Assembly delays action on new shooting range near Willow until June

A proposal before the Matanuska Borough Assembly to establish an unregulated shooting range on the north side of Zero Lake Road is getting a lot of pushback. The matter had been scheduled for action at the assembly’s Feb. 17 meeting but action has been postponed to June 2.

Assembly member Ron Bernier had put forth the proposal to reserve part of a 520-acre parcel of borough-owned land for the shooting range.

The area is 2.5 miles off the Parks Highway near Willow. Critics of the idea voiced concerns over noise and safety at the Tuesday meeting.

In January the borough’s planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the classification in its Resolution No. 25-30. Fifteen public comments were received responding to the public notice, according to documents from the planning commission. Eleven of comments were in opposition, including a letter from the Willow Area Community Organization, Inc. which voted 27-1 to send a letter opposing the plan.

Four comments were received that were in support, however.

Tryg Erickson, chair of the Willow community organization, said he supports shooting ranges if they are regulated. “But we would like this range to be somewhere else,” he told the assembly. Other Mat-Su residents voiced concerns over the loss of a quiet area that is now popular for family recreation.

Point raised to the planning commission by opponents included:

• Noise from gunfire is expected to carry long distances due to local topography and

wetlands, disrupting the quiet character of the area and affecting sled dogs, pets, and wildlife. Public comments at the Feb. 17 meeting underscored this, including that cold temperatures in winter would increase the level of noise disturbance.

• Environmental risks were emphasized, including potential lead contamination in soils and water given high water tables and proximity to a nearby strea, with possible downstream impacts to wetlands and the Little Susitna River.

• Safety concerns such as stray bullets, increased traffic on unmaintained roads, and risks to recreational trail users and low-flying aircraft from nearby private airstrips were pointed out.

• There are additional issues such as concerns with maintaining Zero Lake Road, monitoring lead contamination, lowered property values, and enforcing range rules or staffing for any potential future shooting ranges.

There is some public support, however. Supporters of the plan said there is a need for more shooting ranges in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

There are also long travel times to other shooting ranges. There can be safety improvements with a controlled range, it was also argued.

In other actions the assembly defeated a proposal to allow residential subdivision standards to be changed to allow lots of 30,000 square feet, down from 40,000 square feet, to be allowed for home development. Assembly member Maxwell Sumner had made the original proposal.

There had been substantial debate over the proposal, which was supported by real estate developers to make more land available for housing. There has been criticism including from members of the public last Tuesday, that the smaller lot sizes would complicate use of septic systems and could exacerbate other environmental problems.

In other actions the assembly gave final approval to $80 million in general obligation bonds for school improvements and roads, and the refunding of some outstanding general obligation bonds. OR 26-018 was approved unanimously. Of the $80 million, approximately $58 million would go for school improvements with the bonds approved by voters in the November, 2024 borough election, and $61 million in road improvements were are in bonds approved in the November, 2023 election.

In another action, the assembly passed a resolution supporting a Payment In Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, for parts of the natural gas pipeline built from the North Slope that would be built through the Matanuska-Susitnsa Borough. The PILT would be negotiated between the borough and Glenfarne, the energy company working in partnership with the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. to build the Alaska LNG Project, which includes the pipeline.

The borough’s existing property tax, and similar property taxes by other municipalities along the pipeline route and the state of Alaska itself, would create economic problems for the pipeline, Glenfarne argues. A PILT allows for negotiation of an alternate system of paying revenues that would avoid the problems.

The Mat-Su Borough is working on a coordinated approach to e PILT with other municipalities along the pipeline route, which include the North Slope Borough, the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the Kenai Borough as well as the state, which has a state property tax on oil and gas facilities. The Denali Borough, along along the pipeline route, does not have a property tax but would also have a PILT, if the gas pipeline is built.