Meadow Lake project approved

The Columbia Falls City Council unanimously approved a planned-unit development and subdivision request for the Glacier Village at Meadow Lake Resort project at their Feb. 19 meeting. A resolution on the request will be presented at the council’s March 4 meeting.

The project calls for building 14 four-plexes and a hotel expansion on 7.14 acres east of the existing hotel and clubhouse and north of the golf course’s 15th fairway. The Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board unanimously approved the request by Meadow Lake Resort Development on Jan. 15.

The Spyglass Gardens project, approved for the same site in 2007, under the existing zoning with a conditional-use permit, had called for seven 10-plexes. One of the 10-plexes and the accompanying recreation center were built.

Planning consultant Eric Mulcahy explained that developers Bill Kahle and Kevin Holliday had requested deviations from the city’ street regulations. The private road servicing the project would be narrower, with a sidewalk on only one side and with no curbs or gutters. Mulcahy noted that earlier projects at Meadow Lake followed the same deviations.

Mulcahy explained that the 10-plex units were difficult to market and created large paved parking areas. The smaller units would be easier to finance, would be spread out over the entire seven acre site, and would have less mass and bulking, with two stories instead of three.

One of the project’s 15 conditions was amended after Columbia Falls fire chief Rick Hagen recommended each unit have an emergency egress in case of a vehicle fire in the covered carport located at each four-plex’s main entrance.

Mulcahy also responded to a letter submitted to the planning board by Realtor Barb Riley that raised 15 issues. Mulcahy said the developers were not responsible for addressing parking issues outside the PUD area, and that increased traffic in the resort was addressed when the project site’s density was approved earlier.

He explained that the city could not require ADA-compliant elevators in the four-plexes because the city has no jurisdiction over building regulations outside the city limits. He also noted that the city doesn’t have a tree preservation ordinance to protect native trees where the hotel expansion would go.

Columbia Falls city attorney Justin Breck said he was comfortable with Mulcahy’s interpretations and recommendations.

In conclusion, mayor Don Barnhart noted that having a local governing body — the city of Columbia Falls — reviewing planning requests at Meadow Lake ensured better results than what had happened in the past under county review.