The County Commissioners approved the One Horse Estates subdivision near Florence on Tuesday, November 6. The 77-lot subdivision on 62.69 acres does not meet the minimum one dwelling per two acres Interim Zoning restriction but received special consideration due to a lawsuit settlement agreement the County made with several other developers. According to county planners, One Horse Estates was not a part of the lawsuit, but the developer, Dick Martin, was given the same opportunity to apply for approval under the terms of the settlement agreement because his subdivision proposal fit the same circumstances and time frame as the ones that were.

The subdivision was being reviewed under subdivision regulations in place at the time of the first submittal. Under those regulations a subdivision could not be approved in more than two phases over 10 years. Under current regulations a subdivision may be installed in multiple phases. Martin requested a variance from the old regulations to allow a five-phase development and the variance request was approved.

The 77-lot development, along Highway 93, will involve individual wells but 67 of the lots will be placed on a community septic system. The Planning Board had unanimously recommended approval of the subdivision. The Planning Staff recommended approval of the variance with five conditions of approval and approval of the subdivision with 56 conditions of approval.

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, in a letter, did recognize that the proposal to drill individual wells for every lot met state requirements, but the department, nonetheless, strongly recommended installation of a community water system. Commissioner Jim Rokosch lobbied hard for a community water system, but the developer said he had met the legal requirements and was reluctant to comply with Rokosch's request for a variety of reasons.

Martin did agree to donate $500 per lot to the Florence Fire Department, $500 per lot to the Florence School District, and $500 per lot to the Sheriff's Office or Public Safety, at the signing of the final plat. These donations were intended to mitigate the negative impact the subdivision would have on those services. He also donated an additional $500 per lot to the Florence School District upon first conveyance of the lot, bringing the total donation to the school district to $1,000 per lot in the subdivision. Martin also agreed to donate $500 at final plat and $500 upon first conveyance for Lot 19 to go to the Open Lands program.

Commissioner Kathleen Driscoll was the only one to vote for denial of the subdivision. She did so because she felt that under drought conditions the additional wells would impact agricultural water users and the fact that the Montana Supreme Court has recognized that groundwater is connected to surface water conditions. Driscoll also expressed strong reservations about the effect of the subdivision on traffic at Highway 93.

Commissioner Alan Thompson praised the development, saying, "I'm impressed with what's been brought forward here." He said that half acre lots with 1,000 square foot home sites is what we need. He considered these to be affordable home sites for working people, located close to a community and transportation lanes.

The Commissioners approved the subdivision on a 4 to 1 vote, with the caveat that one condition of the approval is that it may be annulled by a District Court ruling concerning the legitimacy of the settlement agreement upon which consideration of this subdivision was based.

County and Forest Service discuss road issues

By Michael Howell

U.S. Forest Service officials have approached the Ravalli County Commissioners asking that the county officially adopt some forest access roads, or certain portions, that also serve a strong county interest such as the West Fork Road, the East Fork Road, Lake Como Road, Nez Perce Road, Roaring Lion Road, Lost Horse Road, and Tin Cup Creek Road.

County Road and Bridge Department Supervisor David Ohnstad told the commissioners that the county has ongoing contractual agreements with the Forest Service over certain roads going back to 1965. He said that those series of agreements over 50 years aimed at a benefit to the county, the federal government and the public.

On some of those roads the county has already accepted easements and maintenance responsibility. But a recent ruling by District Court Judge Jeffrey Langton concerning a dispute over Bear Creek Road has highlighted a deficiency in that arrangement. In the case of Bear Creek Road, a local resident altered the roadway, moving it away from his residence, and the issue of ownership and responsibility was brought into question. According to Ohnstad, Langton found that there had to be some affirmative or positive action by the County Commissioners to adopt a roadway, and apparently having accepted an easement and maintenance agreement was not interpreted as a "positive action."

Ohnstad said that he was hoping to move toward acceptance of those existing easements as officially dedicated county roads.

Kent Miller, Forest Surveyor for the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests, said that the roads in question are already being maintained by the county and have been maintained by the county for many years. He said that it was primarily the court case that seems to require some legal clarification of the situation. He said that the original intention in transferring the easements and maintenance responsibilities was to make them county roads.

