Permit sought for Evergreen senior housing

With a zone change now in hand, the developer of the proposed Evergreen Senior Condominiums project in Evergreen now must secure a conditional-use permit to allow multifamily dwellings on property behind Shopko and Super 1 Foods in Evergreen.

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, to consider the permit application. The meeting will be held in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.

Curtis Lund, on behalf of Smithlin Family LLC, proposes to build 144 senior-living dwellings on 11.36 acres along Spring Creek in a multistory configuration. He anticipates four apartment buildings for a total of 11,670 square feet.

The total footprint, according to the application, would be 72,627 square feet, which includes a parking lot, new roads and trails covering 14.4 percent of the property.

Road access is a key issue. Lund proposes primary access to the property via a new road connecting to the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 35. A secondary access would be Sager Lane, although the Flathead County Road Department noted in its comments that Sager Lane is an unmaintained county right of way.

“Our records show this road to be a 16.5 foot wide right of way for approximately 415 feet in length,” the department wrote in its comments. “At its terminus the applicant must then head east for a few hundred feet to get to the location of the proposed facility. We do not believe there is a perfected county right of way on this eastern leg.”

The Road Department further noted there appears to be adequate access to the property with the proposed new road connecting with U.S. 2 and Montana 35.

News Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.