Help Update the All-Hazards Mitigation Plan!

The current Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB) All-Hazards Mitigation Plan is nearing the end of the 5-year planning cycle and we need your help to update the plan. Hazard mitigation is sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to people and their property from hazards. The planning team wants to ensure that this plan is comprehensive. The update process will require the review and revision of the following plan elements:

• Identification and description of hazards that may impact borough residents

• Vulnerability assessment

• Assessment of the MSB’s capability to mitigate hazards

• Hazard mitigation goals and objectives

• Hazard mitigation actions and projects

• Implementation strategy

• Plan maintenance strategy

The deadline to complete the update is August, 2013.

The State of Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency are reviewing the May 2013 plan update.

The Borough Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing on the update in July, 2013. You are invited to testify or submit written comments.

Email MSB Planner Emerson Krueger at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 745-9526 to learn more or to provide comments.

The Borough Community Development Department, Economic Development Department, and the Planning Department are collaborating on a conceptual master plan for a town in the Point MacKenzie Community near Goose Creek Correctional Center off Alsop Road. The Borough Assembly adopted a resolution brought forward by the Borough Mayor in support of a layout and master plan for a town site in Point MacKenzie and a town site in the Fish Creek Management Area

Assembly Resolution Supporting Town Site Planning
Conceptual Draft Point MacKenzie Town Site Map

Borough Public Works Conceptual Infrastructure and Land Use Layout Map

Slope percentage map based on LIDAR

The Point MacKenzie Community Comprehensive Plan includes a list of things to be included in the conceptual town master plan which has been expanded to include:

a town square, trails, parks, access to Goose Bay State Game Refuge, library, health clinic, a service station, school sites,  post office,  community center, grocery store, café, hotel, police station, multi-family development, and a maintenance facility.

The borough is soliciting comments on how to move forward with planning and development of the town site.

Contact Emerson Krueger, 907-745-9526, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information or to ask questions.

The Planning Division currently has the following projects in process.  

Public comment is welcome on all projects.  If you have questions about how you may be involved in a project, contact the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Department of Planning and Land Use, 350 E. Dahlia, Palmer, AK 99645; by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; phone (907) 745-9556 or Fax to (907) 745-9876. 

Title: Density and Build Out Study

Status: Application

Contact: Emerson Kruerger, Planner II

Completion Date: Summer 2012

Density and Build-Out Study Presentation

This informative presentation showcases the data in an easy to understand format allows viewers to contemplate strategies for its use.

Purpose: 

The 2012 Density and Build-out Study (Density Study) represents a unique approach to estimating ultimate land absorption using current Alaskan land use practices.   This approach respects the current semi-rural nature of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and assumes that this density will be somewhat consistent into the future with a few exceptions acknowledging development realities.   The model, summarized in the document available for download below, projects population and housing quantities at an undetermined date of “build-out” (when all land is absorbed) and creates a process for locating future public facilities.   The density model begins with raw land and deducts acreage from ultimate development based on a variety of factors:

• Constrained Lands

• Soils not Conducive to Development

• Probable Non-Residential Areas

• Water Surfaces and Mountainous Areas

Once these deductions are made, and historical ultimate density patterns are observed in the Borough, long range density forecasts may be made based on current land densities, probable town/community centers proximate to major intersections and other factors.   

In fall of 2008, the Borough contracted with CityScape Consultants to develop a Wireless Telecommunications Analysis to analyze current demand for wireless telecommunications services within the Borough and to recommend guidelines and policy for tower growth management as it impacts the Borough and its citizens into the future.