Commission Chair Jim Rokosch suggested that the commission might first need to seek some legal advice on the issue and civil counsel was not present.

Ohnstad said that the issue was not unique to Ravalli County and that it was certainly a statewide issue, making an Attorney General Opinion on the matter a possibility. He said that right now the debate about the import of the Langton decision on Bear Creek Road was "all over the place."

Commissioner Kathleen Driscoll said that she would need all the facts, which roads and how many miles of each, and other details.

Commissioner Greg Chilcott expressed reservations about considering adoption of any roadways because the commitment "would be in perpetuity and we don't know the full costs of that." He said that it was "all about money."

Miller reminded Chilcott that the county had already agreed to the long term maintenance of the roads and has operated and maintained them for years. He reiterated that the original intent of transferring easements and maintenance responsibilities was to make them county roads.

"But that decision was made with the assumption that federal funding for our roads would continue," said Chilcott. He said that the current Secure Rural Schools Act is set to run out and that has been a big part of the county's road funds. He said that taking on more county road commitments when it is facing such large potential losses in funding did not make sense.

Chilcott said that the commissioners needed to consult with the County Attorney's office about a possible request for an Attorney General Opinion on the matter.

Hughes Creek: Another gated community? - maybe not

By Michael Howell

Bitterroot National Forest officer Kent Miller told the county commissioners last week that developments up Hughes Creek, concerning a locked gate, would probably soon become a concern of theirs, since the county owns the road.

Miller told the commissioners that there has been a gate at milepost 8.5 up Hughes Creek Road since the 1970s. He said that there are some mining claims above the gate that were in the possession of the Church Universal and Triumphant. Then the church sold off its holdings and the mining claims went to new owners.

A local District Ranger then noticed, when going through some real estate ads, that these holdings were being advertised as "private parcels, behind a private gate, on a private road."

Here the question of road ownership has become an issue, Miller told the commissioners, and the ownership in this case is clear.

"It's a county road. There's no question it's a county road," said Miller.

He said that in the mid 1980s there was a petition to abandon that portion of the road. The county denied the petition and ordered the gates to be removed. He said that consequently several lawsuits were filed and the gates were never removed.

Miller told the commissioners that he was currently in the process of contacting the agency's lawyers and asking their assistance in drafting a letter to the Ravalli County Commission about the gate.

County considers Hwy. 93 Transportation Corridor Advisory Committee

By Michael Howell

Ravalli County Commissioners took the first step, last Wednesday, November 14, towards establishment of a Highway 93 Transportation Corridor Advisory Committee. The Commission recently re-affirmed its commitment to previously set priorities which placed efforts at establishing "base-line zoning" first in line, with efforts at transportation corridor zoning, streamside setback zoning, and other efforts taking a back seat. The transportation committee would essentially function along the lines of the Streamside Setback Committee. It would study the issues involved and make recommendations to the commissioners concerning potential zoning restrictions that might be adopted subsequent to adopting the base-line zoning, which is scheduled for completion by November 2008.

"It's going to be a challenge to get the base-line zoning established," said Commission Chairman Jim Rokosch. "We have some concerns about having too many irons in the fire."

Also complicating any potential interim zoning of the Highway 93 corridor is the passage of the so-called "Big Box Ordinance," which would have placed a cap on retail store size at 60,000 square feet, and prohibited construction of a proposed Wal-Mart Super Center in the valley, and its subsequent repeal by a public vote. Commissioner Carlotta Grandstaff read a letter from civil counsel Alex Beal to the effect that any attempt to zone that could be interpreted as "similar" to the ordinance that was repealed cannot be considered for two years.

Jim Olsen told the commission that the effort to place a size cap on construction was primarily based upon economic considerations and the effect of large retail stores on the local economy. He said that what is being considered now in terms of highway corridor zoning was based upon highway traffic safety concerns. He said that the development of one super-sized retail store south of Hamilton, as is currently being considered by Wal-Mart, would have impacts on highway safety. It would lead to other large stores locating in the same area and basically change the traffic flows from Stevensville to Darby. He said that it would reverse the traffic flow through Hamilton, which is not a pedestrian friendly town, and raise some serious traffic safety concerns. Olsen said that there was "tons of research" available about the effects of large retail stores on traffic and that it was worth considering.

