Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Code Chapter 17.55, Setbacks and Screening Easements, sets the borough's minimum-setback rules for structures within subdivisions, but its own definitions section, MSB § 17.55.004, carves fences out of the term 'structure' for purposes of minimum setbacks and building separation, alongside retaining walls, parking areas, driveways, utility poles, and similar features. That means the 25-foot right-of-way setback and 10-foot side and rear setback in MSB § 17.55.010 do not by themselves reach a fence: the exclusion applies 'unless specifically addressed by code,' so a fence remains subject to any other borough or state provision that does name it, such as height limits in the applicable zoning or special land use district, or the screening-easement standards a planning commission may impose on a subdivision or planned unit development under MSB § 17.36.200(C).

Chapter 17.55 itself applies within subdivisions borough-wide, except where a special land use district (like Palmer, Talkeetna, or the Core Area) sets its own standard under MSB § 17.55.005, and except within the cities of Palmer and Wasilla, which run their own zoning and permitting entirely. Outside those areas, this code does not require a property owner to obtain a Chapter 17.55 setback permit before building an ordinary yard fence, because a fence is not a regulated 'structure' under that chapter's definitions absent some other code section that says otherwise.