Efforts to improve Wasilla in the works

WASILLA — Downtown Wasilla’s potential makeover could go forward, with some changes.

The city’s downtown overlay district is slated for a public hearing on April 25 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. When the district first came through the planning commission in December 2014, local business owners — some who claimed they weren’t notified about potential zoning changes in the area — protested, saying the new regulations could place an undue burden on them. City planning officials have worked on the idea of improving the downtown district for years, and said at the time they were trying to create a cohesive, pedestrian-friendly area in the heart of Wasilla. The city council eventually voted unanimously to send the matter back to the planning commission to address business owners’ concerns in June 2015.

Since that time, city officials have worked with a task force of local business owners to address those concerns, said city planner Tina Crawford.

Most of the original rules and guidelines have survived intact, including the size of the area, and a list of numerous categories of businesses that are now prohibited, including zoos and “adult businesses.”

Among the more significant changes:

• Gas stations are now listed as a conditional land use, where they were a prohibited use before.

• Free-standing signs will be allowed along the Parks Highway.

• A requirement for offices to be on the second floor of buildings was deleted

• The possible trigger for requiring a property owner to seek planning commission approval has been altered.

That last point was crucial, after local business owners pointed out minor changes, like replacing a building’s siding, could have required them to seek planning commission approval, which could potentially alter previously grandfathered elements of local buildings. For example, a building owner who changed the siding on their property could find their previously grandfathered (but non-compliant) parking arrangement under review, and possibly subject to forced change.

“We’re only basing that on the footprint,” she said.

For a 1,000-square-foot building, that means changes greater than 250 square feet could potentially trigger full permit changes, Crawford said.

The process is designed to be flexible, and allow owners to make their best case for things outside the zoning regulations but potentially unique, eye-catching, or desirable, Crawford said.

“The other thing that people skim over is you don’t have to go through the normal variance process,” she said. “It is like a variance, but you don’t have the same rigid criteria.”

The city is working to get the district in place ahead of a major state renovation of the downtown corridor known as the Main Street Couplet project, which is about 70 percent complete, Crawford said. The two projects together have the potential to reshape downtown Wasilla.

One property owner said he was happy the city had made the effort to include more business owners this time around, though he reserved final judgment until he had time to review all of the changes.

Hank Hartman owns Matanuska Music, located at 280 North Willow Street. His business currently features a 12-foot-tall guitar statute, which he now knows will be grandfathered and allowed to remain. He lost track of the potential changes during the district’s second trip through the legislative process, and was unsure whether he would fall inside the boundaries or not (the district’s original size remains intact).

He was happy to hear the footprint requirement survived.

“That, I thought, was pretty well thought out,” he said. “Sometimes all you need to do is put in an arctic entryway and you can be there.”

In the meantime, Hartman is thinking about adding a banjo to go next to his guitar, using tympani heads and a wood hoop.

“We like to get it as close to playable as possible,” he said.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.