Why Ordinance 25 090 Threatens the Future of Housing and Property Rights in the Mat Su Valley

The Mat Su Borough Assembly is considering Ordinance 25 090, which would create a new Large Lot District and allow groups of landowners to lock entire areas into permanent five acre minimums. At first glance it sounds like a simple preservation tool, but once you look deeper it becomes clear that this ordinance carries serious long term consequences for housing affordability, property rights, and the future of growth in the Valley.

Many on the Platting Board and the Assembly have already expressed strong concern. There is good reason for that concern.

A low petition threshold with major consequences

The ordinance requires only a sixty seven percent petition from landowners to impose a Large Lot District. That is an extremely low threshold for something that permanently removes development rights from every other landowner inside the boundary. A small group could decide that no one else around them should ever subdivide, gift land to family, or create housing for their children and grandchildren.

This cuts directly into private property rights. It allows neighbors to decide what someone else is allowed to do with land they purchased and have maintained for years. A rule this powerful should not be decided by a small group with temporary motivations.

A direct hit to housing affordability

The Valley is already one of the fastest growing areas in Alaska. Prices have risen sharply because inventory is low and developable land is becoming harder to find. Five acre minimums across large parts of the Borough would make this worse.

Once land is locked into a Large Lot District, it cannot adapt to future needs. As families grow, as infrastructure improves, and as future residents seek housing, the land will remain permanently restricted. Starter homes, workforce homes, and entry level homes become even harder to build.

Artificial scarcity drives prices higher. Young families get pushed out. Builders cannot meet the demand for reasonably priced housing. The Valley loses the flexibility that has made it the most attractive place in Alaska to live.

A long term planning problem

Good land use planning requires a big picture view. This ordinance creates zoning by popularity vote rather than thoughtful planning. It sidelines professional planners, long range plans, and the coordinated process that allows communities to grow responsibly.

Instead of working through the comprehensive plan or through borough wide discussions, this ordinance allows emotional, short term NIMBY reactions to freeze thousands of acres for decades. It fragments the land into restrictive pockets that make future road planning, utilities, fiber, and schools much harder to coordinate.

A threat to economic opportunity

The construction industry is one of the strongest economic engines in the Mat Su Valley. When land becomes artificially restricted, that engine slows. Fewer lots mean fewer homes, fewer jobs, and fewer opportunities for local businesses, subcontractors, and tradespeople.

Most responsible development today includes paved roads, drainage systems, quality soils engineering, underground utilities, and modern energy standards. Those improvements are paid for by developers. When development is blocked, the Borough loses not only housing but also millions of private investment dollars that improve community infrastructure.

A legacy action, not a community consensus

This ordinance has the appearance that this is a legacy move driven more by ideology than by a long term vision for the entire Borough.

Land use rules this impactful should be built on broad public consensus, not pushed forward in the final months of a political term.

Protecting land does not require restricting others

There are many ways to preserve rural character, open space, and acreage living. You can buy land and keep it large. You can place a conservation easement on your own property. You can participate in planning processes that affect the entire Valley.

What should not happen is a system where one group of landowners can take away the future rights and opportunities of their neighbors.

The future of the Valley depends on thoughtful planning

The Mat Su Valley has grown because it remains a place where families can build, live, and create a future. This ordinance threatens that promise. It locks in restrictions that will raise prices, reduce opportunity, and limit what future generations can do with their own land.

The Valley deserves a planning process that is fair, balanced, and based on long term community needs, not fear of change or political ideology. Ordinance 25 090 does not meet that standard. The Assembly Meeting will be held 11/18/2025 at 6PM. Contact them today to express your disapproval: https://matsu.gov/assembly