Video Clips
Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.
Alex Strawn
“we have been processing multi-family development permits for these condo plats, and it's not— it's kind of a square peg in a round hole type situation.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“regardless of the size of your lot, You can have your main residence and a mother-in-law suite without any permitting whatsoever.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“They're communities that are created through a state process that allows people to sell interest in land without going through our standard Title 43 subdivision process. So, if you have a 10-acre lot, for instance, you can hire a surveyor to divide up the land, and you can essentially create condo association and rules and go record it And you never have to go through the subdivision process.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Ken McCarty
“if this would happen, a little over $19 million would come into the borough at your discretion, whatever you want to spend. And I know that Matsui is all looking for different revenue sources to come in.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker A
“I would like to see a resolution. Prepared on this Eagle River exit deal. That's what I was—. I want more information.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker C
“I'd like to have more information that we could talk and discuss and then send it up to the assembly.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“are we looking for just general support of the annexation, or are we going to be more specific about we want to see it on the ballot, or what—. What would be the take-home message barring asking Mr. McCarty?”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker C
“coming before us, I think it would be worthwhile for us to, to be able to discuss it, come up with something, and give it to the assembly like, we're online with this, this is what we would like to see.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker C
“Time is of the essence. Yeah, but it seems reasonable to me. I would— I just think that the sooner we get it, if we liked it and we were like, heck yeah, it just seems the quicker the better.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Ken McCarty
“December 16th, that, uh, Assemblymember Dimitri had a resolution to allow Mike Brown to assign projects to individuals in Matsue to research the viability of this, and if it's not viable, then it's just a dead issue. And there are people that came opposing that, the Alexa group, uh, saying that they are on the edge of getting their thing done and, you know, presented to the Boundary Commission. That was false.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Ken McCarty
“the big question they asked is, what does Matsu say? And so that's the big question. It's like, well, what does Matsu say? And that question is not being addressed.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Ken McCarty
“$27 Million goes to the school district, whatever it needs to do. Of course, you have to take care of schools out over there, but it could do at discretion of the excess money there. So if you want to hear more about this, I'm happy to come back and present more in detail of these different things.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“This actually requires that your drainage plan be stamped and developed by a professional engineer, and that— and then it has actually very specific standards of how much of the water you have to retain on site as a result of your development.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Ken McCarty
“540-page document was submitted to the Boundary Commission saying you know, is this viable? And they're like very interested.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“this creates a new definition for, uh, what's called a vehicular circulation road, and it has a standard that all the exterior walls of your buildings have to be within 100 feet of your of your external or your vehicle circulation road.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Colleen Vague
“Many of the recommended changes close identified gaps in the current code and should be advanced. These that should be advanced include emergency fire response access, traffic movement, and vehicle circulation. Developments with more than 10 dwelling units must follow the subdivision construction manual and the bridge and culvert crossing regulations. And new regulations for drainage and stormwater management. Those are all good ideas.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker C
“there's only so much time, and I— you know what I mean? Okay, if we could send them— and the last time they did it, it was overrun by a bunch of people that were like, bah, and everybody was like, what? And so this time it'd be a little more I'd like—. Yeah, I'd like more information on it for sure.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“I know to get anything on the, the ballot has to be, I think, the second meeting in August. The assembly has to have something passed, so time is of the essence. I would agree. So maybe we can do both. We can schedule a back-and-forth informational session as well as a draft resolution.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“if you're doing a condo plat and the lots that you're creating are over 40,000 square feet, that those are just create essentially treated as parcels.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Ken McCarty
“what this is is a condensed version of close to 800 pages.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker C
“I'd like to, uh, add, um, the annex now to a future one so that— oh yeah, so that we get more than like, like, hey, hi, my name is Ken McCarty. Okay. And then, bing! Yeah, I'd like to see that as well. Something a little more in-depth so we get something to chew on.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Colleen Vague
“Reducing regulatory burdens for truly small-scale multifamily developments makes sense. Please ensure the proposed legislation has no loopholes”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Speaker A
“Hearing and seeing none, Resolution 26-09 has passed.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Colleen Vague
“neither the IM nor the draft ordinance mentioned using fencing instead of perimeter landscaping for multifamily developments. It appears a requirement for perimeter landscaping is being removed for all multifamily developments, including large-scale ones. Is this really what is best for the communities and neighborhoods.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“if somebody did a condo plat for 40,000 square foot lots, uh, then— and I addressed this earlier— then if you did, if you had a 40,000 square foot condo unit, then you could do 2 units on that without a multifamily permit. If you go beyond that, you have to get a permit and you're subject to the provisions of this.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“any rule that you write has unintended consequences, no matter how well it's written or how well-intended you are when you write it. There's always unintended consequences and there's always loopholes to be found.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Alex Strawn
