Neighbors take first punch at Boardwalk project

Both sides of a controversial resort development in Whitefish came armed with information to Thursday's public hearing for the Boardwalk at Whitefish Lake. It was Round 1 in the quest to get planning approval for the 41-acre project.

Developer Bayard Dominick was flanked by several hired consultants who are working on studies of wildlife, wetlands and traffic. The public carried with it the collective knowledge of having lived in the area for years - some for decades - and insight about how valuable the wetlands are to that area.

Round 2 is slated for Nov. 17, at which time the Whitefish City-County Planning Board could vote on the planned-unit development for Boardwalk, or choose to study it further.

Dominick proposes to build 167 residential units, mostly condominiums, on property split into two pieces, a 38-acre tract of land east of Wisconsin Avenue and 3 acres on the west side of the road that includes 270 feet of Whitefish Lake shoreline. A commercial element of the project includes a bar and restaurant on the lakeside property and a spa-health club, recreation center and sales office on the east side of Wisconsin.

Dominick, who's been working on the Boardwalk concept for five years, said he was at the hearing to listen to public concerns so that he and his consultants can address them.

"We haven't drawn a line in the sand," he assured the Planning Board and audience.

Roughly a third of the Boardwalk property is wetlands, but current zoning on the property would allow as many as 850 dwelling units.

Barry Dutton of the Missoula-based Land and Water Consulting told the board he's been hired to evaluate the natural-resource issues of the property and said that the Army Corps of Engineers will conduct its own evaluation in a four- to 12-month process that will involve public input.

Dutton said wetlands on the site could be used as a sort of treatment system for storm-water runoff, filtering water before it runs to the lake. That idea drew questions from Planning Board Chairman Nick Palmer, who wondered whether that would mean "feeding pollutants to wildlife" on the property. He asked about how pesticide and herbicide residue would factor into water filtering.

Dutton maintained soil sediment is the biggest factor in runoff, along with low levels of hydrocarbons.

"It's not like we're taking toxic soup and putting it into the wetlands," he said.

When asked by a board member whether he were paid to support the developer, Dutton said no.

"We're not the firm that just comes in and defends the [development] plan," he said. "I expect you'll see a different plan when we come in next time."

Joe Elliott, a biologist working for Land and Water Consulting, said he's leading the wildlife study. He had visited the site for the first time this week, but was a consultant when Dan Averill proposed development there more than a decade ago.

Elliott acknowledged that the "public has a pretty good idea of what goes on the property."

Bob Abilene, a traffic consultant from Helena, started studying traffic along Wisconsin Avenue two weeks ago, noting the load is about 10,000 cars a day toward Edgewood Avenue and 6,000 vehicles a day near the Boardwalk site. Two-lane highways such as Wisconsin can handle between 12,000 to 15,000 vehicle trips a day, he said.

Later during the hearing, the board learned that Abilene's traffic counts were taken from a 2002 study, but Abilene said his most recent observations suggested the traffic level seemed to be about the same.

Then it was the public's turn to cut loose on the project.

"The good-old-boy network must have been working overtime when they zoned this," Karen Reeves said, wondering why property with so much wetland was zoned for high densities.

Reeves suggested taking traffic counts not during October, an off-season month, but during the summer or ski season. The irony of this project, she said, is that Whitefish Lake, sought after for its pristineness, will "get run roughshod over" with this development.

Several neighbors said they've noticed groundwater changes since fill dirt was dumped in sizable quantities on the Boardwalk property this summer. Most of the fill is from Averill's new resort lodge across the street from Boardwalk.

"I'm getting water in my basement, and it's coming up from the bottom," said a woman who lives on Reservoir Road above the Boardwalk property.

Jim Stack of the Whitefish Lakeshore Protection Committee said his group hasn't taken a position on the project, but has submitted a list of concerns to the Planning Board.

Among those concerns is the "pyramiding" on Whitefish Lake, having up to 167 residents using the 270 feet of lake frontage. That's about eight times the maximum number of users that would be reasonable for that amount of shoreline, Stack said. Lake contamination and the viability of a private marina in that shallow part of the lake were other concerns of the lakeshore committee.

Amy Chadwick of Watershed Consulting, who has been hired by concerned neighbors, said a storm-water analysis and a probe of the effect of fill on the runoff are key studies that must be done.

Neighborhood worries boiled down to increased traffic, wetlands preservation and wildlife protection.

After the hearing, board member Lisa Horowitz said she believes more time is needed to thoroughly study all of the facets of the project.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.