Planning board OK’s zone change east of town

A request to amend the zoning regulations to allow greater development density of a 10 acre parcel along Highway 2 just east of Columbia Falls and the Flathead River was unanimously approved by the city-county planning board last week after a public hearing on the matter.

The application, submitted by applicant Wayne Hull, requests that zoning for the property located at 7030 Highway 2 E. Columbia Falls be changed from CSAG-10 to CSAG-5.

Both CSAG designations, considered “suburban agricultural,” are nearly identical, but the existing zoning allows for one dwelling per 10 acres, while the proposed amendment would double that density, allowing one dwelling per five acres.

Hull, a resident of Arkansas, is in the process of buying the parcel from Twin Peaks Farms, LLC., and said he is requesting the amendment in order to build a structure for him and his wife to retire at on one side of the property and to allow his son, currently a Columbia Falls resident, to build a home on the other.

City staff found that the proposed zone change would not overcrowd the land, stating in their report that, “at most, the applicant would be able to split the property one time,” and that, “the proposed zone change would only increase the density of the property by one parcel.”

The parcel is an undeveloped 10-acre tract of land adjacent to the north side of Highway 2 less than a mile east of Teakettle Bridge, distinguished by a large berm with a series of trees planted on top that buffers it from the highway.

The tract is nearly all open land behind the berm and historically has supported the occasional hay crop. According to Flathead County GIS maps, it is bordered on the north by acres of wetlands.

Members of the public who voiced concerns over the request included Shirley Rogers Folkwein, president of the board of the newly-formed Upper Flathead Neighborhood Association.

The Association contains residents from an area that “covers the Flathead River “bottom land” from the river east to Highway 206, south to the BPA powerlines, and west to the river [with] the northern edge butt[ing] up against the south boundary of the the proposed Bad Rock Canyon Conservation Project,” according to a letter written by Folkwein to the planning board.

Of greatest concern to the association was the potential impact of building residences over what is, according to data from the local organization Flathead Lakers, a shallow underlying water body known as the Evergreen Aquifer.

“It’s of great concern to us to put houses in this area,” Folkwein commented at the hearing. “This property is of particular interest due to the shallow aquifer underlying the area. … [which this] property... sits on top of.”

Folkwein went on to cite Flathead Lakers data showing pervasive shallow groundwater in the region, with depths generally less than 50 feet below the surface, and for much of the area, less than five.

“The Upper Flathead Neighborhood Association can support this rezone only when a myriad of conditions are placed on the rezone to mitigate the above matters,” Folkwein wrote.

The planning board also received at least one other letter, voicing concerns of septic systems on nearby wetlands.

City staff mentioned that the applicant’s ability to build on the property was contingent upon meeting Flathead City/County Health Department and Montana Department of Environmental Quality regulations and non-degradation standards for wastewater disposal.

According to city planning staff Eric Mulcahy, meeting those regulations would most likely require groundwater monitoring from now until June to determine peak water levels and, ultimately, the suitability of building residences upon the site.

In addressing public concern over building near wetlands and aquifers, most board members deferred to the DEQ and its ability to accurately determine and regulate any negative impacts of the proposed amendment on the quality of the aquifer.

However, Folkwein, who spoke with Hungry Horse News after the hearing, did not share the board members’ faith in the DEQ’s ability to adequately protect the water source.

“Part of it is that we don’t have strict enough laws,” said Folkwein. “The DEQ can only do what the laws allow them to do. And our laws, our environmental laws, are not as stringent as they should be to protect our environment.”

The parcel, though south of the proposed Bad Rock Wildlife Management Area, is surrounded by private land, and is part of a large area southeast of Columbia Falls designated as “urban residential” under the city’s growth policy plan, meaning that development of up to two to eight units per acre is acceptable for that land area.

“I personally don’t see a major objection to putting two homes there,” board member Sam Kavanagh said. “And I still stand by the growth policy that we approved that would consider that land for far more homes, given that they have the appropriate infrastructure.”

The Columbia Falls City Council will hold a public hearing on the zone change at 7 p.m. April 5.