Land use planning a price for growth

Laying down ground rules is never easy, especially if the ground belongs to someone else.

But sometimes it has to be done.

The Mat-Su Borough Planning Department has been trying to come up with some changes to borough code regarding land use, and after years of trying, there’s still no solution in sight.

This week a proposed ordinance to tighten gravel pit operations made it in front of a borough assembly meeting, where it was battered by some assembly members unhappy both with two years of delays and the scope of the ordinance.

In the spring of 2008, the borough assembly banned gravel mining in the water table after residents raised concerns about wells going dry. While existing pits were grandfathered for continued dredging, no new permits have been issued.

The revised ordinance address more than the water table issue; it would also revamp gravel extraction rules. Assembly members can’t seem to agree if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Gravel mining isn’t the only issue that has some grumbling over borough land use issues.

A borough noise ordinance is four years in the making, with nothing on the books to date. Prompted by separate noise issues near Wasilla and Palmer, it’s been another effort to hash out just how much noise is OK and how to protect surrounding homeowners.

Again, the plodding progress of the planning commission — if there is progress — may be less a reflection on that body than on the assembly and voters who put those representatives in their seats.

As the Mat-Su Borough’s population grows, issues like gravel extraction and noise pollution are going to intensify. Land uses that go on without a shrug today may become the centers of tomorrow’s controversies. These are some of the pains that come with growth. Local gravel mining is essential to the continued healthy and economical growth of the borough, yet it’s nothing anybody wants near their home or subdivision. Gravel operations that once were geographically isolated are now close to residential neighborhoods. Noise is never a problem when you’re the only one around to hear your own racket.

It’s the job of the planning commission, borough assembly and borough staff to try to balance forward-thinking planning with Alaska insouciance and independence. It isn’t easy, and will become more difficult as growth continues to force action on land uses that formerly didn’t require regulation. It may mean an ordinance takes two or even four years to draft, but there must be a concerted effort to put in place rules that will protect Alaskans from companies that would ravage the land, and protect companies from Alaskans who would deny them their legitimate business operations.