Next phases of luxury development near Whitefish up for consideration
The Homestead, a nearly 1,700-acre luxury estate northwest of Whitefish, has been sold to a group of investors from Texas who have plans to further develop the remote property. (Courtesy photo)
A luxury estate in rural Whitefish is seeking approval from Flathead County for 24 homesites in its next phases of development.
The Homestead at Whitefish is a 1,400-acre property bordered on three sides by National Forest land. The four phases of the development were approved in 2005, but the third and fourth phases never reached final plat because of the recession.
The Flathead County Planning Board will consider the request, along with four other items on its agenda, on Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. in the second floor conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W., Kalispell.
The property located 13 miles north of Whitefish is near the intersection of Farm to Market and Star Meadow roads and includes 2 miles of Stillwater River frontage. Promotions for the gated community noted that owners can stay active with equestrian facilities and trails, hiking, biking, a 7-hole short golf course and a shooting and archery range, all while enjoying “breathtaking views.”
The owner, Stillwater Mountain Ranch, LLC, is requesting preliminary plat approval for the two phases of the subdivision. The original plan for the phases contained 17 lots, but the current proposal is for 24 lots on 626.18 acres along Mountain Home Road. The gross density of the project is one home per 26 acres and the project has 228 acres of open space. The lots would be served by individual wells and septic systems.
Noting that several streams flow through a portion of the property, the county planning staff report says the preliminary plat proposes open space areas and a 40-foot vegetative buffer from the center line of the intermittent streams. An environmental assessment notes that there are wetlands located in the area of Chinook Lake as part of the property and those are confined to the 176 acres of open space.
An eight residential lot subdivision on 40 acres accessed from North Somers Road in Lower Valley is also up for board consideration. The average lot size would be 5 acres.
Michael and Linda Arnold are seeking preliminary plat approval of the Porter Ranch Reserve, a subdivision that would be located south near Reed’s Slough and abuts the Blasdel Waterfowl Production Area. The property is undeveloped and is not zoned.
Also on the Planning Board agenda, Winter Sports, Inc. is seeking to rezone under an acre of land off Glades Drive on Big Mountain to allow for DREAM Adaptive Recreation for its future headquarters and recreation facilities. The rezone would change the zoning from Big Mountain resort residential to Big Mountain village.
Winter Sports has donated the parcel located near the beginner mountain terrain for DREAM to use as part of its offered winter recreation activities for persons with disabilities.
The board will consider a zone change request from Daniel and Virginia Jones for 4 acres at 60 West Reserve Drive near Kalispell. It would change the zoning from neighborhood/professional business to general business.
A zone change from Anysee and Sterling Norick is up for consideration for property at 328 Sirucek Lane near Kalispell. The proposal would change the zoning on 3.42 acres from SAG-10 to R-1.
The property is developed with a single-family residence, detached garage and various outbuildings.
Deputy Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.