Listen to the experts

On Monday, March 20, I attended the Columbia Falls City Council meeting on whether the council would approve or deny requests by a developer for a zone change and a planned unit development on the east edge of the Flathead River and Columbia Falls. As the evening wore on for hours a decision to deny the requests appeared obvious to anyone at the meeting for the following reasons.

The Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board unanimously denied the proposal.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks recommended denying the requests.

While the developers pointed out the widely known need for affordable housing, they gave no proof their housing would be affordable, especially for local residents.

When questioned over valid concerns, the developers gave vague answers such as “we will address that” without giving any clear plan.

For four plus hours, members of the Columbia Falls community shared a myriad of concerns including: the risk of crossing the Flathead River (either under or over) with a city sewer line, the long range cost of maintaining that sewer line, the risk of building in the floodplain, the damage to the wetland, the devastating impact on the crucial habitat for wildlife, the increase of traffic in an already dangerous situation on that stretch of Highway 2, and the elimination of openness and views at the entrance to Columbia Falls whose economy is largely dependent on tourism.

One of these issues alone would be enough of a reason to deny the requests. When the cons so obviously outweighed any pros, it came as a shock when the council tabled the decision for a later date. I would HOPE their reason “for wanting time to absorb all the information” means they want to read the letters of concern handed to them just an hour before the meeting started and carefully comb over the list presented by Citizens For a Better Flathead (CFBF) that includes potential legalities so that they can be even more assured and confident in a unanimous decision to deny the requests for the zone change and proposed housing development at the east entrance to Columbia Falls.

Loretta Byrd

Martin City