Planning issues ahead for Point MacKenzie

April 17, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

POINT MACKENZIE - The possibility of a bridge being constructed across Knik Arm has spurred the Mat-Su Borough administration to create a master plan for managing land it owns at Point MacKenzie.

Any decisions on how to develop or refrain from developing borough-owned land would be subject to approval by the borough Assembly, as well as going through the port and planning commissions.

Could a McDonald's or other fast-food chain, end up at Point MacKenzie? It's unlikely to overlook the port and Knik Arm, since land there is zoned for industrial use, but eating establishments could crop up along Point MacKenzie Road if the bridge is constructed.

"Restaurants, hotel and motels are being talked about," said Ron Swanson, the borough's community development director.

"When it does get going, Point MacKenzie will be its own mini-community," said Swanson, adding that medical facilities, emergency services and places to eat will be necessary to support the needs of that community. Temporary housing for workers during the construction era of the bridge project would also be needed, Swanson said.

The borough and the state own about 45,000 acres in the area, with the borough holding 60 percent of that acreage.

Swanson said the borough would lease land for use, rather than selling parcels. A land-use plan could be firmed up and approved within six months to a year, he said.

All the "what ifs" must be considered before such a plan can be completed, he said.

Some of those considerations include what kinds of industries would be attracted to the port.

For example, NPI functions better near Port MacKenzie, because its wood-chipping operation depends on

shipping.

AMC, the modular home manufacturing company, transports its product by truck, and therefore that business is located farther away from the water.

"The terminology used in the dock business is water-dependent and non-water-dependent," Swanson said.

A project to build a ferry terminal, headed by Tryck Nyman Hayes, already received federal funding. Such a structure would provide a passenger waiting area with restroom facilities. According to design plans revealed to the borough Assembly, the proposed ferry terminal would require little maintenance and would be constructed with future expansion in mind.

NPI has been harvesting timber on some borough land. According to the lease permit, replanting won't occur because the land will be converted for a commercial use, Swanson said.

State-owned land in the area includes agricultural parcels managed by the Department of Natural Resources. The Fish Creek Management Plan has been under review and subject to public comment. DNR has considered harvesting timber on the parcels and selling that timber to NPI, prior to selling the land for agricultural use.

What's the likelihood that encroaching land development puts pressure on the state to change the status of agricultural lands?

"In order to change that designation, it has to go through the entire planning process with public comment. It can't be changed willy-nilly," said Alison Arian, forest resources planner with DNR. "We've heard that people want to maintain agriculture in the Mat-Su."

Frequently sought-after land, especially for residential purposes, borders bodies of water.

Cook Inlet Region Inc. holds the deed on several tracts of land west of Lost Lake in the Point MacKenzie area. A CIRI spokesperson said the person who could comment on land management was traveling last week and wouldn't return to the office until Monday.

Private landowners have acquired parcels in Terrane Terrace Alaska subdivisions east of the lake. The majority of those property owners reside in Anchorage. Those parcels range in size from seven to 12 acres and are appraised at between $45,000 and $55,000.

A couple from Alexandria, Va., is in the process of purchasing a 2 1/2-acre parcel in the Twin Island Lake subdivision from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.