to open a month of public comment, according to a schedule going to the Planning Commission on Tuesday.

The 2045 Comprehensive Plan would replace the one the City Council adopted in 2011. It's meant to guide the city's decisions for the next two decades on land use, housing, roads and other transportation, public buildings, spending on big projects and development rules, according to a city memo.

The city says Wasilla's growth since 2011 created the need for an update. At a September commission meeting, then-acting city planner Crystal Nygaard said recent applicants had to get familiar with the zoning map and "some of the inconsistencies that have happened over the years because we haven't kept it updated."

A proposed vision statement for the plan calls Wasilla "a family-centered community that leads Alaska in responsible, innovative growth while preserving small-town values."

In planning exercises in April, participants generally supported a wider range of housing types and homes closer to jobs and services, according to a memo from DOWL, the consulting firm writing the plan. Density, though, "remained a topic requiring further consideration," the memo says. A steering committee looked in October at possible changes to the map that shows how land should be used in the future, which informs zoning.

The first open house, in June 2025, drew about 17 people, a count that included the project team and community officials.

The steering committee is set to review the draft in December. A public open house is planned the week of Jan. 18, when comment opens, and the comment period runs through Feb. 15.

After that, the plan would go to the city Planning Commission and City Council, then to the Mat-Su Borough's Planning Commission and Assembly, each with a public hearing. The project's website targets spring 2027 for completion.

The city budget calls the update 60% done, with about $126,000 left to spend on it.