Land-use controversies in Mat-Su are proliferating like mushrooms

Frontiersman editorial board

As the Mat-Su Borough continues to grow at breakneck speed, land-use and development controversies seem to sprout up quicker than the newest concrete building pad.

Some residents in the Butte are circulating a petition to prevent the Sunrise Trails residential development from becoming reality. The 293-lot development is currently proposed to be built on approximately 580 acres north of the Old Glenn Highway, between Maud Road and Back Acres Avenue, and fueling concerns over the development is the delay of funding for repairs and upgrades to the Old Glenn Highway.

Some residents of the Palmer-side Hatcher Pass area are eagerly anticipating the day when JL Properties, or anyone for that matter, finally brings ski resort plans to fruition, while others oppose the small-lot residential development the company has put forward to help make the ski resort a more viable venture.

Many people were up in arms when the Mat-Su Borough invested in the infrastructure development of the area to help court serious developers to complete the vision that was first proposed more than 30 years ago.

Nearly everyone agrees the Valley needs a larger hospital to serve the growing masses but we find ourselves, once again, failing to find common ground on the best way to expand the infrastructure to support development.

Matanuska Electric Association and the Mat-Su Borough are sparring through the court system to determine the best route to install new power lines that will supply backup electricity to the new hospital.

The city of Palmer has stumbled in its bid to extend water and sewer service to the new Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has nixed the city's pipe design, citing public health and safety concerns. The price tag to fix the design flaw is estimated at more than $1.2 million and a total projected shortfall for the project is $5 million.

It's time for all parties to agree to come to the table to find common ground. We will not be able to stop the development. No matter how much we long for the way things used to be, they never will be that way again.

Instead of thrashing out these issues through the court systems, can't we be reasonable adults who work to find solutions to problems instead of insisting it be our way or no way?

We must find a sensible balance between growth-at-all-cost and no-growth or not-in-my-back yard philosophies.