Hearing on mall delayed

The Daily Inter Lake

For the second time in as many months, a District Court hearing about the Glacier Mall project has been postponed.

The hearing, which was prompted by a Montana Supreme Court decision during the summer, could resolve the last legal issue that's preventing the $150 million project from moving forward.

Specifically, the hearing will address whether the voluminous public comment on the mall raised any new issues that weren't considered by the Flathead County commissioners when they approved a master-plan amendment for the project in fall 2003.

The hearing initially was scheduled for Nov. 6, but it was bumped to today after questions were raised regarding who could testify and what they could testify about.

Now, at the request of the attorneys involved in the case, the hearing has been rescheduled again, to March 8.

Developer Bucky Wolford first proposed building a retail mall in the Flathead in January 2000. At the time, he indicated it would be the largest shopping center in Montana.

Since then, mall opponents have sued Flathead County twice and Kalispell once. Kalispell also sued the county once. Two of the lawsuits were appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. Wolford also switched the location of the mall, moving it from Evergreen to a 481-acre site on the east side of U.S. 93, just north of the Semitool manufacturing plant.

Two of the lawsuits were resolved once Wolford relocated the project. Almost every court ruling in the other two cases supported the county. The only unfavorable ruling came last summer, when four of five Supreme Court justices said they wanted further proof that the commissioners considered all of the issues raised during the public comment period.

Despite the legal delays, Wolford has indicated that he still thinks there's an opportunity here and remains committed to building the mall.