[Canyon] What does Bridger Canyon want to be when it grows up?
Tom Fiddaman
subdivision in the west and the potential congestion of Bridger Canyon road,
created a General Plan for the canyon, with strong conservation goals,
forming one of Montana's first zoning districts. It emphasized preservation
of a rural atmosphere and agricultural opportunities, with recreational and
residential development subsidiary to preservation of natural resources.
The plan has worked; in spite of dramatic growth in Gallatin County, Bridger
Canyon remains a beautiful place, with abundant wildlife, spectacular views,
adequate water, and a two-lane highway (not four).
Time has not been so kind to the Bridger Canyon zoning regulations.
Adventurous amendments by developers, poor drafting, weak enforcement and
development-friendly interpretations by the commission have eroded the
low-density, high quality design standards it contained.
There are three things about our zoning that are as certain as death and
taxes:
• As Gallatin County continues to grow, eventually anything that can be
built will be built.
• An individual landowner’s most profitable course is to subdivide into as
many lots as possible.
• If everyone subdivides to small lots, we will lose the quality of life
Bridger Canyon now provides.
So, we’re again at a crossroads. What will Bridger Canyon look like in 40
more years?
While much can be done to promote good design, the primary driver of quality
of life will be density – how many homes are permitted on the land
available? That will largely determine the intensity of traffic, water use,
sewer loads, and land disturbance.
There are about 400 homes on 800 parcels in Bridger Canyon today. At the
underlying density provided by the zoning, Bridger Canyon could grow to
about 1400 homes. At the growth rate that has prevailed here, that would
take somewhere between 25 and 40 years to unfold. At the density that the
commission has sometimes granted, the upper limit would be over 4000 homes.
At the high growth rates that prevailed in Gallatin County in the 90s and
2000s, that too could happen in under 40 years.
For comparison, Big Sky today has about 1800 homes. So, in a sense, the
question is, do we want to be Bigger than Big Sky, or remain modestly
smaller?
This is the crucial question that the zoning update process is now
considering. BCPOA would like to know what you’d like to see in the future,
so that we can better guide the process.
PLEASE TAKE OUR DENSITY SURVEY, at http://bcpoa.net/densitysurvey.html
As a backup, here's a direct link, without background:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Arh9sK-JAE8NdHVYeThPQWF4Z3JxWnl
Uc3U5bXR3QlE
Thanks!
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