County planning board looks at 125-home subdivision for Bigfork
A proposal to create a subdivision with 125 single-family homes in Bigfork goes before the Flathead County Planning Board on Wednesday.
Wyoming-based Longbow Land Partners is proposing to build the Northshore Woods housing subdivision on 105 acres that is currently vacant between Montana 35 and Bigfork Stage Road, near the intersection of the highway and Peaceful Drive.
The company says the goal of the project is to “help address the housing crisis facing Montana.” The proposal has drawn strong objections from residents with regard to the impact to traffic as well as water and sewer service.
The county Planning Board meets at 6 p.m. in the South Campus Building at 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell. Recommendations from the planning board regarding the requests are forwarded to the Flathead County commissioners for final consideration.
The company is seeking a zone change from residential cluster to one family limited residential, a planned unit development overlay and a preliminary plat for the property for the first 51 residential lots. The entire project would be completed in five phases over 20 years.
The developer is seeking to reduce the minimum lot area from 20,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, as well as, reduce setback requirements.
The PUD would allow the developer flexibility, the planning staff report notes, in expanding or shrinking the final build-out to meet the development demands of the county. The plan calls for 12 acres of designated park space.
The submitted traffic impact study shows that the project could generate about 1,200 average daily vehicle trips. That works out to a potential traffic increase along Peaceful Drive of 626% and by 102% along Bigfork Stage. The planning staff report findings say that the increase in traffic could be detrimental to the surrounding neighborhoods and that the plan does not make adequate provisions for vehicular traffic.
The company says it would improve and pave the existing gravel Bigfork Stage Road along the proposed development’s frontage in an attempt to mitigate traffic issues. The development would provide sidewalks and trails.
The Bigfork Water and Sewer District would be able to serve the subdivision, but that would put the district at capacity in terms of sewer service.
Bigfork Fire Chief Jeremy Patton at a recent meeting raised concerns about the density of the subdivision and the request to reduce the setbacks given the risk of wildfire in the area.
The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee on July 27 voted to recommend the denial of the three requests associated with the proposed subdivision.
ALSO ON the Planning Board agenda are five other public hearings.
Mummy Mountain, LLC is seeking preliminary plat approval of Green Valley-Fifth Filing, a proposal to create nine residential lots on 92.19 acres at 279 Green Valley Lane near Columbia Falls.
Roxy Zomer is seeking preliminary plat approval to expand Glacier Meadow RV Park on U.S. 2 in Essex. The proposal would add 32 RV sites to the property which is 55 acres.
Kindal and Bonni Murry are requesting preliminary plat approval of Murrymede Subdivision, which includes two residential lots on 15.7 acres. The property is located at 1795 Fairview Cemetery Road, Columbia Falls.
Jim Chavez is seeking a preliminary plat for Columbia Falls, LLC subdivision to create five residential lots on 8.825 acres. The property is located at 4965 U.S. 2, Columbia Falls.
A zone change is being requested by JBC 12, LLC for a parcel on Ash Road from suburban residential to general business. The total acreage is 8.145 acres.