Volume XX, Number 32

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Page One News at a Glance

650-lot subdivision planned near Florence

Commissioners sign off on Homestretch Subdivision

FS investigates tree cutting along Carlton Lake road

Judge Langton admits to driving drunk

650-lot subdivision planned near Florence

By Michael Howell

The quiet little unincorporated town of Florence has suddenly become a vortex of development. Highway 93 is being widened to four lanes. Two fairly large subdivisions of over 30 lots each have recently been approved across the highway from each other just south of town. A destination ski resort with accompanying residential and commercial village development, complete with hotel and convention center, and much, much more, including possible ski lifts to the top of Lolo Peak, has recently been proposed north of town on the MacClay Ranch. And now, east of town, just on the other side of the river, the largest subdivision ever proposed in the Bitterroot Valley is possibly set to go before public review by the end of the month.

Ravalli County Planner Patrick O'Herren said that the developers had not yet submitted an application but that they had approached the county at a preliminary meeting with a conceptual plan.

"The Bitterroot Stock Farm subdivision covered more acreage," said O'Herren, "but this proposal involves more homes." O'Herren said that his staff has been expecting for a while that some very large scale development would be proposed in the valley. According to his research this represents the largest proposed development on record in the valley.

The 650-lot development, called Aspen Springs, is being proposed just north of Eight Mile Road along Woodchuck Lane in rolling terrain overlooking the Bitterroot River bottom.

Creator of the project, Perry Ashby, of Wesmont Building Developers out of Missoula, calls the project his brainchild. He said that he has hired the engineering firm WGM to help make sure that the project complies with all state laws and meets the state's criteria for development. WGM is also involved in the proposed ski development on and above the MacClay Ranch.

According to Ashby, the design of the subdivision is a "classic cluster development" in which smaller building lots are grouped together with lots of open space retained. Close to 170 of the 400 acres has been set aside for open space.

Ashby calls it a "master plan community" that will include open space, trails, recreational space and facilities, including ball fields. He said that visual corridors would be maintained and the hillsides would not be developed.

The plan also calls for a small mercantile, and possible nursery or pre-school, a small cafe and, possibly, a postal service facility, all near the entrance to the subdivision.

Ashby said that the development was not just "upscale." He said that there was a diversity of lot sizes and that costs of homes including the lot would range from about $130,000 to $200,000.

The developer held a public meeting a few weeks ago to present the idea to people in the neighborhood. Ashby said that he would not have gone public yet if he was not confident, based on substantial research, that his proposal could meet the legal criteria for development in the area.

At least three Florence area residents who attended the meeting all expressed mixed feelings about the proposal. Aside from safety concerns about the impacts of increased traffic in the area, the potential impacts on the local school system were considered a very serious problem State law does not allow the assessment of an impact fee for schools. It is customary, however, for schools to ask for a donation from developers to offset the impacts on the school system of added students from the development.

In the past, the Florence School District generally asked for a $150 per lot donation to the school district to help mitigate the impact. According to Florence School Superintendent Bill Edwards, the school board recently realized that this was not sufficient to offset the real costs to the district. He was instructed to try and negotiate a higher payment, something more realistic. As a result, Edwards suggested to one developer that he pay $1,000 per lot to offset impacts to the school. This was based upon the estimate that one child would be added to the school system for each home or lot.

"It's not a science," said Edwards. "It is hard to predict." But he said that predicting one child per home was not unreasonable.

Edwards said that the first developer he propositioned with a $1,000 per lot donation, however, "told me I was crazy." He subsequently donated $150 per lot. Ashby has offered $150 per lot for the Aspen Springs development.

Edwards said that the school board was meeting Tuesday evening, March 8, to consider the offer.

"The school board is between a rock and a hard place," said Edwards. "The donation is completely voluntary, the statutes require nothing."

The Florence School District has seen an increase of about 85 to 90 new homes this year.

"We were looking at the potential development of 650 new homes over a period of several years," said Edwards, "not in a single subdivision. We are not prepared for this. If it produces only one child for every two homes, that's still over 300 children. Our current enrollment is just over 900. That's a big increase."

Commissioners sign off on Homestretch Subdivision

By Michael Howell

On March 2, 2005 the Commissioners signed off on another final plat against the advice of their civil counsel, the Homestretch Subdivision southeast of Stevensville.

According to unofficial minutes of that meeting, McCubbin again advised the Commissioners against signing off on a final plat that had not met the conditions of approval placed upon it when it was preliminarily approved. In this case, based on a letter from the Planning staff, he said that no turn outs had been placed upon the road serving the subdivision and that without those turn outs it did not meet the required conditions.

