Columbia Falls council OKs big subdivision

With little fanfare, the Columbia Falls City Council has approved one of the largest subdivisions in years.

Columbia Falls developer Mick Ruis has laid out a planned-unit development on a little more than 28 acres, of which about 40%, or 11.42 acres, would be preserved as open space as wetlands bisected by Garnier Creek.

The development, called Garnier Heights, would have a variety of housing in clusters. It would include 48 fourplexes and 28 duplexes, as well as 26 single-family detached homes — 102 units total.

The development would span a parcel of land from Meadow Lake Boulevard to North Hilltop Road.

The single-family lots would be on the west side of the property — some would face North Hilltop Road. Most of the land to the south, north and east of the property is owned by Weyerhaeuser.

It's one of the largest subdivisions in years in Columbia Falls. The city plans to annex the property and serve it with sewer and water.

A sewer main already runs by the property as it serves Meadow Lake Resort. The city recently put in a third well, so water won't be a problem, city staff have noted, but water lines would have to be extended to the property.

In June, the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board went over the application in a 2 1/2-hour meeting, to assure it had an adequate bus stop, playground equipment and other amenities.

Mayor Don Barnhart noted the plan is one of the most thorough he's ever seen.

The bigger concern with the subdivision isn't the development itself, which takes pains to protect wetlands and streams in its interior, but the traffic on the roads outside the development.

Meadow Lake Boulevard and North Hilltop Road are both county roads and will likely remain that way since they primarily serve county residents.

However, they have no sidewalks or bike paths and are both fairly narrow.

They also don't have dedicated green-light turning lanes to access them from U.S. 2.

One condition requires Ruis to at least consult with the Montana Department of Transportation on having a dedicated light at the intersections.

Separately, the city will release a transportation plan this fall. In the development of that plan, the public identified both intersections as problem areas for motorists trying to make left turns.

The development itself will likely take several years to build out. The city plans to annex the street that serves the development, which would be about a mile long.

The council approved both the subdivision and the planned-unit development that allows for cluster housing on portions of the property.