Saddlehorn gets OK from Planning Board
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
The Daily Inter Lake
In marked contrast to many large development proposals, local residents Wednesday offered unanimous praise for a major mixed-use subdivision in the Bigfork area.
The Flathead County Planning Board gave it their support as well, voting 8-1 to recommend approval of the preliminary plat and planned-unit development agreement for the Saddlehorn subdivision.
The project was submitted by Doug Averill of Flathead Lake Lodge, together with Swan Mountain Partners LLC. It calls for 96 residential lots, seven commercial lots and 119 acres of open space on 240 wooded acres in the hills south of Montana 209.
The property overlooks Bigfork. Averill said a major intent of the subdivision is to ensure that the site gets developed in a way that doesn't diminish from the area's rural atmosphere.
"You won't be able to see it from the highway," Averill told the planning board. "We're making the buildings subordinate to the landscape. What we're trying to avoid is the wealthiest guy building the biggest house on the highest hill."
Saddlehorn is the first phase of an 800-acre, 320-lot development project. It would include 66 cabin lots, 30 estate home lots, a commercial lodge with restaurant and meeting rooms, 11 rental cabins, on-site housing units for 70-100 employees, a general store, spa and equestrian center.
"You need to take a good, hard look at what's going on in other parts of the country and adopt this [Saddlehorn] as a model of what subdivisions should look like," said Patricia Wagner, one of about 40 Bigfork residents who showed up in support.
No one spoke in opposition to the proposal.
The property is currently zoned SAG-5 suburban residential, which has a 5-acre minimum lot size. However, by submitting a planned-unit development application, Averill was able to bump the density up to an average of two units per five acres.
The lots range from 0.15 to 1.91 acres in size. They would be divided into small clusters, and would be served by public sewer and water service.
To address fire concerns, a new fire station would be built on site. Fire hydrants also would be installed throughout the subdivision.
The Planning Board's only major issue with the proposal had to do with roads.
To promote a unique, "western pioneer environment," the developers wanted to build country style avenues with 16-foot paved surfaces and two-foot hardened shoulders, rather than the 20-foot paved roadways called for in the county subdivision standards.
Roughly eight miles of private pedestrian and horse trails also would be built, to discourage automobile use. A transportation center with carts, carriages and shuttle buses would be available for homeowners as well.
Several board members, however, had concerns about the narrow road, partly because of comments from the Bigfork Fire Department and road problems that have occurred in previous subdivisions.
Before recommending approval of Saddlehorn, the board amended the proposal to require a 20-foot paved road surface.
The project now goes to the county commissioners for a final decision. Whether they'll take any action remains to be seen, though, given the absence of a new growth policy.
There are diverse legal opinions about whether they county can change any zoning until the new growth policy is adopted. There are also diverse opinions about whether a planned-unit development - which is typically considered a zoning overlay - actually counts as a change in zoning.
Planning Board president Jeff Larsen, the only board member to vote against Saddlehorn, said his opposition was based specifically on these legal uncertainties.
"It's not because I don't like your proposal," he said. "I think you guys did a good job."
The Planning Board is continuing its review of the draft growth policy, but when it will forward a recommendation to the commissioners is unclear.