Missoula News

Planning and Zoning

County Approves Commercial Zoning for Flynn Lane Development

By Stefanie Kilts, 2-08-07

Missoula County Commissioners Wednesday approved the rezoning of two residential tracts near Flynn Lane and Highway 10 to allow for commercial uses in the proposed Dougherty Ranch development.

The commissioners took the recommendations of the Office of Planning and Grants to rezone one of the tracts to a special zoning, or mixed-use, district. OPG also recommended rezoning the second tract for “light commercial” use.

The OPG suggestions and subsequent commission decision downsized owner Jim Dougherty’s original requests to rezone one tract to heavy commercial and the other tract to moderate commercial. 

Jennie Dixon, a planner for OPG, said a general or heavy commercial zone would not have blended well with adjacent land. Dixon said, “… light commerical is more appropriate to transition from residential to commercial.”

The second piece of land, zoned for light commercial uses, is bordered by open space protected by a conservation easement and a potential residential area. The first tract, zoned for mixed-use, is surrounded by the rest of the proposed development, all of it owned by Dougherty.

Commissioners Bill Carey and Jean Curtiss voted for OPG’s recommendations. Carey said despite Dougherty’s promises to address neighbors’ concerns with the heavier commercial use, “land use goes on for a long, long time beyond what the original family may have intended.”

Missoula County Commissioners have already zoned nine of 15 tracts on the western portion of the Dougherty Ranch for heavy commercial use. Wednesday’s meeting was continued from a hearing held on Jan. 9 when the remaining six tracts were discussed.

Dougherty ultimately decided to table four of the tracts located along Flynn Lane after the adjacent Pleasant View subdivision opposed the proposed zoning. Bill Wagner, Dougherty’s representative, said there were currently no plans for the four unzoned tracts.

Commissioner Barbara Evans voted against OPG’s recommendations and said she was disappointed that Dougherty had tabled the four other tracts. Evans said she wanted to see a decision made on all six tracts and to implement a “graduated zoning system” in which tracts could transition from residential to commercial to industrial.

Although the rezoning decision pleased residents living near the property, some are still concerned about the future of the four remaining tracts. Richard Chapman, who lives across the street from those pieces of land, said he did not want to see box stores out his front window. “Walmart doesn’t have sunsets, we do,” he said. 

The County Commissioners also approved seven new lots on 0.8 acres on Iowa Avenue in East Missoula at the Wednesday meeting.

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