Public Input For Multi-Family Developments Voted Down By Planning Commission

The Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission unanimously voted against an ordinance that would have allowed public input for multi-family development permits. The ordinance was requested by Assemblymember Hale.

Commission members said they did not want to add another step that would further delay construction. They cited the short building season and existing regulations that already delay the process. 

Current multi-family development permits are granted on an administrative level, without a public hearing. Borough Planning and Land Use Director Alex Strawn says without the proposed changes, public opinion would not change the outcome of the permit if the developer met all the requirements. 

Strawn says the department has received 34 applications for multi-family development permits this year, a significant increase from previous years. Having a public hearing would add about 40 hours of staff time to each permit. That would lead to about 1,000 hours of additional work for the Department over the year. Strawn also said that the permit cost for the developer would likely increase as a result.

The multi-family development legislation was sent back to the Planning Commission for review after the Borough Assembly voted to eliminate the mobile home parks ordinance earlier this year. Before that vote, the Planning Commission recommended combining the two to preserve public input and desirable features of each, but the Assembly did not follow that guidance. 

As it stands, mobile home parks can still be developed through the multi-family development permit, just without public input. The Commission’s recommended ordinance clarifying that mobile home parks are not permitted under any circumstances will be presented at the Assembly’s December 17th public hearing.