Building a mystery

By LAURA BEHENNA

Bigfork Eagle

Ask Bigfork area residents what they expect to happen with development in the area’s future, and they tend to speak in terms of what they hope won’t happen.

“I think we’ll probably see an effort along Highway 35 for commercial frontage,” said Edd Blackler, a Bigfork resident since 1978, adding that he hopes the highway won’t transform into a jumble of fast-food restaurants and box stores that make Bigfork look like another “Anytown, U.S.A.”

He lamented the haphazard look of the development taking place where Highway 35 crosses Highways 82 and 83. “We got boondoggled there back in ‘92,” he said. “They’ve virtually destroyed the gateway to Bigfork.”

Blackler, who chairs the Bigfork Long-Range Planning Committee, expressed concern that proposed improvements to Highway 35 between Woods Bay and “Icebox Corner,” at the turnoff to Moroldo’s Italian Restaurant, could trigger a surge of unattractive commercial development.

Density that interferes with views is another concern for Blackler, who mentioned that a new, eight-unit condominium development to be built on Commerce Street near Grand Avenue would block lake views for the existing condo units to the north. “I hope we won’t see a lot more of that ‘building up,’” he said.

“At least there’s some sort of review process” in which people affected by proposed developments may express their views, he said. “I think we were extremely fortunate to get a neighborhood plan in place in ’93.” But that plan, the new Bigfork Neighborhood Plan awaiting approval from the county planning and zoning office, and the growth policy for the entire county all lack “any hard teeth” because in the end they are only guidelines without any force of law, he noted.

“Bigfork has at least developed a zoning plan,” real estate agent Don Schwennesen of Partners West Realty said. “I am concerned about the rest of the rural county and the lack of zoning. Some of the development is quality. There are some very handsome houses. Just in terms of the sprawl and congestion - I’m not very comfortable with it.”

Some developers are conscious of the community’s interest in maintaining Bigfork’s character.

“The growth of the area depends on whether or not we can preserve the mystique and what is unique about Montana,” Doug Averill told the Bigfork Eagle in September 2005. “The valley is under tremendous pressure from outside developers who may not have the best interest of the community at heart.”

Concerned about that possibility, Averill secured a large parcel of land along Highway 35 across from Flathead Lake Lodge, which he also owns. He proposed a development of 320 units on 800 acres that would be in character with Bigfork. The Saddle Horn development would not only preserve Montana-style living, but also would protect the viewshed overlooking the area while being practically invisible to the town of Bigfork below it, he said. Saddle Horn’s proposed neighborhood plan outlines a homestead of family-oriented, rustic-themed homes.

Averill said last week that some changes to the current plan for Saddle Horn may be coming, but those changes have yet to be made final.

Most development is more visible, springing up along roads, especially new or improved ones. Critics of unplanned growth refer to this as “sprawl,” and it tends to contribute to increased traffic, Schwennesen noted.

“We haven’t learned the lesson from other communities” that building and widening roads attracts sprawl, he said. “Eventually we get so much congestion, the highway has to be condemned and another highway has to be built,” he said.

The high price of housing in Bigfork is changing the demographics of the area toward more retired people and fewer young ones.

“Ten years from now there will be twice as many retired people as there are now,” Don Loranger, former chairman of the Bigfork Steering Committee, said. “They’re looking for someplace to go and Bigfork’s been discovered. It will be a tough place for young families.”

“The affordability factor is starting to take effect where people who work here can’t afford to live here,” Blackler said.

Mike Pederson, an agent with Trails West Eagle Bend Realty, noted that a family would need an income of about $87,000 a year to be able to afford the average Bigfork home price of $284,000.

“Realistically, how many people are making $87,000?” he said. “Not many. But that’s what keeps our economy going.

“A lot of prices are through the roof, in my opinion,” but compared with other high-end places like Lake Tahoe and Sun Valley, “we still offer good value,” he said.

“I’m hoping we can maintain our open space,” he added. “I hope we won’t end up with one big metropolis from Whitefish to Bigfork.”

Few developers were available to describe their plans for the future. Marina Cay has 93 existing condominium units with 22 more under development, co-owner Fred Sterhan said.

“We try to build larger units and spread them out over more space” while incorporating “as much green as we can,” Sterhan said. “ We try to use a lot of natural products like cedar and stone. If it’s going to be developed, we want it to be developed properly.”

Harbor Village is nearly full, Denise Belt, a Trails West Eagle Bend Realty broker, said. Only seven units out of approximately 80 are still available, she said.

Dan Manning of Eagle Bend’s development office said Eagle Bend could include much of the land between the Bigfork post office and the Flathead River. As to the total number of housing units that will eventually occupy Eagle Bend, “I couldn’t tell you that,” he said.

Visions of Bigfork’s development may be somewhat fuzzy, but long-time residents who participated in creating Bigfork’s planning documents expressed optimism about the town’s ability to retain its character successfully.

“If I didn’t believe that, I just wasted a lot of time” working on the Bigfork Neighborhood Plan, Loranger said.

Blackler said he hopes Bigfork will “continue to be original, unique, and use that as our selling point why people want to visit here.”

A desire to preserve Bigfork’s originality may also motivate year-round residents to get involved, he said.

“If people can come and see and appreciate the uniqueness of Bigfork, they’re more inclined to want to participate in keeping that uniqueness.”