Assembly tired of changing rules

PALMER — Though it agreed to one small change Tuesday and after months and multiple re-writes, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly has apparently lost its taste for changing how the borough regulates housing developments.

“It’s like it’s morphed into its own being and I don’t take responsibility or ownership for it anymore,” said Assemblyman Darcie Salmon, who initially brought up the so-called Multi-Family Housing Ordinance for debate in October 2012. The debate over it lasted months and included multiple re-visitations.

“I am somewhat new to the discussion on this and thank God that we do breathe free and we don’t need no stinking permits around here, but at the same time we do see that serial subdivisions have been a risk to our health to our safety to EMS,” Assemblyman Jim Sykes said.

He was referencing unchecked development that can sometimes result in streets and driveways too narrow to accommodate fire trucks and ambulances.

The latest change was proposed by Assemblyman Jim Colver, who wanted to change the code to require a permit for developments of more than six units — apartments or dwellings — on one parcel.

Colver said that his understanding the last time the assembly discussed the issue was that six was the magic number, but that’s not how the code is being enforced.

“If it was a large lot it would be six units per acre, so if it was 10 acres it was up to 60 units, etc.,” Colver said.

Assemblyman Steve Colligan said he believed the point was to regulate density and so the six units per acre rule was what he intended. Whatever the case, that change passed. The rule is now six per lot, but the assembly declined to go any further.

Colver had asked that they look at a second change — that if a landowner has multiple lots that are contiguous it would count as a single lot for determining if he needed a permit. He said that there had been a “proliferation” of detached four-plexes built on lots that are side-by-side.

“No notice to the public, no permit and that it seemed to be a big loophole for the permitting process,” Colver said.

He later proposed changing that rule to apply to lots five acres or larger.

Salmon said he didn’t think it would work. If it’s against the rules to build four-plexes on contiguous lots with the same owner, why wouldn’t a person then pass the lots around to his close associates so they weren’t all held by the same owner?

“Don’t think that that won’t happen,” Salmon said. “For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. You brought this back and brought it back and brought it back attempting to create a perfect ordinance. It’s not.”

He said he didn’t see a need to address it any further. The rest of the assembly seemed to agree.

“Sorry Jim, but this thing’s not ready for prime time,” Arvin said to Colver.

“This isn’t an onerous permit process. We have watered down that permit process. It’s not stopping anything. It’s giving people an opportunity to know about what’s happening in their neighborhoods,” Colver said.

In the end, the assembly shot down the change with Colver, Sykes and Matthew Beck voting in favor of the change.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.