Change in a small town

Almost 1,000 new housing units on drawing board for Somers

Two recent development proposals near Somers could quadruple the number of housing units available in that area over the next 10 to 15 years.

The first, Meadowbrook Place, is a 195-lot subdivision proposed on 52 acres just east of the elementary school, between Sunnybrook Lane and Somers Road.

A three-lot subdivision, Klondyke Acres, was proposed on this property six months ago. That application was subsequently withdrawn.

Meadowbrook Place, by contrast, includes 76 single-family lots, 32 premium lots, one common lot and 86 duplex townhouse units. It comes before the Flathead County Planning Board for a public hearing on Wednesday.

The second major proposal is Cooper Farms, a growth policy amendment that would accommodate up to 800 homes on 362 acres on the north side of Montana 82, west of School Addition Road.

The amendment initially was submitted to the Flathead County Planning Office in July. It was pulled almost immediately to address some new planning requirements, but a revised version was submitted in December.

A public hearing on that proposal has yet to be scheduled.

The 995 housing units involved in these two projects are almost four times the number of homes counted in the Somers area during the 2000 census. The census found 263 housing units, of which 233 were occupied, with a total population of 556.

The availability of public sewer service seems to be driving this development.

Somers has its own sewer district, which includes the Meadowbrook property, although it doesn't have a treatment facility.

In an arrangement similar to the one between Evergreen and Kalispell, Somers pays the Lakeside sewer district to treat its sewage. An interlocal agreement gives it the right to 45,000 gallons per day of treatment capacity. It's currently using about 30,000 gallons, according to Jim Heim, general manager of the Lakeside district.

The Meadowbrook application estimates that the subdivision would generate almost 68,000 gallons of sewage per day once it's fully developed.

"They [Somers] wouldn't have enough capacity left to serve Meadowbrook," Heim said. However, "at the December meeting, our board agreed to sell additional capacity to them."

Rita Graham, general manager of the Somers district, said her board is still evaluating Lakeside's offer. Depending on the cost, it might make more sense for Somers to build its own treatment facility.

"There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before we can sign an agreement with Lakeside," Graham said. "We hope to work out an agreement with them that would allow growth to continue."

The Meadowbrook Place property, together with an adjacent 12-acre parcel, is one of the few large, undeveloped sites remaining inside the Somers district, she said.

"Our position has been that if it's inside the district, we have to figure out a way to serve it," Graham said. "There's been no talk of denying service based on [treatment] capacity. We aren't in the planning or zoning business. We're a utility. Our job is to provide service."

Cooper Farms, on the other hand, is outside the Somers district. Consequently, it's still an open question as to who would provide service to that area.

The developer reportedly has contacted Kalispell about the possibility of extending municipal sewer lines south to Montana 82. Conversations also have taken place with Lakeside.

"It's right next to our treatment facility, so for us to serve it would be a no-brainer," Heim said. "We already serve the White Oak Lodge. This would just be infill between our treatment facility and the areas we serve."

Lakeside operates an aerated lagoon treatment system, combined with storage tanks and land applications. After the sewage is treated, it's stored until spring or summer, then sprayed onto agricultural fields and tilled into the ground.

The district is currently running at about 40 percent of capacity, Heim said. Including Somers, it currently serves about 1,500 "EDUs," or equivalent dwelling units.

EDUs are used to convert restaurants, hotels and other nonresidential customers into their residential equivalent. Each unit is the equivalent of a single home.

Consequently, Lakeside still has enough treatment capacity to serve another 2,000 or so homes. The sewer district also owns more land, so it has room to grow.

"Within the next 10 years, we'll have to start expanding," Heim said. "Our annual flows have been pretty flat for the last five years, but we're starting to see an increase. Our hook-up fee is $3,426 per EDU, so this new development will help pay for any expansion - but we aren't going to be the wastewater treatment site for the entire Lower Valley."

The overall density for Meadowbrook Place would be 3.75 units per acre.

The primary road access to the project would be off Somers Road, with secondary access via Sunnybrook Lane.

The application estimates that the subdivision would add 75 to 157 school-age children to the Somers elementary school district and Kalispell or Bigfork high school districts.

Excluding 102 acres of wetlands - which would be set aside as a natural area with pedestrian trails - Cooper Farms would have an average density of 3.4 units per acre.

In addition, the amendment proposes a 19-acre neighborhood commercial area along Montana 82, which would provide room for a midsize supermarket, a bank and other office-type uses.

Primary access to Cooper Farms would be off U.S. 93, via Somers Stage Road, as well as two connections on Montana 82.

The application estimates that the project would be developed over a 15-year period. If the neighborhood plan is approved, one or more subdivision proposals would have to be submitted before any construction could begin.

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In related news, a neighborhood plan for the Somers village area could soon be completed.

The proposal, which outlines the type of future development the community would like to see, only addresses the Somers townsite, the school area and the former Burlington Northern railroad tie yard.

Other areas, including the Seven Row neighborhood on the west side of U.S. 93, as well as most of the residential areas along School Addition Road and Somers Road, are outside the plan boundaries.

Dennis Hatton, owner of the Somers Bay Cafe and one of the proponents of the neighborhood plan, said the document should be finished sometime this month. It will then go to the county planning board for a public hearing, with final approval up to the county commissioners.

"Somers hasn't changed much over the years," said Hatton, who's lived there for 25 years. "Our idea is to save as much of the community we can. We all came here for a certain lifestyle, and when we see it disappearing, it makes people nervous. We want to have some say in how development happens. We're trying to keep our little island in the storm."

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com