Russ Lawrence, a member of the Good Neighbors Coalition which promoted the ordinance and continues to promote some form of interim zoning of the highway corridor, told the commissioners that the starting point of the two-year timeline is debatable, but under any of those interpretations the time limit would still expire within a year. He said it makes sense to begin considering possible zoning regulations at this point so that, when the time comes, the commission would be well informed and ready to move in relation to the issues.

"We're trying to prevent a Reserve Street situation," said Lawrence, referring to development in Missoula where large retail stores created a box-store strip west of the downtown. He also noted that a high crash corridor zone had been identified on Highway 93 in the county in the area also being examined for a Wal-Mart super center south of town. Lawrence also mentioned that since no large retail developers seemed to be invested right now, it was a good time to set some regulations.

Commissioner Kathleen Driscoll said that although she was sympathetic to the concerns, she was also concerned about getting the base-line zoning in place before the Interim Zoning expired. She said that all efforts needed to be concentrated on getting the base-line zoning into effect in an affordable fashion and that other efforts would threaten that project by draining available resources.

"We are at a bottleneck," said Driscoll. "We need to focus and get the basics in place."

"We are paring down to get the base-line zoning done and you are asking us to do more," said Commissioner Greg Chilcott.

In the end the commissioners were in agreement that consideration of the Highway 93 corridor was important, but like streamside setbacks, and other important matters, it made sense to delay them in order to ensure that the base-line zoning could be completed before the expiration of the Interim Zoning restrictions.

University expands course offerings in Bitterroot

By Michael Howell

The University of Montana is expanding the number and extent of courses being offered in the Bitterroot Valley through its Hamilton Higher Education Center (HHEC). According to Dr. Frank Laurence, Acting Director for HHEC, there has been a lot of misunderstanding and confusion about the HHEC and its relation to the College of Technology.

"We are not a branch of the College of Technology," said Laurence. "We are a branch of the University of Montana. I am acting director of HHEC and my immediate superiors are in the Provost's office. They are Vice-President Jim Foley and President George Dennison, although I do work closely with the COT administrators and teachers."

Part of the confusion arises, according to Laurence, because the students who enroll for courses in the HHEC are actually enrolled through the COT. Further fostering the confusion is the fact that the only courses offered by the HHEC in the past have been COT courses.

Laurence points out that some of those COT courses, but not all, could apply to the general education requirements in many other departments outside the COT and thereby contribute to a regular bachelor's degree program. For the most part, however, many COT courses lead simply to licensing certificates or associate degrees in the arts, sciences or applied sciences, he said.

The HHEC fall offerings included five COT courses serving about 40 students. But plans for this spring are to expand. This spring 12 different courses are being offered and some are being offered by departments other than COT, even though HHEC students will still enroll through the COT. The Political Science Department is offering a course on Introduction to American Government, for example, and the College of Forestry and Conservation is offering an introductory course in climatology called "Global and Local Climate Change." The introduction to climatology was a course designed specifically for the Bitterroot Valley, according to Laurence, and will involve researching and recording local changes in climate.

Laurence said that the formality of HHEC students registering through the College of Technology also made taking the courses more affordable. The COT has the lowest fee schedule of any college on campus, he said.

"It is the cheapest way to sign up for 100 and 200 level courses that could be applied to full degree programs at the university," said Laurence.

He said that another advantage of the HHEC courses is the small size of the classes. Laurence said that, for instance, the professor from the Psychology Department that comes down to Hamilton to teach 10 to 12 students in a 100 level class, is the same teacher that teaches the same 100 level class to perhaps 100 students on the main campus.

UM Vice-President Jim Foley was quick to agree with the advantage to HHEC students in cost by having them register through the COT.

"There are some students here on the main campus who are savvy about this," said Foley. He said they will take a bus from main campus to the south campus where the COT is located and take their required introductory courses through the COT because it's cheaper.

Foley said that the HHEC represents the University's continuing commitment to assure that higher education possibilities are made available in the Bitterroot Valley to the greatest extent possible. He said that the university would not be competing with the Bitterroot Valley Community College in any way and will not be duplicating any services.

"We are determined to work with the Bitterroot Valley Community College and the local government to see that the valley's higher education needs are being met," said Foley.