“Fire trucks, when they get to your house, they don't like to go beyond 150 feet from their fire truck. I guess they start losing pressure or something happens at that point.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Planning Commission Meeting - June 15, 2026 · Jun 15, 2026
Zach Young
“So right now consensus is Thursday, June 25th at 5pm is what we're going to try to go for. And we're going to get, I would say, at least an hour here at the assembly chambers. As long as we could get the building or get the room. We'll fully publicly notify everybody at that point.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“We were told by the Bureau's attorney's office to separate planning board meetings to this training. This will still be publicly noticed. This will still be open to the public.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“This is training being offered by legal for new. For all planning board. Just in terms of planning board process, ex parte communications and a chance for the board to be able to have a discussion with the borough attorney's office directly for any questions that may or may not, you may all have or may not have.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“I still have to check with the legal to make sure that time works for them. So this is all still a little up in the air”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“We are going to send out one more poll just for everybody. And we would appreciate everybody's response. Yay or nay at that point. And we will move from there.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Speaker A
“Thursday at 5 o' clock would work for me.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“And the borough attorney's office is also willing to do off hours too, if that is a possibility. Do it at 5 or 6pm if that works out for the board better.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“This will also be streamed just the same, the same way. And planning board members would be able to contact the borough attorney's office afterwards with any questions.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Zach Young
“We discussed last time about training for legal coming down and offering training. We sent out a poll, we got a few responses back. Legal has changed, has vetoed one of the days.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Speaker A
“Seeing no objection, the motion passes.”Mat-Su Borough: Platting Board Meeting - June 4th, 2026 · Jun 4, 2026
Bill Gamble
“instead of just removing this language completely out of the comp plan, is there no way that we can massage the language in there so that it is more conforming with what we're trying to do and not take away from what the community wants.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Alex Strawn
“I am the author of this ordinance and I actually am the one who brought this to Assemblymember Sumner after he asked the question why it is that we're having limited gravel, specifically in the Knick Fairview area.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Alex Strawn
“what this does, is it. I wish I had done this in the first place instead of just done an outright repeal of that. That section of code forces the planning commission to review the comprehensive plan, knowing that there's potentially conflicting provisions. Comp plans also get very old and stale if you have a 30 or 40 year old comprehensive plan. Things have probably changed since it was written, so they at least need to consider it, but it doesn't make it a regulatory document that they have to comply with all the things in there.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Alex Strawn
“people are best served when they're at least in somewhat the same proximity as where development is occurring because it's just less travel time, less expensive, and less wear and tear on our roads.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Alex Strawn
“The Knick Fairview one is our most glaring example of how this code provision is problematic where they essentially say that gravel extraction is only allowed within industrial areas. And then it has sort of a hand drawn map with two properties that are labeled as industrial areas, one of which is already being used by Alaska Block and Concrete and the other one that is a junkyard. So there's a de facto prohibition of the entire Knick Fairview area”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Maxwell Sumner
“I think it achieves my outcomes and it still respects the efforts put in by the community councils for the comprehensive plans, which I think are very valuable documents. I just think that, you know, it's problematic taking a policy document that has conflicting things and kind of nebulous goals and saying that this is a. This is A regulatory document.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Alex Strawn
“when our planners write up their staff report, it's this big, long document that's kind of hard to read because it's sometimes repetitive. But we make findings and conclusions for every standard in borough code. So we'll go through every single standard and we will make findings and conclusion based on that. Since this is written into code, we will be compelled to address it, and it will go in the staff report and in the draft resolution we present to the planning commission.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Alex Strawn
“The answer is no. This does not affect any comprehensive plans. It only takes away it as a borough standard for. For gravel.”Mat-Su Borough: Regular Assembly Meeting - June 2, 2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Speaker B
“I move to enter executive session for subject that tends to prejudice the reputation and character of any persons. Provided the person may request a public discussion. In particular, to hold an annual evaluation of the attorney.”Mat-Su Borough: Assembly Special Meeting 4pm 06/02/2026 · Jun 2, 2026
Speaker A
“Introduction for public hearing legislative matters resolution 26 09, a resolution of the Matanuska Susitna Borough Planning Commission recommending approval of an ordinance amending MSB 17.73 multifamily development design standards to align permitting and design standards with the scale and complexity of development projects. Staff Alex Strachan Planning Director public hearing date June 15, 2026”Mat-Su Borough: Planning Commission Meeting - Monday, June 1st, 2026 · Jun 1, 2026