City of Houston is the municipal government of Houston, Alaska, a city in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough on the Parks Highway. Its City Council and commissions decide zoning, land use and permitting matters for the city between Wasilla and Willow.
Photo: Bob Keefer via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
houstonak.us ↗Houston, AK, USA
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Frame from "Houston: Regular Scheduled Parks and Recreation Meeting 11.05.2026" · Photo source
Houston parks commission asks city to find and protect public access to lakes
Houston's parks commission on Thursday asked the City Council to find, restore and protect the city's public access points to its lakes, which the commission's chair says can disappear into private use when they aren't maintained.
The city has many public easements leading to its lakes and rivers, Chair Adam Rein said. When they aren't maintained, "people tend to forget and they turn into driveways and things get built on them."
"We want to identify the accesses that are available to the rivers and the lakes," Rein said. "If there's junk cars and there's things, if there's houses on them, then we start the process."
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission approved the resolution by voice vote. It isn't binding. It names only lakes, but Rein said the commission will look for all public accesses, including to rivers, find them on a map, mark them on the ground and possibly put up signs.
The commission plans a work session Nov. 18, where Rein said he wants to put together a packet for the council showing the accesses it has found.
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About City of Houston
Photo: Bob Keefer via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
houstonak.us ↗Houston, AK, USA
The City of Houston is the municipal government of Houston, Alaska, a city in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough on the Parks Highway between Wasilla and Willow. It is run by an elected City Council, a mayor, and appointed commissions.
Most of its business is land use: zoning, conditional use permits and the rezoning of land in its holding districts. The council decides whether industrial projects such as recyclers and processing plants may operate in the city, and it has paused permits for data centers. It also seeks grants for public facilities such as a fire station, and holds its own municipal elections.
Its land use decisions often turn on state actions next to the city, including state land transfers and state environmental reviews.