Planning Board rejects Willow Creek project
For the second time, the Kalispell Planning Board rejected plans to build a subdivision southwest of town because members thought it crammed in too much.
Developers Wade and Hubert Turner want Kalispell to annex Willow Creek's 139 acres with permission to build roughly 690 homes there.
The project's south border is Foy's Lake Road; Ashley Creek is the northern border. The future U.S. 93 bypass would be the eastern border. A sawmill used to occupy much of the site.
The Turners submitted a similar proposal - 711 homes and 216 storage units - to the board in October. The board said that proposal crammed too much into that site.
On April 10, the board began looking at a revised 710-home proposal - 288 houses, 82 townhouses and 24 multiple-family buildings that could hold as many as 340 condominiums.
Since then, Turners revised their proposal, removing plans for about 20 homes.
Several issues have emerged because of this project, including:
. The Turners seeking permission to put 184 houses on lots ranging in sizes from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet. The city government's recommended zoning for this area puts a minimum lot size at 7,000 square feet.
. The state wanting a 200-foot-wide buffer between Ashley Creek and the homes, but being able to live with a 150-foot width if appropriate vegetation is planted.
Originally, the Turners wanted mostly to follow the 150-foot mark with a few built-up areas encroaching into it. Since then, they have pulled every proposed building from within the 150-foot mark, which eliminated about 20 proposed homes.
. Parts of the area are filled in with debris from its sawmill days. Also, the water table is close to the surface. This creates concerns about the ground's ability to support buildings. The Turners conducted a soil survey of the site, providing assurances to the city staff that it could support the project.
Seventeen area residents signed a petition - submitted to the board Tuesday - that opposes the project.
Rick Hull was the only board member to support that project. Kari Gabriel was absent. The other five opposed it, chiefly because of the tight density, with some objections to a buffer of less than 200 feet.
The board tabled the matter to keep it at the Planning Board level until the Turners return with a new proposal. The intent was to keep the latest proposal from going to the Kalispell City Council with or without a recommendation from the board.
Board Chairman Tim Norton also voiced skepticism about the ground's stability in many spots - saying houses could settle downward years from now.
After Tuesdays' meeting, Hubert Turner objected to Norton's skepticism about the ground's stability.
"If Tim Norton accuses me of doing something improper, he damn well better bring evidence the next time," he said.
Norton later said: "I didn't accuse him of doing anything improper. … I was just looking after the city's interests."
Also on Tuesday, the board:
. Unanimously approved modifications to the almost 81-acre Valley Ranch project, the owners of which soon will approach the City Council to request annexation. These modifications are a planned unit development - which is a type of contract in which the city relaxes some zoning restrictions in return for the developer promising to put in specific mitigation measures.
Valley Ranch is east of U. 93, and touches the northern border of developer Bucky Wolford's Glacier Town Center mall-and-housing project, and the south side of Ponderosa Estates.
The Planning Board is recommending annexation. If annexed, the site could be a major link between the incorporated Silverbrook Estates and the rest of Kalispell two miles away.
Plans for Valley Ranch by Gateway Properties Inc. call for 204 houses, 29 townhouses and an assisted-living center with as many as 120 units.
At an April 10 public hearing, five people spoke against the project, and four supported it. Also, 53 of 73 households in Ponderosa Estates signed and turned in a 12-page protest against the project - citing a desire for more details, plus concerns about traffic and density.
Because the Ponderosa residents filed a formal protest with the support of more than 25 percent of the homeowners within 150 feet of Valley Ranch, state law requires at least six of the nine City Council members to support Gateway's requests before they can be approved.
. Recommended that the City Council annex 8.8 acres of Ashley Park Phase 9, with zoning to allow two-family homes with preliminary plans for 10 single-family houses and 24 townhouses. Somers Land Co. owns the site at the south end of Pintail Drive.
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com.