Planning board OKs GPI RV Park on a 5-3 vote

After a marathon meeting Wednesday night, the Flathead County Planning Board voted 5-3 to approve a plan for an RV park in West Glacier. Planning board members Dean Sirucek, Rita Hall and Sandra Nogal voted against the measure, primarily on traffic and other concerns.

The vote came at 10 p.m. after hearing a host of concerns from West Glacier and Canyon residents about noise, additional traffic, impacts to wildlife, and the overall effect on quality of life in the small community that neighbors Glacier National Park.

Glacier Park Inc. wants to develop 102 recreational vehicle spaces in addition to 25 rental cabins on a 178-acre forested tract of land just west of the main village site. The RV Park will have 63 acres of open space, 67 acres of residential area, and 47 acres for the campground. The actual developed land area is about 23 acres.

The park would also have its own water wells. A green space buffer would be around the park, and land that is adjacent to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River would remain undeveloped. GPI also has plans to provide a shuttle service for customers, and is going to build a public path through the property so people can walk to West Glacier and Glacier National Park if they want to, GPI vice president Ron Cadrette told the board.

But the big concern was traffic. Resident after resident stood up and questioned the company’s traffic study, which was done by Bob Abelin of Abelin Traffic Services of Helena.

Abelin’s study indicated that the traffic at the intersection of River Bend Drive and the Going-to-the-Sun Road on busy days rated a “D” which meant that a motorist, on average, had to wait about 30 seconds to get onto the Sun Road. The intersection often rates a “C” which means the wait is about 15 to 25 seconds, Abelin’s study found.

But residents laughed out loud at that assertion.

“I’ve sat there for five minutes,” said longtime River Bend Drive resident Larry Mackin. “That’s a bunch of hooey. (The delay) ain’t no 15 seconds.”

River Bend Drive resident Elizabeth Blacker concurred. Blacker, who used to work for the Park Service, said her performance reviews often noted she was late getting back to the office for lunch, because she got stuck at the intersection trying to make a left hand turn.

She said if someone was in the car with her, they’d get out and walk in the crosswalk to stop traffic so they could make the turn.

“Adding RVs would be a nightmare,” she said.

Residents questioned Abelin’s on-the-ground work, which was done in October — a slow month for tourists.

But Abelin countered that, saying that the work done in October was just a small part of his overall study. He also used data provided by the Montana Department of Transportation and the Park Service.

On a busy day, the Sun Road through West Glacier sees about 8,000 to 10,000 cars a day, Abelin said. Three hundred and fifty more vehicles from an RV Park probably isn’t going to make the traffic much worse, he noted.

But MDT never commented on the plan and the county zoning regulations don’t allow for the plan to be delayed while waiting for an agency to comment.

Board member Greg Stevens claimed the real traffic problem is caused by Glacier National Park, as traffic gets backed up at the entrance.

He tried to add a condition that would require county commissioners to write a letter to Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke requesting that the west entrance be improved with more lanes.

Stevens motion failed on a 6-2 vote, with board president Jeff Larsen supporting the measure.

On Thursday, Glacier Park spokeswoman Lauren Alley said the Park has taken a variety of steps to speed up traffic flow into the Park, including roving rangers who let motorists go in the bypass lane if they have an annual pass. She said last summer — the busiest ever — the Park only had to “flush” the line three times.

If traffic gets backed up too far, Glacier starts letting everyone in for free.

In the end, the planning board added a condition that GPI would comply with permits required by MDT, if need be.

Residents also worried about impacts on wildlife — elk winter in the woods there, and grizzly bears, black bears, and moose also use the area.

The sewage treatment system also came into question, as some wondered whether it would pollute their groundwater. Sirucek openly questioned whether the proposed spray field was adequate.

Sirucek also wondered why Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks hadn’t commented on the plan, as the area is a known wildlife and bear corridor.

Larsen noted the sewage treatment facility and the water system would still have to comply with state Department of Environmental Quality regulations, as well as county health department regulations, and the project couldn’t go forward without that approval.

Cadrette suggested that once the sewage system was built, residents of West Glacier could hook into it.

As for wildlife, Larsen said the development met the Canyon Area Land Use Regulatory System regulations, which allow for higher density development near West Glacier proper. He also noted the plan does allow for substantial open space that exceeds the regulations.

Resident Gail Pauley suggested the whole process was rushed and that GPI should go back and try to work things out with the community.

“People live here. It’s residence. It’s not just commercial,” she said. “There’s too many unknowns right now.”

But the project now goes to the county commissioners for final consideration. The planning board vote is advisory only.

A date for the commissioner vote has not been set, but it has to be done by county zoning regulations by May 17, noted county planner Kari Nielsen.