On March 9th, following a public hearing, the Stevensville Town Council approved the final plat for Phase I of the Burnt Fork Estates subdivision. Phase I involves six lots for single-family residential homes on the newly named Sassafras Court cul de sac on the south side of Creekside Drive and to the west of Syringa with access off Creekside Drive.
The original proposal for Burnt Fork Estates was approved in 2021, under a different mayor and council. At build-out, the subdivision would have 304 residential units (78 single family lots and 226 multi-family units) and one commercial lot intended for a fire station, on 55.8 acres of land located at the corner of Logan Lane and Middle Burnt Fork Road. The project was approved to be developed in seven phases over 10 years, with the developers retaining the right to develop phases in the order of their choosing. When first proposed, the project drew lots of public comment, particularly from residents of the adjacent Creekside Meadows subdivision. The preliminary plat was eventually approved with 30 conditions. Since then, the property has changed hands, and is now owned by Andrew, Jeff and Joseph Jessop of Ilamar Properties, LLC and Aspen Acres LLC.
At last Thursday’s meeting, Jeff Cyr, a consultant with PCI representing the developers, presented the list of conditions with information on how the conditions had been met if applicable for this phase. Some of the conditions included transferring any associated water rights to the Town, proof that a homeowners association had been established, and providing an updated traffic study including clarification of whether the state or the county is responsible for traffic mitigation on roads adjacent to the subdivision. The consultants provided a water rights quit claim deed, a letter from the Montana Secretary of State certifying the incorporation of Burnt Fork Estates Homeowners Association, an updated traffic study, and a letter from the Montana Department of Transportation stating that although MDT is considering some improvements to the intersection of Logan and Eastside Hwy, depending on available funding, they claim no responsibility for either Logan Lane or Middle Burnt Fork, the two roads adjacent to the subdivision acreage. Those are county roads and the county would be the responsible party. The county commissioners have signed off on the subdivision.
Marilyn Wolff, a former council member and resident of Creekside Meadows, said she had a problem with lack of clarity on whether the status of water and sewer issues had been satisfactorily resolved, in particular the place of use of the water rights, and questioned the willingness of PCI to work with the Town.
A letter from Jim Kalkofen, a Creekside Meadows resident and a prior vocal opponent of the Burnt Fork Estates subdivision proposal, also mentioned unresolved questions about water and sewer infrastructure capacity, required installation of a booster pump which he said hadn’t been done, arbitrary changes in lot sizes and locations from the original approved plat, arbitrary changing of a street name from Clover Lane to Sassafras Street, and a question on why the Town would agree to own, operate and maintain planned ponds, among other things. “Many unanswered questions exist,” wrote Kalkofen. “Until they are researched and approved in advance, then and only then should the Council address any action about this proposal. The current request deserves a definite ‘NO’ vote.”
However, the council apparently felt any conditions for approval of Phase I had been adequately addressed and voted to approve. The final vote was 3-1 in favor with council member Cindy Brown abstaining, stating that she had a “conflict.”