But other landowners protested the zoning, saying it's designed to kill a proposed 36-home subdivision before it has a chance to be heard.
“We ask that our project be judged on its own merits,” said Oregon developer Michael Barnes, speaking against the zoning district at a public hearing Wednesday before the County Planning and Zoning Board.
In Barnes' Ranch at Rock Creek development, average lot size is about 5 acres.
After hearing arguments pro and con, members of the Planning and Zoning Board recessed their meeting until Dec. 13, to sift through comments and material collected Wednesday, and to get legal questions answered.
They heard two hours of testimony from a crowd forced to flow into the courthouse hallway, where they watched proceedings on a television monitor set up by Missoula Community Access Television.
“I don't think we ever get to revisit this decision,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the Clark Fork Coalition, which supports the citizen-initiated zoning in the sensitive corridor. “In 10 years ... it is going to be too late.”
Property owner Lorraine Corra said she wrestled with whether to sign the petition and join the zoning district.
“I like to keep my options open, see what the future brings,” she said. “I realized that I would be giving up my ability to develop my 10 acres. With the price and money being thrown at Montana, I could make a bundle.”
But her grandparents farmed the land, told stories about American Indians who camped there, and even took in a homeless schizophrenic who ended up staying on the land until his death, she said.
Her motivation is cultural, she said. She wants to see the land and its history protected.
“When I go through places like Greenough Park (in Missoula), I thank the Greenough family,” she said. “It's a wonderful resource and I get to walk on it.”
Landowner Don King, who lives in Chicago and has worked as a developer himself, said the county's own growth plan suggests open space and low-density development in the area. Thirty-six homes is too dense, he said.
He said he's placed an easement on his own property, just to protect it for future generations. Barnes' proposal doesn't fit the character of what's already there, he said.
“To come in an propose seven times what the (growth) guidelines would say, and then when challenged, call that unfair, is a very interesting use of the concept of fairness,” he said. “I feel like I am being unfairly treated by the action.”
Doug Persico, who owns the Rock Creek Fishing and Mercantile, said he'd actually gain customers if the subdivision goes in. But the subdivision will degrade the ecosystem of the stream and the river, and raises concerns about whirling disease and the effect of wastewater from 36 homes at the confluence of the two waterways, he said.
“There is something more important than making money at the fly shop,” he said.
“When you are in my business and making a living off the creek, you have a duty to defend the creek. If it calls for my making a little less money by not having a subdivision to draw on, I'll gladly make that trade and keep that sacred ground of the confluence of Rock Creek and the Clark Fork River the way it is.”
Barnes dismissed some of the testimony as “emotionalism,” but also said he's listened to concerns about the subdivision, taken seriously fears about water quality and protecting the wildlife, and is making changes in the subdivision proposal to reflect those concerns.
One change already made: upgrading septic systems from the minimum “Level I” standards to systems that are more efficient “Level II” systems, he said.
Wait until the subdivision is submitted and evaluated before killing it, he urged the county officials.
Barnes, who owns about 200 of the 500 acres in the proposed zoning district, requested that his land be removed from the district, a step the Planning and Zoning Board could take.
The law does not require 100 percent support within a proposed zoning district.
Alan McCormick, Barnes' Missoula attorney, said Barnes plans to submit his subdivision plan soon, and changing the rules in the middle of the process isn't fair.
County regulations require developers to meet with nearby residents, which Barnes did, he said. Now, he needs time to process those concerns.
If developers don't get that time without the threat of pre-emptive zoning maneuvers, they will simply hold a public hearing and file their subdivision the next morning, stapling a few public comments to the back, he said.
Barnes got support from others at the meeting, including Missoula Realtor Katie Ward, who called residents in Rock Creek “obstructionists” and likened them to the residents who rallied and successfully fought placing a baseball stadium in their neighborhood near Dornblaser Field.
“I see a lot of similarities, except these obstructionists have money,” she said. “I would hate to see zoning become a hammer.”
Also coming to Barnes' aid was the owner of a company doing work on his land. “This is just a big slam on one parcel,” he said. “They're just stomping the guy.”
But others cautioned that once special land is developed, the damage is done.
“What we are talking about here today is the future of the confluence of Rock Creek and the Clark Fork River,” said Stone-Manning of the Clark Fork Coalition. “Rock Creek is no secret. People fly here from all over the world to fish its waters. It's a place of national renown.
“Over and over through the years as we've worked with the commissioners, we've heard you say, gosh, we don't have the tools to do what you are asking.
“Today, you've got that tool. You've got citizens who have banded together to say we want to zone ourselves, choosing to give up potential profit.
“If people in the (zoning) district don't like it, they have the appeal process. ... If it isn't fair, democracy works and it gets overturned.”
To be continued
The Missoula County Planning and Zoning Board will continue discussing a zoning district on Rock Creek at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 13 in the Missoula County Courthouse.
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