North Shore Ranch back to planning board next week

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

A proposed subdivision along Highway 82 between Somers and Bigfork will go before the Flathead County Planning Board on Wednesday, March 26.

The subdivision, North Shore Ranch, is a proposal to create 290 lots on 367 acres immediately east of the Mackinaw development in Somers along Montana Highway 82. The proposal was unanimously recommended for denial by the planning board in 2006 and the developer, Kleinhans Farms Estates LLC, pulled the application for revision before it went before the Flathead County Commissioners.

Some of the issues cited by the board were the proximity to the Flathead Waterfowl Protection Area, impacts to Highway 82, threats to Flathead Lake and pollution. The original application called for a maximum of 375 units to be built in the subdivision.

A new application was submitted in August of last year with a reduced number of homes and a large conservation easement added adjacent to the waterfowl area.

Developer Sean Averill said the average lot size would be about half an acre and that a 72-acre conservation easement would provide a buffer zone between the development and the waterfowl area.

Averill said the equestrian-themed subdivision would employ strict covenants to restrict the size and height of homes so as to minimize obstructions to the view.

"They would be strict to preserve the rural nature and to protect views," he said. "Certain lots can only be built to one story."

Part of the proposal includes trail networks for horses and pedestrians around the subdivision and along Highway 82 that would be open to the public.

The development would also include a clubhouse and an equestrian facility with 40 horse stalls.

Averill said that in contrast to other resort developments with amenities like Iron Horse in Whitefish, local people could afford to live in North Shore Ranch. He estimated lot prices would range from $150,000 to $200,000.

But even as the subdivision is moving forward, there's another movement afoot to preserve the north shore of Flathead Lake. Groups such as the Flathead Lakers and the Flathead Land Trust are working to win grant money and woo private donors to raise enough money to not only buy out the North Shore Ranch's developers, but also acquire the land from the other eight landowners along the north shore in due time.

"People recognize the importance of the area and the possibilities," said Flathead Land Trust Director Marilyn Wood. "Part of what makes it so special is the size."

Wood and Flathead Lakers Executive Director Robin Steinkraus both said the north shore area is the only place like it on Flathead Lake as far as being a wide swath of undeveloped land. The next closest area would be the southeast shore near Polson, they said.

"We're afraid if this development is approved it would be a big roadblock for this conservation effort," Steinkraus said.

Even if North Shore Ranch is approved, Wood said, options are still on the table, as the developer has made it clear that up until construction starts they'd be willing to listen to different offers.

Wood said Kleinhans Farms Estates has been open to discussions about the land, including being bought out as part of a large-scale conservation effort.

The Flathead Land Trust already has a large monetary commitment from one foundation, Wood said, though she wasn't able to release the amount of the group at this time. The trust is currently trying to come up with a solid number for the amount of money it would take to purchase the whole north shore area south of Highway 82 and adjacent to the 2,300 acres owned by the federal government in the Flathead Waterfowl Production Area.

"It's not as much as you might think," Wood said. "When you think about what it means to the future it's not that much."

The North Shore Ranch application goes before the Flathead County Planning Board at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26 in the second floor conference room the Earl Bennett Building in Kalispell.