River Highlands developer pulls application for C-Falls housing project
An aerial view of property proposed to be developed with 455 housing units east of Columbia Falls. River Road is on the left. (Hungry Horse News photo)
The developer behind the proposed River Highlands subdivision has pulled its application for the housing project.
City Manager Susan Nicosia confirmed the developer had pulled the application on Tuesday. The Columbia Falls City Council was expected to take it up at a special meeting on Aug. 29.
The withdrawal comes after Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board at a five-and-a-half hour long meeting earlier this month. The board voted against the proposal after hearing from dozens of residents opposed to the development and receiving more than 300 letters against it as well.
As designed, River Highlands featured 455 units on 49.1 acres just east of the U.S. 2 Flathead River Bridge.
Residents were almost universally opposed. They expressed concerns about the density, the height of the buildings, impacts to the Flathead River, traffic and changing the rural character of the area, which is mostly homes on larger lots or small family ranches.
Traffic is already a major problem on River Road and U.S. 2. The day after the planning board hearing, for example, a car struck a truck with a camper at the intersection. The truck tipped over, and the car and the camper were ruined, but no one was hurt in the wreck.
The developer was also asking for permission to exceed the city’s height regulations, which cap height at 35 feet. The developer wanted a variance to go 45 feet.
The acreage was originally proposed, and approved — as a subdivision back in 2008. The original plan called for 151 lots with single family homes, condominiums and townhomes.
But the housing market crashed and that project was scratched.
River Highlands was designed to be completely composed of rentals. The development would feature a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments and townhomes.
All told, as designed it featured about 9.2 dwellings per acre — a density that was higher than most of the city proper
James Barnett, the developer for the project, could not be immediately reached for comment.