Northshore Woods back on BLUAC agenda for July meeting

The topic that drew more than 100 concerned citizens to June’s meeting of the Bigfork Land Use Advisory Council is back on the agenda for July 27.

The council was set to review three requests by Longbow Land Partners, Inc. pertaining to the planned housing development June 29, but the company withdrew its applications from consideration after Project Manager Michael Brodie of the WGM Group requested a continuance, stating the developers had not received the county’s staff reports on the project until two hours prior to the 4 p.m. meeting.

Now, with time to review the county’s findings, the company is set to once again go before BLUAC to discuss its plans.

Located at 8095 MT Highway 35 (the area behind Dairy Queen to the south and El Topo Cantina to the north), the currently vacant area is proposed to be developed by Longbow Land Partners, LLC of Jackson, Wyoming.

According to a planned unit development overlay application filed with Flathead County Planning and Zoning March 30, the company intends to build 125 single-family units on the property and is asking the county to cut the required lot size in half to do so.

While the staff reports released before last month’s meeting were generally in favor of the preliminary plat of the project and the developer’s request to change the zoning of the area from R1 to R2, the county’s findings pertaining to the Planned Unit Development (PUD)request cut lot sizes in half and the proposed amount of dedicated park space were not as favorable.

The county’s staff report, filed June 28, states the proposed PUD “does not appear to comply with the established review criteria based upon the Findings of Fact” and goes on to list a number of conditions the developer would have to meet if the project were to be approved to “mitigate potential issues, as best as possible.”

Traffic issues appeared to be the main concern in the report, with potential congestion being referenced several times.

“...a departure from the density requirements of the proposed R-2 zone may not be in the public’s best interest because it could result in an excessive generation of traffic at full build out,” the report said.

While a traffic impact study funded by the developer and conducted by WGM Group, Inc of Missoula found the proposed Northshore Woods development will generate new traffic, their analysis shows that the proposed site approaches will operate at a very good level of service during the peak hours.

The county disagrees.

Citing the study’s findings that traffic could increase along Peaceful Drive by as much as 626% and 102% along Bigfork Stage Road, the county staff report found that “such an increase of such proportion along Peaceful Drive has the potential to create an unacceptable level of service.”

In addition to its traffic concerns, the county report also calls into question the amount of dedicated park space designated in the proposed plan.

“Parkland dedication associated with the proposed PUD is inadequate in both amount and function because of the high density of the development and because the majority of the parkland area proposed to be dedicated is unusable by the standards laid out in the Subdivision Regulations,” the report states.

BLUAC will make a recommendation on the requests which are forwarded to the Flathead County Planning Board, which then makes a recommendation that is forwarded to the county commissioners for a final vote.

As the planning board waits to hear the recommendation of BLUAC, it has also been hearing from the public in regards to the project, receiving more than 20 public comments — all but one in opposition to the housing development.

“There is only one exit to Hwy 35 with no stop light and a steep grade. In the event of a large forest fire, the resulting traffic jam could be life threatening. The exit to the Bigfork Stage road routes traffic past a daycare center, a church and the pickup point for the school system. This is a threat to the safety of school children and pedestrians,” Jay Whitney wrote in one comment.

“So, along comes a developer with the plan to add 160 new homes, solving some of the housing issues, creating local jobs and all the locals can do is complain? It is all about pulling up the ladder. We hope you will consider what is best for community development and ignore all of the self centered hoopla,” Janet Fitzpatrick wrote in another.

While BLUAC has pushed back its normal starting time to 5:30 p.m. for the July 27 meeting to help accomodate the large number of people expected to attend, the meeting will once again be held at Bethany Lutheran Church as BLUAC would be unable to provide the insurance indemnity required to hold the meeting at the high school.

BLUAC said it is attempting to borrow public announcement equipment to help at the July 27 meeting, but will be unable to stream the meeting online via Zoom or any other internet streaming service.