HHEC classes are held at the Hamilton High School or at the Hamilton Carriage House, 310 N. 4th Street.

For more information or a complete list of spring courses, call Dr. Frank Laurence at 363-5410, ext. 115, or go the website www.hhec.umt.edu.

County officials hear about ground water protection

By Michael Howell

County Commissioners got the lowdown about groundwater in the Bitterroot Valley from an entourage of state agency representatives last week. The presentation was organized and arranged by Kristi Kline, a source water protection specialist from Montana Rural Water Systems, Inc.

John LaFave, from the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Ground-water Assessment Program, gave the Commissioners and the public a crash course in groundwater basics. He described the basics of confined and unconfined aquifers, and how shallow basin-fill aquifers function differently from deep basin-fill aquifers and each of these functions differently from fractured bed rock aquifers.

A lot of the bureau's knowledge comes from analyzing well logs and doing well monitoring for both depth to groundwater and for the presence of chemicals or other contaminants. According to LaFave, Ravalli County has the densest concentration of wells in the state. He said that in an area near Victor there were more than 300 wells per square mile. There are twenty sections in the county that show well density over 100. Data from 2005 shows that the county had 15,900 wells, 93 percent of which are domestic wells for residential homes.

Of course, where there is a well there is likely to be a septic. Right now, he said, the bureau's check for nitrates, one of the most common form of contamination related to septics, shows low concentrations and suggests that our septic systems are working, "or we are just looking in the wrong place."

Drought conditions are testing the aquifer in many ways. According to LaFave, it is the bedrock aquifers, higher on the mountain side, that are most likely to suffer drastic declines in dry years and also, due to their confined nature, more likely to exhibit water quality problems.

Almost all wells show seasonal variation in depth to groundwater, but a significant difference is observed in wells affected mainly by stream flow and those affected most by irrigation. Changing irrigation practices can produce drastic changes in well depths to groundwater.

Bill Schultz, from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) in Missoula, described the role of state water law in controlling groundwater use. It used to be, he told the commissioners, that DNRC considered surface water and groundwater claims as separate matters. But a Montana Supreme Court Ruling on the Smith River has changed all that. In that ruling it was determined that the potential for large groundwater wells to impact flows on the Smith River was significant and that new well water appropriations had the potential of impacting existing surface water rights.

This meant that DNRC now had to consider effects on surface water of any new requests for groundwater, especially in river basins, like the Bitterroot River Basin, which have been closed to any new surface water appropriations. As a result the legislature has passed strict new permitting requirements for groundwater applications.

Commissioner Greg Chilcott asked Schultz about the recommendation letter that was recently received concerning a proposed subdivision in the county. It recognized that the 77 domestic wells proposed to serve the lots met state requirements, but then recommended the development of a community water system.

Schultz said the DNRC had recognized that community water systems were a good way to address water quality concerns and that exempting 35 gallon per minute domestic wells from the permitting process created a disincentive for developers to use the community systems. But the agency has taken the issue to the legislature and the legislature declined to lower the exempted amount. He called it a problem that would have to be sorted out politically.

Jeffrey Herrick from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) showed the commissioners well density and septic density maps. He pointed out that in the areas of Florence, Stevensville, Victor and Lone Rock, the septic densities were in the moderate density range of from 50 to 300 septics per square mile. But in areas around Three-Mile, Eight-Mile and southeast of Hamilton, septic densities were already over 300 per square mile.

He noted that the dense level of septics southeast of Hamilton were also directly upstream from the underground water flow, making the area a source of potential contamination for the city of Hamilton's drinking water wells.

He said that the single greatest threat to water quality in wells was a transportation route that would produce low frequency but high probability spills of contaminants. Next came septic systems and then agricultural land, both of which present the risk of high nitrates and other chemicals leaching into drinking water. The list of potential threats is a long one and includes sewer systems, large capacity septic systems, petrol pipelines, UST-LUST, storm water discharge, machine shops, auto shops, landfills, Class V injection wells, smelters, animal waste, and sewage lagoons.

He described some preventive measures for protecting the water quality of wells. They included creating a barrier between the well and any septic systems, better casing on the wells, and situating the wells in relation to potential septic waste exposure, and simply drilling a deeper well.

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