The Rock Creek Subdivision: A Broader Look (Literally)

By Courtney Lowery, 5-26-06

The controversy over an Oregon developer's plans for a 200-acre, 36-lot subdivision near Rock Creek just keeps getting juicier (or, actually, more watery). The developer, Michael Barnes, was in court yesterday to chit chat about construction at the site on a five-acre pond. The pond has been at the center of a battle between Barnes and the Rock Creek Protective Association, the group that has filed a suit claiming Barnes' LEMB Co. is violating state laws and excavating in a floodplain without the proper permits and county approval.

Perry Backus' dispatch in the Missoulian from yesterday's court hearing (in which the judge ruled to allow Barnes to work on the pond but nothing else on the propery until the suit gets worked out) begins painting a good picture of what's brewing down there: Allegations fly that Barnes is stealing water from other irrigators and Barnes alleges his neighbors, in a fit of "sabotage" opened a headgate sending water flooding into the site.

On Monday, filmmaker Rob Whitehair was able to take a helicopter flyover of the site and offers up these photos showing what things are looking like on the ground ... from the air:


The build site.


The site from above Rock Creek.


The controversial pond.


Water flooding into the site.

All photos courtesy of Rob Whitehair [End of article]