John Horat, a consultant for the developer, Peggy Steffes, agreed that the fire department had initially asked for turn outs to be placed along the road and that this was included as a condition of the road variance they were granted. Instead, the road had been widened with no identifiable turn outs. He considered the improvements functionally adequate, however, and said that the Fire Department had sent a letter agreeing it was adequate.

McCubbin countered that it was not a question of being "functionally adequate" but a question of whether it met the conditions contained in the preliminary plat approval and it did not. He said that the final plat was not legally approvable without another variance being granted.

Steffes made an impassioned plea for approval of the final plat. She said that she had gone to a lot of expense and come before the Commissioners three times concerning final approval. She claimed that the process had been very stressful and that a potential sale would be jeapordized by any delay. She said that if the project was delayed any longer that she would consider changing it to a five-lot subdivision from the two-lot proposal under consideration in order to pay for all the added costs. She said that the road was in good condition. Steffes has also signed a release of liability for the county concerning the road.

Commissioner Alan Thompson stated that, in light of reviewing the documents, his concern was with the fire department being able to drive the road. He said that in his mind those conditions had been met. He and Commissioner Betty Lund approved the final plat. Commissioner Chilcott was absent.

FS investigates tree cutting along Carlton Lake road

By Michael Howell

The U.S. Forest Service is investigating allegations that local land owner Tom Maclay is illegally cutting trees along the old access road to Carlton Lake in the Bitterroot National Forest northwest of Florence.

Bitterroot National Forest spokesperson Dixie Dies confirmed that a member of the public who was recreating in the forest called to complain about some potentially illegal logging along the road to Carlton Lakes. The Stevensville Ranger District enlisted the aid of a law enforcement officer shared with the Missoula District, Don Polanski, who is investigating the allegations.

Dies said that, beyond acknowledging that an investigation is underway, she could not comment further until the investigation was complete.

The old road in question lies within a designated roadless area. It leads to Carlton Lake, which is situated just on the border of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area. The road, at one time, continued into the wilderness area to Little Carlton Lake.

Tom Maclay owns water rights to the water coming from the lakes. He hopes to change the irrigation water rights to wintertime use for snow making on the ski runs he has begun building on his ranchland north of Florence. He is also proposing to build ski runs into the current roadless area and up to the peak of Lolo Mountain. He is the major owner of water rights in the Carlton Creek Irrigation Company.

The Carlton Creek Irrigation Company, which was formed in 1898, filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service in August of 2004 claiming that it not only has a right to the water in Carlton Lake but also has a right to the water in Little Carlton Lake and a right-of-way to access the lakes.

While recognizing that the company may have a right to the water in Little Carlton Lake, the USFS has denied that the company owns a right-of-way to the lake. They claim, according to court documents, that the right-of-way to Little Carlton Lake was abandoned.

The company complains that any non-use of the Little Carlton Lake reservoir and right-of-way easement is the direct result of the agency's refusal to conduct the necessary trail maintenance or to otherwise allow access. The company claims that the USFS systematically prevented them from using or maintaining the reservoir.

The company is seeking to quiet the title to the road easement to both lakes.

Judge Langton admits to driving drunk

By Michael Howell

After pleading innocent at his initial arraignment, Ravalli County District Court Judge Jeffrey Langton pleaded guilty last Friday to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) per se and an open container violation.

Langton was arrested on February 13 at about 2:30 a.m. on First Street in Hamilton. Hamilton Police Officer Steven Murphy stopped Langton after observing erratic driving. Langton failed a field sobriety test. Some open bottles of alcohol were also observed in the vehicle he was driving. He was taken to the hospital emergency room for a blood alcohol test which measured about 1.97 blood alcohol content. Anything over .08 is considered a violation in the state.

According to the police report, at one point while being arrested, Langton told the arresting officer in a low voice, "I hope you know what you are doing." Langton also made some other remarks during arrest that he has subsequently apologized for.

In court on Friday before Hamilton City Judge Patricia Sanders, according to the Court Clerk, Langton apologized for his remarks and his behavior, saying he misjudged his capacity to consume alcohol.

Sanders sentenced Langton to 10 days in jail with all the time suspended. She ordered him to surrender his drivers license by March 15 and pay $500 in fines, with $200 suspended, and $60 in charges for the DUI. He was ordered to pay a fine of $50 for the open container violation. Langton must also enroll in an assessment course and treatment, stay out of all bars and refrain from drinking alcohol for a year.

Once enrolled in the treatment program, he can apply for a driving permit that allows him to drive to work or to shop for necessities only.