Alex Strawn from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough spoke at the Valley Board of Realtors this morning. He talked about permits needed in the borough. Here are a few:
- Flood Zone Building Permits
- Multi-Family building permits
- Marijuana Permits for selling, on-site consumption, or growing
- Driveway permits to build a driveway from your land onto the borough right-of-way.
The borough passed the ordinance requiring the permit in 1984 and there is nothing in the ordinance that grandfathers already existing driveways. So everyone needs a permit. And of course a permit costs money. But GOOD NEWS!! For a year the borough will waive the application fee and the deposit so you can keep your $200 in your pocket. You have until March 19, 2020 to get this done. I’d suggest getting on it this summer.
You can start by going here: Mat-Su Borough Driveway Permit Application
There is still a chance you will need to spend some money or do some work if your driveway does not meet borough standards. Here are the standards:
BOROUGH STANDARDS
A. Driveway width as measured at the property boundary or at the outside edge of the borough right-of-way should be a minimum of 10 feet wide and a maximum of 25 feet wide for a residential driveway. In addition, return curves with minimum 6 foot radii and maximum 20 foot radii for a residential driveway will complete the transition from borough maintained right-of-way to private access onto your property. Including the tangent length of the return curves, total driveway frontage intersecting the roadway will be from 22 feet to 65 feet.
B. Driveways to corner lots shall be located not less than 40 (forty) feet from the point of curvature of the radius return on the property line.
C. Driveways to corner lots or lots that border two roadways shall gain access from the street of lower classification when streets of two different classifications bound a lot.
D. Driveways shall not drain onto the roadway. The first 10 (ten) feet from road shoulder shall be -2% (negative two percent) slope away from roadway. E. Unless otherwise specified, a minimum 12″ (twelve inch) diameter corrugated metal pipe culvert shall be used, when needed, with at least one foot of culvert visible at the toe of the side slopes on each side of the driveway. Permittee shall be responsible for maintenance of the culvert, including thawing, to ensure proper drainage.
