By Skip Kowalski, President, Bitterrooters for Planning
Congratulations! We stopped Legacy Ranch – for now.
This proposed mega-development adjacent to the Eastside Highway between Florence and Stevensville would have established a new municipality in Ravalli County, one that would have dwarfed several of our existing communities. The housing which would have provided for hundreds of new residents (504 single lot family homes and 155 condominium units) would have come at a heavy cost. A partial list of the impacts includes: additional needs for infrastructure and services; loss of wildlife habitat; barriers to wildlife movement; significant demand on and threats to groundwater; potential increased pollution to the Bitterroot River and public safety issues resulting from significant increases in traffic. Local residents rose up in overwhelming opposition to the development, but their appeals were ignored. Unfortunately, it took a citizen-led lawsuit to stop the project.
It didn’t, and doesn’t, need to be that way. We have subdivision regulations in Montana that require the analysis, evaluation and adequate mitigation for any major development proposal. These requirements were established to ensure that economic and environmental impacts are adequately addressed, that the developer has some assurance that his project can safely move forward and that there is due consideration for the public good and that the public is fully informed and has ample opportunity to provide input. We have state agencies that can provide background information to county governments on issues such as water quantity, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and traffic. We have a county planning department and planning board that is responsible for reviewing subdivision proposals, considering impacts, judging the adequacy of mitigation, determining the application’s sufficiency and making recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The BOCC is responsible for determining if a proposed subdivision should move forward.
With the existence of such a formal and complete evaluation process, it is troubling that Legacy Ranch was given the green light so easily. In my opinion, one critical reason is the lack of a comprehensive county-wide growth policy.
At one time, Ravalli County had such a policy. It was developed by the county with significant public input and was approved by the BOCC. While in effect, it served the county well and, to my knowledge, was never contested or considered burdensome or overreaching. Sadly, the reason for revoking the growth policy was not based on its shortcomings, but because it was a convenient way to defeat zoning within Ravalli County – a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Perhaps it’s time to consider again the value of a growth policy to Ravalli County. It would give potential developers an idea of public expectations, provide a context from which our planning department and planning board can evaluate potential impacts, determine adequacy of proposed mitigation, protect property values and, perhaps most importantly, diminish the need for unnecessary costly litigation.
Let’s give serious thought to the issues surrounding Legacy Ranch and consider reestablishing a growth policy for Ravalli County. It would help provide the needed rationale and guidance for development, document expectations of county residents and reduce the potential for surprises. Hopefully, it would encourage developers to submit subdivision requests that better satisfy public desires, help fulfill social, economic and environmental expectations and still achieve their bottom line. In the best case scenario, it would lead to subdivision and development proposals that fit within the character of the valley, help maintain the quality of life so important to county residents and keep Montana the last best place.