Proposed ordinance to increase to water setbacks set for public hearing at MSB Assembly

An ordinance coming up for the Matanuska Susitna Borough (MSB) Assembly would allow an increase for structures to be built within 75 feet of a waterbody, so long as specific engineering standards to protect the water are applied.

The ordinance was introduced during the June 20 MSB Assembly meeting, but has been the subject of public comment for quite some time, most who are opposed to the ordinance.

“I went to the Borough Assembly 2 weeks ago and spoke on this issue, and the Borough Assembly turned it down. They said ‘it sounds greedy,’” said longtime resident Helen Woodings, who spoke in opposition to the ordinance.

Woodings came in 1953 to teach, and her husband was on planning commission for 8 years, she told the MSB Assembly during the last Assembly meeting.

“The most important things to me and my life are clean water, clean air, and quiet places. If I had bought a place on a lake way back then, I would have certain goals-I would have wanted clean water so that I could fish, I would have wanted a view, a quiet place. I would have hoped that birds would come to my place and would stay. I would have been appalled if somebody came in and built in front of me and took my view. I would be appalled if their lawn went all the way down to the river or lake and then they fertilized it and polluted the water,” she told the Assembly members.

“People who know me have been asking about this. They don’t like what they’re hearing. Who would want to reduce the standard of the setback on the lake? Who would do that, except somebody that hoped to make some money?”

Earlier this year, the Borough’s Fish and Wildlife Commission rejected a broader version of the proposal. The original proposal was targeted at giving violators a way to be in compliance while opening the door to altered building requirements, Yundt, a member of the Fish and Wildlife Commission, said at that hearing.

“The intention is not to remove the … abatement plan, it is to give a path forward with enough steps to possibly go within 75 feet,” he said. “I believe people who have not followed the ordinance or follow the law before should be given a path forward.”

Currently, the construction block zone, known as a riparian setback, is 75 feet. Additionally, there is a process already in place for property owners to apply for a variance to reduce the setback if it presents an undue hardship.

The proposal, sponsored MSB Assembly members Mokie Tew, District 5, and Rob Yundt, District 4, would reduce the setback to 45 feet for structures larger than 450 square feet. If a property owner wants to build within 75 feet of a waterbody, according to the proposed ordinance, property owners would be required to hire an engineer to ensure that the structure is structurally sound. To ensure it is built on good soils, a geotechnical analysis would also be required. The plans would ultimately need to be reviewed by MSB staff and engineers.

Jean Holt also spoke against the ordinance, stating that she has been involved in waterbody setbacks for 37 years, told the MSB Assembly that the ordinance was “very much a regressive ordinance.”

“I’m totally opposed to this…who the heck came up with this? This is totally opposing what the setback issue is all about.”

There is some history to the water setbacks. The 75-foot setback was originally adopted in 1973, then briefly lowered to 45 feet in 1986, only to be increased back to the 75-foot mark by a voter initiative the following year.

In subsequent years, hundreds of homes have been constructed in clear violation of the setback, mostly due to a lack of any permitting requirement for development within the Borough. When violations of the setback have been found, there is no easy or inexpensive way to deal with the violation.

The current riparian setback, dictated by Borough law, is designed to protect water quality and fish and wildlife habitat, according to a 1999 analysis produced for the Borough by an Anchorage-based firm. The report from Land Design North, titled “Matanuska-Susitna Borough Shoreland Setback: Analysis and Recommendation,” says that the intent of the setback is to protect water quality and, in turn, the fish and aquatic habitat, though it is not clearly defined.

The report recommends that the intent of the waterbody setback be clearly stated upfront in future ordinances in order to better facilitate enforcement and compliance.

“A property owner is more willing to comply with a regulation if they clearly understand its purpose and believe that the regulation is effective at achieving its purpose.”

The report also suggests that a challenge with any setback ordinance is the Borough’s history of changing the distance of the setback distances and general lack of compliance by homeowners, suggesting that low compliance is symptomatic of the lack of clear intent of the setback in the first place. This, according to the report, has led to inconsistent development around waterbodies, making enforcement difficult.

The report made the recommendation that the Borough retain the current 75-foot setback, justifying the recommendation saying that changing it would be politically unpopular and is a highly charged issue. And also recommended that a comprehensive scientific evaluation of setback distances be completed, but recognized that due to MSB’s limited resources, it is unlikely to be completed in the near future.

To fully protect the area including bank stability, the setback must be paired with other buffers on the property, such as a rock garden, the report states. The Borough’s current 75-foot rule bans most construction within the zone, with the exception of structures like docks and boathouses. The Borough does not currently require an additional buffer.

“You’re losing the quality of the Valley by letting our water go.”

In addition to his duties on the assembly, Assemblyman Yundt co-owns Robert Yundt Homes, LLC, a general contractor which constructs homes in the Valley, according to the company’s website.

Robert Yundt Homes was fined $29,500 in June, 2022 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating the Clean Water Act. Between April, 2019 and August, 2020 teams with Robert Yundt Homes dumped construction debris, including gravel and soil, into Cottonwood Lake and Wasilla Lake at properties owned by Robert Yundt Homes or by Yundt’s wife, Trenitie, according to court documents. Those debris are considered pollutants under the Clean Water Act.

Assemblyman Tew, who co-sponsored the measure, co-owns Tew Inc., an excavation company.

The ordinance is set for Public Hearing during the next MSB Assembly meeting on July 18 at 6 p.m. in the MSB Assembly Chambers.