After three hearings and several hours of public comment, the Missoula County commissioners Thursday approved citizen-proposed zoning north of the Interstate 90 interchange in Frenchtown.
The zoning was proposed in part to block Town Pump’s planned travel plaza in the area, but the project could still move forward. Town Pump has submitted a permit application and requested that the county determine it has a vested right to continue the project. That question will ultimately be decided by county staff.
In a statement, representatives of Keeping Frenchtown, the community nonprofit that proposed the zoning, said they are grateful to community members and county commissioners for making the initiative a reality.
“We recognize that challenges may lie ahead, and we are confident the initiative is on solid legal and factual ground,” the group wrote. “Our community’s water supply, the safety of our children, and the quality of life on our roads are at the heart of this effort, and we will continue working to protect them.”
The new zoning on about 400 acres north of I-90 near the interchange would allow one house per 5 acres on most of the land, one house per acre on about 14 acres around existing development in the middle of the area and for light industrial use on 7 acres along Belker Lane and Frenchtown Frontage Road. Town Pump’s planned travel plaza just east of Frenchtown High School wouldn’t be allowed under the proposed zoning.
Town Pump plans to build a 25,700-square-foot convenience store on the site, with showers for truckers and travelers, as well as a casino, said Dan Sampson, the company’s construction and development manager, during the meeting. The casino has a pending beer and wine license but would not serve hard alcohol, he said. The site would not include a liquor store, Sampson said. The travel plaza would include 57 overnight parking spaces for trucks and RVs, he said.
County planning staff recommended adopting the zoning proposal because it generally complies with the adopted growth policy for the area and would prevent potential impacts on public health and safety.
In previous meetings, some landowners spoke out against the proposed zoning because it wouldn’t allow them to develop commercial businesses or professional offices on their property.
Dan Manson, chief legal counsel for Town Pump, said during the meeting Thursday that he disagrees with the conclusion that the zoning proposal is consistent with the growth policy, which calls for commercial development near the interstate.
“What we have here is something that’s tailored to stop a project, and in doing that, they take a hatchet or sledgehammer to any commercial uses of the property,” he said.
Jennie Dixon, a county planner, said while the staff acknowledges the age of the growth plan for the area, there are no newer documents to guide decisions.
The Missoula County Planning and Zoning Commission — which includes the county commissioners, the public works director, the county clerk/recorder and a citizen member — voted 4-2 to recommend approval of the zoning petition, with Clerk/Recorder Tyler Gernant and county resident Errol Rupp opposed. Gernant said complying with the growth plan from 1975 is “virtually impossible,” and stopping one project is not the purpose of zoning.
The county commissioners voted unanimously to follow that recommendation and approve the zoning, but not without reservations.
Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said while the process is a “pretty poor way” to go about land use planning and zoning, he supported the citizen proposal because it will likely align somewhat with future zoning stemming from the upcoming countywide comprehensive planning.
“I will say, be careful what you wish for,” he said before the vote. “I am not going to be the one deciding this, but there will be a process to determine vesting. And I will not at all be surprised if you, in the community, end up with zoning and a Town Pump simultaneously. So we’ll see how that plays out, but just to temper expectations, what we’re doing here today is not the final backstop on whether there is a Town Pump at this location.”
Missoula County is set to begin a countywide comprehensive plan for the unincorporated areas this fall. The plan would guide land use, housing, transportation, economic development and conservation in the areas outside the city. It would also provide a path and legal basis for adopting or updating zoning regulations, according to the county. Dixon said any zoning adopted following this process would supersede the citizen zoning.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick said he also would not have approved the petition were it not for the upcoming planning process.
In its statement, Keeping Frenchtown representatives said they look forward to the upcoming planning initiative.
“We will encourage our entire community to participate fully in those workshops to help craft a holistic land-use and zoning plan that works for the entire community,” the statement said.
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