Redesigned subdivisions go before planners today
The Daily Inter Lake
The Flathead County Planning Board has a full agenda tonight, with public hearings scheduled for five subdivision proposals totaling 178 lots.
The agenda includes two projects that had been recommended for denial and since have been redesigned.
Whitefish River Ranch South was the first subdivision proposed as part of the Two Rivers area north of Kalispell.
The project initially was submitted as a 62-lot subdivision with 47 single-family lots and 15 townhouse units. However, the Planning Board recommended denial by a 3-2 vote in November; the county commissioners also rejected the proposal.
The redesigned subdivision calls for 52 single-family lots on 80 acres on the west side of Trumble Creek Road north of Rose Crossing.
Besides reducing the number of lots and eliminating the townhouses, the developer is providing a public bike path through the subdivision, from Trumble Creek Road to the Whitefish River. A 100-foot riparian strip along the river also would be open to the public.
Finally, the developer is offering to rebuild the portion of Trumble Creek Road that fronts the subdivision. He also would add 2-foot shoulders along Trumble Creek south to Rose Crossing; those improvements would be subject to a latecomers agreement, meaning future developments along the road would have to reimburse Whitefish River Ranch for a portion of the cost.
Sweetgrass Ranch was recommended for denial in December by a 6-1 vote of the Planning Board.
The project initially was submitted for 64 lots. It now calls for 55 lots on 125 acres on the east side of Montana 206 just north of the intersection with Montana 35.
Lots in the subdivision would range from 0.7 to 1.1 acres. They would be served by onsite community sewer and water systems.
Almost half the acreage in the subdivision would be set aside as parkland or open space, including a 35-acre wildlife corridor encompassing an old-growth forest and creek along the southern boundary of the project.
Other agenda items include:
. The preliminary plat for Spruce Meadows, a 30-lot single-family subdivision on 39 acres located off Lake Blaine Road about a quarter-mile east of Montana 35.
The lots would be served by individual septic systems and a public water system.
. The preliminary plat for Landmark Condominiums, a 36-unit condominium project on 3.1 acres along U.S. 93 on Somers Bay.
The project would be served by public sewer and water.
. The preliminary plat for Timber Rock Estates, a five-lot single-family subdivision on 54 acres off Raven Ridge Road, near Lakeside.
The Planning Board meets at 6 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W., in Kalispell.