Subdivision next to Meadow Lake resurrected

A 15-acre subdivision next to Meadow Lake Resort has been resurrected and will come before the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board on Aug. 13.

Gabriel Hagg, of Whitefish, owner of Thirty Three Properties LLC, proposes a 30-lot subdivision between Tamarack Lane and Meadow Lake Estates to be called Tamarack Heights Phase 2.

The site received preliminary plat with 31 lots under the name Tamarack Heights Phase 3 when owned by the Aspen Group, of Arizona, but the project folded after the economy went into recession in 2008, and the preliminary plat expired two years ago.

Tamarack Heights Phase 1 was given final plat in January 2008, and some homes have been built there. A road running through the proposed subdivision site, Turnberry Terrace, has been built and connects Tamarack Lane to Phase 1.

Hagg’s proposal calls for 30 single-family homes on lots ranging from 9,689 to 30,102 square feet, which complies with the current CR-3 zoning, and 1.56 acres of open space, which means no cash-in-lieu payment is required.

Hagg is requesting a variance from city road requirements. Instead of curbs and gutters for the remaining internal roads, he wants to use the “low impact development” model that matches existing roads in the Meadow Lake area. He notes in his application that no stormwater system exists at Meadow Lake that could handle runoff concentrated by curbs and gutters, so stormwater must be dispersed.

Homes in the new subdivision would connect to Meadow Lake’s public water system and Columbia Falls municipal sewage treatment system. Clearing of the existing second or third growth timber would be confined to a building envelope defined for each lot.

Also on the agenda, the planning board will review a new land-use regulation required under this year’s Senate Bill 324. The bill limits the number of buildings allowed for rent or lease on a single tract of unzoned land to three and establishes a review procedure for anyone wanting more than three buildings.

The planning board will meet in the city council chambers in City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 13, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Both items must go to the city council for final approval.