Board to hold meeting on Riverdale

The Flathead County Planning Board will hold a special meeting Thursday for a public hearing on the proposed Riverdale Neighborhood Plan.

The neighborhood's public hearing was postponed from earlier this month due to a lack of planning board members.

The Riverdale Neighborhood Plan includes just more than 3,000 acres. The portion of largely agricultural land is located west of U.S. 93 sandwiched between Clark Drive and the Flathead County Landfill.

Riverdale residents have been working on a neighborhood plan for several years. Last year the plan was bounced back and forth between the planning board and county commissioners before eventually being redrafted.

According to the plan, the rural neighborhood is likely to become densely developed in the next 25 years. It states, "the Riverdale Neighborhood Plan area can be expected to increase from the current 37 residents to approximately 7,040 residents." That means nearly 200 times as many residents living in an average of 1 home per 1.086 acres.

Proposed land-use designations include:

. 1,641 acres of Residential Suburban that allows a range of 2.5-5 acres per dwelling unit.

. 787 acres of Residential Low that allows for 1 dwelling unit per 1 acre.

. 12 acres of Neighborhood Commercial that allows low density retail and service commercial uses that primarily serve local patrons. This would include neighborhood grocery stores, professional business offices, restaurants and gas stations.

. 228 acres of Mixed-use/Community Commercial that is intended to provide flexibility in design and promote a mix of commercial and housing options. It permits retail and service commercial uses that serve the community and tourist economy, such as, hotels banks, restaurants, duplexes, townhomes and apartment complexes.

. 240 acres are currently designated as a Conservation Easement. The land is located just north of Church Drive. No subdivision, commercial or industrial development is allowed within the easement area.

. 56 acres of Park Facilities might include public and private golf courses, regional parks and trail systems.

. 89 acres of Landfill Transition area is proposed as a way to compliment the industrial nature of the landfill. Use might include light industrial development such as warehouses, high-tech industrial businesses and recycling processing plants.

The proposed Riverdale Neighborhood Plan is available at www.co.flathead.mt.us/fcpz/drafts.html.

The meeting with be held Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Country Kitchen at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Reporter Amy May may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at amay@dailyinterlake.com