by Nathan Boddy
The D Lazy S Meadows subdivision took a large step forward on Tuesday, January 21 as the Hamilton City Council approved the annexation and zoning request made by Bitterroot Stock Farm Holdings LLC (BSFH). The multi-step procedure gave the green light for annexation of a 26-acre parcel at the northwest intersection of Fairgrounds Road and the Eastside Highway and its eventual build-out as a Planned Unit Development (PUD). Plans for the subdivision, which have been made available to the public in multiple formats dating back to early 2024, will see the addition of 212 dwelling units in a variety of housing types.
City Planner Matthew Rohrbach gave a presentation to councilmembers, highlighting the proposed subdivision’s progress through multiple review stages with city staff, the Planning Board and Zoning Commission. He also illustrated how the review process analyzed the subdivision proposal against various standards that it was required to meet in order to be eligible for annexation, zoning and development.
Approximately 26 acres, as seen here from the intersection of Eastside Highway and Fairgrounds Road, have been approved for annexation, zoning and development within the City of Hamilton. Photo by Nathan Boddy
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the future subdivision has been the owner’s request for an overlaid Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning designation. Rohrbach described PUDs as, “a form of master planned community where you have more predictability in terms of what exactly is going to get built.”
“It does allow for some modifications to the city zoning, subdivision and public works’ standards in exchange for some benefits to the city,” said Rohrbach. “Generally, it’s a way to do development that couldn’t otherwise be achieved through traditional zoning.”
Rohrbach went on to explain that, with traditional zoning, a list of permitted uses dictates what can or cannot be constructed. However, the PUD overlay sought by BSFH will add a greater specificity of what will be on the ground, and control appearance and form of construction through application of a Form Based Code which will apply throughout the subdivision.
“Form based code still has a focus on (land) use, but it’s not the priority,” said Rohrbach. “The priority is on building form, and how the building interacts with the street and the open spaces around it.”
As explained by Rohrbach, with the combination of the underlying zone, overlying PUD, and the Form Based Code, the applicants have proposed a development which can address specific needs such as environmental stewardship, pedestrian connectivity to surrounding areas, and provision of a variety of housing types. He concluded his presentation by showing how the proposed subdivision met multiple goals found within the city’s comprehensive plan.
Following Rohrbach’s presentation, Peter VanTuyn, manager of Bitterroot Stock Farm Holdings, addressed the council. Rather than revisiting specifics of the proposed subdivision, which the council had reviewed, VanTuyn instead spoke about the impetus behind the proposed subdivision, highlighting the family’s history of seeing changes in the valley and land ownership around their ranch. He mentioned how they’d seen the surrounding agricultural area broken into what are now 120 adjacent neighboring lots, 105 of which are not agricultural.
“Managing our land with that many disparate neighbors can be a challenge, as you might expect,” said VanTuyn. He went on to enumerate concerns such as traffic, possible water contamination due to septic systems, and even the expressed concern over lack of housing for many in the area.
“We also know that a lack of housing is putting a strain on our community,” said VanTuyn. “The market is tight, which means that reasonable rental options and home ownership are out of reach for many people who live here. This is challenging in its own right and also has an impact on private and public-sector employers in our community. This reality, plus – to be sure – financial interest, led us to decide that development is the best use for this part of our land. It’s not a light decision for ranchers to make, as ranching is the foundation for everything we do. But it is the right decision in this context.”
VanTuyn said that they made the decision to develop after carefully considering what would and would not be acceptable according to BSFH members. The three goals they settled on were that the project succeed at being a fiscal, social and environmental success. While VanTuyn admits that the fiscal nature of the project will remain to be seen, he says that it does succeed at environmental preservation and social benefit through its usage of biomimicry designs and provision of a variety of housing types.
For the BSFH members themselves, they knew that seeing the land developed in an unattractive, damaging or inefficient way would lead to a “pit in the stomach,” a term which then became a standard for guidance.
“We not only want to avoid a ‘pit in the stomach,’”he said, “we want this to be something we can be proud of.”
The Bitterroot Stock Farm Holdings will not be the developer of the property, but with the subdivision and its zoning standards platted with the City of Hamilton, the family says that they feel more confident about the level of control that will guide the subdivision toward the project they envision.
More information about the subdivision can be found at the project website: http://d-lazy-s.com/