Zoning: Quiet rules that shape your neighborhood

Most people in the Mat-Su Valley have never read a single line of zoning code, yet zoning quietly decides whether a gravel pit can open next to your home, whether your neighbor can run a junkyard from their front yard, and whether the field across the street stays a field. It is one of the most powerful tools local government has in planning its growth.

In many parts of the United States, every single parcel of land is assigned a zoning category before anyone even builds on it. Houses go in residential zones, stores go in commercial zones, factories go in industrial zones, and everything has a place. The Mat-Su Borough does not work that way. Outside the cities of Palmer, Wasilla, and Houston, the borough has historically taken a hands-off approach to land use. There is no comprehensive zoning map covering all the land in the borough. Instead, the borough uses a system of optional districts that residents can choose to create for themselves.

These are called Special Land Use Districts, often shortened to SpUDs, along with Residential Land Use Districts and a handful of related categories. Outside of those SpUDs, the borough generally leaves landowners alone except for lot lines, public easements, rights-of-way, or shorelines. That is why you can see a beautiful home, a working farm, a junkyard, and a business all sitting next to each other in many parts of the valley. It is also why neighborhoods that want more protection have to organize and ask for it.

Creating a Residential Land Use District is a process led entirely by neighbors. You can apply for inclusion in the residential district chapter by filing a form and paying the fee with the borough. You must also submit a petition favoring the application, signed by the legal owners of record of over 60% of all properties in the proposed residential area. It is a lot of work, but it puts the power in the hands of the people who actually live there rather than imposing rules from outside.

Special Land Use Districts work similarly and exist in many corners of the borough. Recognizable examples include the Knik Sled Dog District, the Hay Flats Recreation Area, the Nancy Lake districts, and many smaller subdivision-based districts scattered throughout the borough. Each one has its own rules tailored to its specific community needs.

Inside the cities of Palmer, Wasilla, and Houston, zoning is more traditional. Each city has its own zoning map with residential, commercial, and industrial zones already established. If you live inside one of these cities, your property already has a zoning designation, and changes to what you can do with the land must go through that city's planning process. The cities take this work seriously because zoning shapes how a downtown grows, how neighborhoods stay walkable, and how traffic and noise are kept in reasonable balance. Each of the cities uses a type of zoning called Euclidean.

Zoning laws are not perfect, and they can be frustrating when they limit what you want to do with your own property. But their purpose is to balance individual rights with the good of the entire community. They affect communities in ways most people only notice when something goes wrong. It can prevent a noisy commercial operation from opening next door to a quiet residential street. It can preserve the rural character of an area that residents value.

Every Special Land Use District, every Residential Land Use District, and every conditional use permit involves public hearings where residents can speak. By understanding how zoning works and getting involved when decisions affect your neighborhood, you can help shape the Mat-Su Borough into a place that works well for everyone.

To learn more about zoning in your area, the best starting point is the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Permit Center at 350 East Dahlia Avenue in Palmer, reachable by phone at 907-861-7822. The borough also maintains all official zoning maps online at matsugov.us, with separate links for the City of Palmer, City of Wasilla, and City of Houston zoning maps. For city-specific questions, contact Palmer at palmerak.org, Wasilla at cityofwasilla.gov, or Houston at houstonak.us.

Christian M. Hartley is a 40-year Alaskan resident with over 25 years of public safety experience and public service. He runs a freelance business, Big Lake Writer, from home in Big Lake that he shares with his wife of 19 years and their three teenage sons.