Hungry Horse Villages: Back to the board

A revamped subdivision in Hungry Horse will go back to the Flathead County Planning Board in April.

The four-phase development, Hungry Horse Villages, would create 132 dwelling units on 74 lots on 32.64 acres. Construction would include 37 single-family units, 31 town house units and 64 condominium units on six commonly owned lots. The 132 living units will range from 900-square-foot cabins to single family homes on 7,000-square-foot lots.

The proposed subdivision by Hungry Horse Development Partnership would be located just south and east of Canyon Elementary School.

In December 2006, the Planning Board rejected the proposal when it was called the South Fork Addition, a massive development that called for 904 units on 90 acres. The overall density of the previous project - between 10 and 20 units per acre - raised concern among board members. Single-family neighborhoods in Kalispell have a density of about five units per acre.

Developers Stephan Byrd and Dennis Konopatzke proposed a mix of housing options, including 16 single-family home lots, 92 duplex townhouse units, 162 triplex units and 634 multi-family apartment or condominium units.

LeRoy Byrd and Konopatzke purchased the former U.S. Forest Service property at auction for $2.38 million. The land used to be a neighborhood of homes owned by the Bureau of Reclamation during construction of the Hungry Horse Dam. The Forest Service auctioned off the land to pay for a new Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger District building.

When the Flathead County Planning and Zoning staff report recommended denial and the Planning Board voted 8-1 to recommend denial, the developers went back to the drawing board.

The new proposal calls for just 15 percent of the previous total units, and will be built on one-third the amount of land. That creates a density of about four units per acre.

Konopatzke said development is now broken down into much smaller steps. By building smaller homes in a clustered setting, the development allows for more open space and will minimize how many trees need to be cut down.

"I think we've got a nice little subdivision for the Hungry Horse," Konopatzke said. "I think it will be a nice addition for the area."

Part of the vision for the development is to build a village that locals can afford as well as providing potential vacation homes close to Glacier National Park.

"They will be low-maintenance with more natural landscaping," Konopatzke said. "Just take what you see there already and envision smaller, cabin-type homes."

Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com