Greenbelt blues

Time running out to preserve a Wasilla Creek greenbelt

By JOEL DAVIDSON-Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA -- Wasilla Creek, the little gurgling stream of water that weaves its way through thick forests and tangled undergrowth, now, more and more, flows past mowed lawns and packed subdivisions.

These changes are a result of rapid and ever-increasing residential developments in the Mat-Su. As houses go up, much of the prime property is waterfront property. People like to sit in lawn chairs and watch the rivers flow, but retired state biologist Mark Masteller believes those very people stand to lose more than they gain by living in creek-side homes.

Masteller received a $20,000 grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife, along with $16,000 in matching funds from the Mat-Su Borough and Friends of Mat-Su, a local land-use planning group, to work on preserving a watershed along the creek. Masteller said the creek and surrounding shrubbery along the banks provide crucial water filtering and purification for many Valley residents by absorbing dirty surface water and filtering out the toxic chemicals before they enter the creek.

These vegetative buffers also provide shade and cool water for salmon-spawning grounds as well as potential greenbelts for neighbors to stroll along for generations to come.

"Generally, [communities] destroy these watersheds and then have to go back later and restore them," Masteller said. "My interest is primarily in water quality, and we may be forced to spend millions of dollars to protect these resources in 10 or 20 years."

Time is running out on Wasilla Creek

Time is quickly running out for preserving any meaningful greenbelt along the creek, according to Masteller.

As the summer days tick by, construction crews rapidly build the 193-home Meadow Brook subdivision on 173 acres, just off Hyer Road. Masteller estimates that roughly 76 homes are now built on the once-secluded and forested land.

Jess Hall, the developer of Meadow Brook and a home builder for 27 years, has built more than 500 homes in the Palmer/Wasilla area in the past 10 years. Hall said most of the proposed watershed will probably not happen now because many of the houses are already being built along the creek. Hall said he was pretty conscientious about how to put in the new houses.

"We ended up developing the lots narrow and deep so the houses would be a long way from the creek and people could still put in a back yard with out cutting all the trees down right up to the creek," Hall said.

Masteller said that from a developer's standpoint, there is not a lot of incentive to slow down construction on the creek-side houses -- especially if buyers are out there waiting to purchase the homes. Masteller is still trying to work with Hall, and said he understands that Hall is just trying to run his business. It is important to Masteller that Hall is fully compensated for any land that might be preserved for a watershed. "I don't want the developer to feel threatened," Masteller said. The problem, according to Masteller, is how to compensate Hall for his prime real estate.

What do the neighbors want?

The first phase of Masteller's grant was allotted to determine the will of the people who live in Meadow Brook subdivision. To do this, he conducted research from November 2003 to April 2004, including extensive door-to-door interviews with the new homeowners who already lived in the subdivision.

The homeowners were asked if they would demonstrate their support by signing a statement that read, "I support efforts to work with the developer and other interested parties to establish an area along Wasilla Creek that protects the creek as a naturally-functioning watershed." Of the 34 households that were successfully contacted, 27 -- or 79 percent -- supported the statement.

Masteller also surveyed residents along a 3.5-mile stretch of Wasilla Creek. He received back 217 of the surveys, and they showed overwhelming support to establish a water-quality conservation area. More than 80 percent of the respondents wanted to protect drinking water and aquatic species, and more than 70 percent wanted a place for future trails.

Debora Amos recently moved into a Meadow Brook house across the street from the creek. "It would be nice to have a trail system along the creek so people could walk, bike or cross- country ski by the creek," Amos said.

Amos' neighbor, Francesca Gonzales, agreed. "I'd definitely like to see a greenbelt," Gonzales said. "I would take my kids to the creek."

Masteller said he knows many people are interested in a nice, green place to walk along the creek, and he will take any support he can get, but his primary concern is to protect the land first. "We can put a trail in later," Masteller said.

What can be done to preserve a vegetative watershed along the creek?

Currently, the Mat-Su Borough Planning Department does not have a provision requiring developers to preserve greenbelts or watersheds, and Masteller was quick to point out that all of Hall's home sites near the creek are perfectly legal.

Hall said he recognizes that the Valley needs to address development issues, especially if it continues to develop at such a fast rate.

"We need to take a look at how we're going to develop this Valley," Hall said. "I want to see a discussion started between developers and land owners."

The real discussion, according to Hall, must start with the Mat-Su Borough. "I've talked with the Borough planning department about setting up a plan to protect the creeks and ponds," Hall said.

The borough is currently working to update an ordinance, Title 16, that would address the preservation of greenbelts but it is still months away from approval, and without a current ordinance, Masteller was forced to look in other directions for a solution.

At first he thought the borough could simply trade land with Hall, giving him prime real estate in exchange for a swath of preserved green space along the banks of Wasilla Creek. According to Masteller, the land swap was never really a viable option though, because the Mat-Su Borough does not own much valuable land for prime residential development in the Valley. Most of the valuable real estate in the core area is privately owned.

"The only way to compensate the developer is to pay him with money," Masteller said. "And the next phase, for me, is to identify funding sources to create this watershed."

Where does the help come from?

Masteller said he hopes to get funding support from private foundations and federal agencies. He also plans to work with Great Land Trust, which recently negotiated a deal to buy a 33-acre estuary along Fish Creek in Anchorage. Normally Great Land Trust does not buy property to own, it simply purchases the development rights, thereby assuring that protected watersheds and greenbelts cannot be turned into residential or commercial developments in the future.

Masteller said he hopes that a combination of various agencies and organizations will enable him to raise enough money to buy the development rights from Hall, thereby assuring that a portion of Wasilla Creek forever remains a natural watershed.

Masteller said he recognizes that his quest for a watershed along Wasilla Creek may never be realized. "If we can do something in any portion of the creek, then it might be a model for future projects," he said.

How can people get involved?

According to Masteller, the main way people can influence land development and conservation is to join and support those community groups that are in favor of land-use planning. A growing number of these agencies are currently active in the Valley, including both the Palmer and the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Mat-Su Trails Council, Mat-Su Borough Parks, Recreation and Trails Advisory Board, and the Mat-Su Resource Conservation and Development Council.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.