The Fairbanks North Star Borough narrowly approved funding for a proposed residential subdivision after years of planning, passing the measure in a 5-4 vote on Thursday.

The $943,150 appropriation covers development work including two gravel roads, power line installation, surveying, zoning, platting and the eventual sale of 16 large residential lots on 67 acres of borough-owned land just south of the Old Nenana Highway near Ester. An additional 147 acres would remain zoned for open recreation. The planned subdivision is called Ridge View Heights.

Daniel Welch, the borough’s natural resources development manager, said the borough previously attempted to develop an Emma Creek West subdivision on borough land in 2007, which would have featured 31 two-acre parcels. Ester residents opposed t

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