Please VOTE NO - Tronstad Meadows & Whitetail Crossing Public Comment from Kristine & Kevin HurshAimee Brunckhorst
From: Kristine Hursh <ckhursh@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2024 4:44 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Please VOTE NO - Tronstad Meadows & Whitetail Crossing
Honorable Mayor Johnson & Kalispell City Council Members,
We have lived on Tronstad Road for over 24 years and have been attending the city planning and council
meetings since early April 2024. After the Quail Meadows development was snuck into our
neighborhood, we are very concerned about additional land being secretly/quickly annexed into the city
and more high density housing put into our rural neighborhood. Because we reside in the county, the city
is not required to inform us that a huge high density development is planned for right across the street
from our 3.6 acre property. That does not seem like the community affected is being considered in this
planning. No transparency at all.
The developers said that they have been working with the city on this development for over a year, but my
husband and I found out about it in early April. We do feel that this is being rushed through the approval
process and is a big mistake. They also have a website advertising their development before it is even
approved.
Tronstad and Whitefish Stage Roads are narrow county roads with no shoulders and deep ditches on
both sides. These roads are not ready for the additional traffic that 380 new houses would add, not to
mention all the construction traffic to develop this 110 acre parcel. Tronstad was torn up when the Quail
Meadows development went in and that was only 10 acres with 39 houses. We also lost the ability to
turn south onto Highway 93 with Quail Meadows going in. Right now it is unsafe for a bicycle to ride or
people to walk on our narrow roads with blind hills and no shoulders. Adding more vehicle traffic would
only add to the safety concerns. Right now no one should be at the stop sign on Tronstad and Whitefish
Stage when a medium to large truck is trying to turn onto Tronstad - the roads are just not wide enough.
Reserve being widened in the next couple of years will impact traffic on our narrow county roads. This
will be an added headache with the proposed development. Please delay any development on Tronstad
until after Whitefish Stage and Tronstad can be improved. Sirucek is a private road that was adversely
affected by Quail Meadows going in - this proposed development would be a concern there as well.
Tronstad Meadows & Whitetail Crossing will be an island of high density city houses in the middle of rural
acreage. It will be very out of place and inappropriate for the area. This development will be a patchwork
of city, surrounded by rural county land. The existing infrastructure can not support the density
proposed. Add snow removal and drifts in the winter and it will be a big mess. Tronstad has weight limits
for parts of the year. Emergency services will be an issue also.
The existing well shared with the city, as proposed, is problematic, there are others that have water
rights. Also - the community on Tronstad is serviced by individual wells. With the existing well on the
property servicing 380 new houses and the city - will our wells go dry? Will there be any recourse for
us? Has that been considered?
"Affordable housing" is a catch phrase used a lot lately by developers to get approval to make lots of
money. They can sell their lots and walk away, leaving us with increased safety concerns,
inadequate roads, traffic congestion and possible water issues that will affect us for many years into
the future. I work in public service and agree we need affordable housing - this development is not
affordable. Very few of my coworkers could ever afford to buy a house there.
There are many other developments in the planning and building stages around the valley and houses
already on the market. There are lots of apartments being built as well. This proposed patchwork
approach to growth on Tronstad is not the answer to getting more houses built. Get the robust
infrastructure in place before you approve a high density neighborhood like this. Public safety and
community wellbeing should be highly considered. It will be a lot harder to improve Tronstad Road later,
after all the development is in.
We appreciate the amount of work and consideration that goes into the approval process for this large
endeavor. We have signed the petition, spoken at the planning and council meetings, shared our written
public comments and are thankful that our concerns are being considered. We do not think that a
development of this density should be built in this location at this time. We know that development will
happen over time. But this is not the time or the place. Please reject this full proposal -do not change
the growth plan, annex into the city, change zoning or approve the plat.
Thank you for your consideration.
Kristine & Kevin Hursh
210 Tronstad Road, Kalispell
406-253-5199