River Highlands meeting postponed after capacity crowd overflows city hall

A planning board meeting on a proposed 455-unit subdivision was postponed a month after the crowd overflowed the Columbia Falls city council chambers, went down the hall and out the door of city hall Tuesday night.

City manager Susan Nicosia said a venue for the Aug. 9 meeting had yet to be determined. The planning board meets at 6:30 p.m.

As designed, River Highlands features 455 units on 49.1 acres just east of the Highway 2 Flathead River Bridge.

Residents are almost universally opposed. The city has already received a host of comments against the development. Residents are concerned about the density, the height of the buildings, traffic and changing the rural character of the area, which is mostly homes on larger lots or small family ranches.

There are also concerns about stormwater impacts to aquifer as well as impacts to the Flathead River itself, though the developer notes the river will not see lots. It will have a buffer of at least 100 feet and 200 feet in most cases.

The developer is asking for a variance from the city’s height regulations of a maximum of 35 feet. The developer wants a variance to go 45 feet.

The acreage was originally proposed, and approved — as a subdivision back in 2008. The original plan called for 151 lots with single family homes, condominiums and townhomes.

But the housing market crashed and the project was scratched.

This development, if completely built out, will be completely rentals. Apartments would be a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments.

All told, about 9.2 dwellings per acre.

The ambitious project also calls for extending city sewer and water from Third Avenue East down Highway 2 and under the Flathead River.

That move, in turn, would almost assuredly mean even more development east of the river, as developers could potentially put in higher density subdivisions in places that can’t support them due to septic regulations.