Mall lawsuit goes to court Nov. 6
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
Wolford still "100 percent committed" to completing project
The Daily Inter Lake
A Nov. 6 hearing date has been scheduled to try and resolve the last remaining issue in the Wolford/Glacier Mall lawsuit.
The hearing before District Court Judge Kitty Curtis comes three years and a day after the Flathead County commissioners approved developer Bucky Wolford's master plan amendment request.
The intent of the hearing is to clarify whether the commissioners adequately considered public comment prior to approving the amendment.
The amendment allowed commercial and mixed-use residential/office uses on 481 acres northeast of the intersection of U.S. 93 and West Reserve Drive. A subsequent zone change was adopted as well.
Wolford has proposed a 735,000-square-foot enclosed mall, a 350,000-square-foot "power center" for big box stores, another 80 acres of peripheral commercial development and a 56-acre mixed-use residential/office area.
North 93 Neighbors, a group that opposes commercial development north of West Reserve, sued the county in December 2003, hoping to block both of the commissioners' decisions.
After losing in District Court in February 2005, the group appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.
The higher court affirmed the lower court's ruling on almost every point this summer.
However, four of five justices said the commissioners failed to demonstrate that all of the issues raised during the public comment period were adequately considered in their decision-making process.
More than 4,400 letters and e-mail messages were received on the amendment proposal.
Most raised similar concerns, such as traffic impacts, community character, the effect on existing businesses and commercial sprawl. However, a complete tally of issues was never compiled, so it's unclear if anything came up that wasn't fully considered by the commissioners.
Consequently, the Supreme Court sent that limited portion of the lawsuit back to District Court for further review.
Basically, the justices want the county to demonstrate that all the issues raised through public comment were adequately addressed in some manner. If it turns out that something was missed, they want the commissioners to go back and examine those items now to clarify the factual record.
If this last issue can be resolved, it would bring to an end five years of legal wrangling related to Glacier Mall. Alternatively, Judge Curtis's decision in this matter could be appealed back to the Supreme Court.
Flathead County has been sued three times since 2001, when Wolford first announced plans to build a shopping center here, by opponents seeking to block the development.
During that time, more than a million square feet of commercial space has been approved in the vicinity of U.S. 93 and West Reserve, and several national chain stores have located there.
Nevertheless, Wolford still feels the mall is a viable project.
"His commitment to seeing this project through is no less today than when I first talked with him," said Kalispell attorney Ken Kalvig, who has worked with Wolford for several years.
"This is still a project, it's a good project, and it's an important project. He's 100 percent committed to getting it done," Kalvig said. "As frustrating as this has been, he isn't going to quit."
Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com