Density issues color planning decisions
The Daily Inter Lake
The Flathead County Planning Board imitated Goldilocks on Wednesday, rejecting one subdivision proposal because the density was too low and rejecting a zone change because the density was too high.
The board also recommended denial of a subdivision text amendment requested by the county commissioners.
Only two agenda items made it through unscathed:
The board unanimously recommended approval of a major land-use request by Glacier Raft Co. to build four guest cabins, a bed-and-breakfast and a pavilion within the Canyon zoning district on property located at 11957 U.S. 2 East, near West Glacier; it also unanimously recommended approval of the preliminary plat and planned unit development proposal for North Shore Vista, a 10-unit townhouse project on five acres along Chapman Hill Road in Bigfork, just south of Holt Drive.
Items that failed to earn a positive recommendation on Wednesday include:
. The preliminary plat for Whitefish River Ranch, a 16-lot single-family subdivision on 21 acres along Trumble Creek Road south of Birch Grove Road.
The board unanimously recommended denial of the project, in part because the internal road didn't meet the subdivision standards. There also were concerns about having individual wells and septic systems in this area; given that this property borders the proposed Two Rivers development, some board members also said the density in this subdivision was too low.
. A zone change from RC-1 to R-2 limited residential for 13 acres near the intersection of Holt Drive and Hanging Rock Drive near Bigfork.
This proposal was related to a complex dispute involving Eagle Bend and the recently approved Eagle Rock subdivision, which calls for 16 lots on 16 acres.
The board recommended denial on a 7-1 vote, largely because the dispute is confusing and it wasn't clear this zone change would solve anything. There also were concerns that the potential density was too high, given that R-2 zoning would allow three times as many homes to be built on the property.
. A subdivision text amendment related to special improvement district waivers of protest.
Earlier this year, the commissioners issued an edict requiring that this waiver be added as a condition of approval for all new subdivisions within the county's planning jurisdiction.
The intent is to make it easier for the county to create special improvement districts to pay for road improvements and for sewer and water infrastructure improvements. Rather than tax all property owners in the county to pay for these projects, only the property owners in the district where the improvements are located would be taxed.
However, the content of the waiver wasn't set before the edict was issued. Consequently, its wording changed at least six times before the commissioners even decided to hold a public hearing on the proposal, and it has changed at least three times since then.
On Wednesday, the planning board defeated a motion in favor of the waiver on a 7-1 vote. Several members were uncertain about the legality of the proposal; they also felt there should be a time limit on the waiver and were concerned about its impact on neighboring property owners.
All of these items will now go to the county commissioners for final action.