Board rejects Bigfork planning change
A major growth-policy amendment in the Bigfork area failed to earn a positive recommendation from the Flathead County Planning Board on Wednesday, despite nearly unanimous support from the audience.
A motion to approve the Quarter Horse LA Ranch Neighborhood Plan failed on a 5-3 vote. The proposal will now go to the county commissioners for a final decision.
The neighborhood plan was submitted by the Averill family, which owns Flathead Lake Lodge. It covers 640 acres in the hills southeast of the Montana 209-Montana 35 intersection.
Fourteen people spoke in favor of the proposal, praising the Averills for their longtime commitments to the Bigfork community, their use of environmentally sensitive logging techniques, and for the quality and thoroughness of their plan.
During the debate about an unrelated growth-policy amendment last year, some of the same speakers had urged the board to deny that application, asking instead that it declare a moratorium on growth-policy changes until the overall policy is updated.
The board disappointed them that time, too, declining the moratorium request and approving the amendment.
Wednesday's vote was partially influenced by references in the Quarter Horse application to an additional 160 acres of timberland, south of the main 640-acre tract.
The application indicated that this area would be preserved as open space in a subsequent, 319-unit residential development. Plans for that project have not been submitted.
Several board members said they were reluctant to approve the amendment because of the way the 160 acres were laid out.
Rather than cover a consolidated block, the open space was strung out for about a mile, along narrow corridors.
The board also wanted more information about the potential traffic and environmental effects related to the residential development.
"We're talking about 3,000 vehicle trips per day," said board member Charles Lapp.
Planning Director Jeff Harris said he was concerned about these same issues. However, he thought they could be addressed more appropriately when the residential development application was submitted.
"The neighborhood plan is just giving you a preview of things to come," he said. "We're OK with that. More detailed work would be handled during the development application."
Despite these assurances, board members balked at approving the amendment. Knowing that it would set the stage for the residential project, they wanted more information up front, to be sure that problems don't occur later.
"I don't understand why we'd approve something we all have a problem with," said board member Jeff Larsen. "We need to start out with a solid building block."
A motion to table the amendment until the applicant completed a traffic analysis and environmental analysis failed on a 4-4 vote. The motion to recommend approval then failed on a 3-5 vote, with board members Don Hines, Tim Calaway, Jeff Larsen, Charles Lapp and Cal Scott voting in opposition.
In a press release Thursday, Doug Averill said he hopes the county commissioners "will see the value in this neighborhood plan and approve the framework for growth that is consistent with the land use and master plan goals."
In other action Wednesday, the Planning Board recommended approval of:
-The preliminary plat of McCaffery Woods, a seven-lot single-family residential subdivision on 33 acres at 594 McCaffery Road, near Bigfork.
- A zone change from AG-80 to AG-20 agricultural for 40 acres at 2088 Trumble Creek Road.
- The preliminary plat of Painted Horse Ranch, a 12-lot single-family residential subdivision on 20 acres at 1225 Mooring Road, southeast of Columbia Falls.
- The preliminary plat of Crown Jewel Estates, a 27-lot residential subdivision on 40 acres located off Lower Valley Road, just north of Montana 35.
- The preliminary plat of Deer Creek Heights, a six-lot single-family residential subdivision on six acres east of U.S. 93, just south of Somers.
Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com.