Trumbull Creek developer requests delayed annexation
The developer of a proposed 158-acre housing and industrial subdivision just north of Evergreen wants the land eventually to be annexed into Kalispell.
But construction schedules have him seeking a complicated type of delayed annexation.
And questions exist about whether Kalispell legally can accept all of the sewage that the subdivisions might produce. That question is a significant factor as the city and the Evergreen Water and Sewer District renegotiate a 1990 agreement about sewage services in that area.
The Kalispell City Council discussed these issues at a Monday workshop session at which no votes were legally allowed. The issues will be discussed more at a later date.
The 158 acres being developed by Mike Andres are north of East Reserve Drive and east of U.S. 2.
Andres split the project - Trumbull Creek Crossing - into at least two phases, which are:
. Phase One, which is the former Kelsey Subdivision. It has 18 acres with 54 lots. Andres wants to finish building houses there by summer.
. Phase Two, which is 140 acres and includes all of Andres' land adjacent to U.S. 2. it borders the north side of Phase One.
Although Phase Two is still in the brainstorming stage, plans call for a 30-acre industrial and commercial park along U.S. 2, plus 609 houses and 22 acres of parks. Andres is trying convince Cenex to move its downtown grain elevators. He also is wooing two or three other prospective industrial-park tenants. Andres hopes to begin construction on Phase Two by spring 2008.
Right now, Andres has county approval to go ahead with Phase One. Meanwhile, he would need about 120 days to shepherd Phase One through the city planning approval and annexation process - which would mean he would not be able to begin construction until late summer.
Andres wants to begin building as soon as possible to finish a significant number of houses by mid-summer.
Consequently, he is asking the city to declare his land an annexation district.
In an annexation district, the city would have as long as 10 years to annex the land. But it could assess taxes on the landowners before annexation to build up funds to provide services to that area eventually. Andres said he would develop the land to Kalispell's road, water, sewer and parks standards.
Some council members had qualms about annexation districts.
They didn't want Kalispell to be tied down to a 10-year deadline, preferring to annex the land when the owner requests it. They also thought the annexation-district concept is too convoluted - again preferring the relative simplicity of a straight annexation.
Another wrinkle is that Trumbull Creek Crossing is roughly a mile from Kalispell - potentially setting up a 158-acre "island" of city surrounded by unincorporated Flathead County. There are divisions within Kalispell's politics on whether it is creating too many incorporated "islands" away from the main city.
If an annexation district is set up, its homeowners likely would be assessed city taxes before annexation and impact fees afterward - two ways of helping the city to pay for services needed by the new residents.
Some council members thought this would be charging the incoming residents twice for the same services, provoking protests. Some thought this scenario would be unfair to the owners of homes and businesses in Trumbull Creek Crossing.
A few council members preferred that Andres sign a waiver forbidding protests by landowners of any annexation attempts - in return for the city beginning to provide water and sewer services this year. The city has a similar agreement with the nearby 39-acre, 91-lot Cottonwood Subdivision, which is sending its sewage through Evergreen to the Kalispell treatment plant.
However, City Attorney Charles Harball said future homeowners in Trumbull Creek Crossing might have a strong legal case against annexation, because each did not personally sign that waiver.
Another complication is Trumbull Creek Crossing - along with Cottonwood - sending sewage through Evergreen to the Kalispell treatment plant.
The city and district signed an agreement in 1990 in which Evergreen cannot expand beyond its borders without Kalispell's permission. That agreement entitles Evergreen to an average of 682,000 gallons a day of Kalispell's treatment plant's 3.1-million-gallon-a-day capacity.
Evergreen has been sending about 450,000 gallons a day. Kalispell's plant is processing at least 2.9 million gallons a day, with additional sewage expected.
Evergreen does not have a sewage-treatment plant. But it is studying whether to build one.
Meanwhile, subdivisions north of the Evergreen sewer district - the border being East Reserve Drive - want to hook up with the Kalispell treatment plant to avoid going with septic tanks, which would present many environmental and regulatory problems.
That means those subdivisions - such as Trumbull Creek Crossing and Cottonwood - have to use Evergreen sewer lines to reach Kalispell's system. That means renting use of Evergreen's system.
Evergreen and Kalispell have somewhat agreed politically that the outlying subdivisions north of Evergreen could transfer as many as 100,000 gallons a day through Evergreen sewers to the city. However, that volume never was specified in legal paperwork between the city and district, Harball said.
Anyway, 100,000 gallons a day are not enough for the 663 homes and an unknown number of businesses proposed for Trumbull Creek Crossing, on top of Cottonwood's 91 potential homes.
Kalispell Public Works Director Jim Hansz calculated that 612 homes in the two subdivisions would send 130,000 gallons a day through Evergreen.
However, Kalispell and Evergreen are in the potentially final stages of modifying the 1990 agreement.
One tentative modification is that the outlying subdivisions can send any amount of sewage through Evergreen, and the district would bill Kalispell on the actual volume.
Other potential modifications include:
. If Evergreen builds its own sewage-treatment plant, Kalispell won't object to the district serving homes and businesses beyond its current border.
. If Evergreen puts sewer lines in a subdivision, it will own those lines until (if and when) Kalispell annexes that land. Then Kalispell would assume ownership of those lines.
. If the Evergreen plant is built, it could end up serving some Kalispell residents in the outlying areas - taking some burden from the city plant. If that occurs, Evergreen won't be allowed to charge those outlying Kalispell residents more than 110 percent of the city sewage fees.
The Evergreen board of directors is scheduled today to discuss those proposed modifications.
Another factor in the Evergreen-Kalispell sewage plans is that the city is expanding its plant capacity to 6 million gallons a day. That expansion is scheduled to be finished in 2008.
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com