Another PerspectiveN171 11511, FEAR► . r
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OPPONENT OBJECTION
FACT
Glacier Mall will infringe upon or diminish
Glacier Mall is being developed on
the outdoor, recreational opportunities that
privately owned property that is not used
Montanans enjoy.
for recreational purposes and that is
adjacent to other commercially developed
property. The development does not
detract from the beauty and serenity of
Glacier National Park, Jewel Basin, Bob
Marshall Wilderness, Flathead Lake, or the
Flathead River.
The City Council does not have enough
The City Council has received a detailed
facts to make a decision on amending the
application along with this request. The
Master Plan.
City Council has thorough analysis, both
from the developer and the Tri-City
Planning Office, regarding whether this
request conforms with the vision provided
by Kalispell's Master Plan. Certain details
must be addressed at the PUD and
subdivision stage of the process —not
during the Master Plan land -use decision
process. Approval at this stage shows only
an intent to designate the land for
commercial uses, but development will
ultimately be subject to approval of zoning
and subdivision.
The Glacier Mall development will pollute
The underground aquifer is a large body of
Flathead River and Flathead Lake because
water that runs from Columbia Falls to
storm water contaminants will enter the
Evergreen between the Flathead and
underground aquifer running under the site.
Whitefish Rivers. The amount of storm
water run off from Wolford's site will
literally be a "drop in the bucket"
compared to the amount of water that is in
the aquifer, since Wolford's site comprises
less than one-half of one percent of the
total area above the aquifer. Substantial
development and paving has already
occurred above the aquifer with little to no
storm water management plan. Wolford
Development has hired Roger Noble, an
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expert hydrologist who was involved in the
studies of the underground aquifer along
with Jack Stanford, to provide advise as
how to best mitigate the affects of storm
water run off. Wolford Development will
be proposing state-of-the-art technology as
part of its storm water management plan
during the PUD and subdivision review
process. Members of the Yellow Bay
Biological Station and the Flathead Lakers
acknowledge that the affects of storm
water discharge on the aquifer can be
adequately mitigated through use of
appropriate engineered technology.
Glacier Mall will darken downtown
Most of the businesses along Kalispell's
Kalispell.
downtown streets are not mall -type tenants
and likely will not be affected by Glacier
Mall. Glacier Mall will draw more of the
total trade area into the Kalispell market,
and much of that new trade will spill over
into, and benefit, downtown businesses.
The project will annually keep millions of
dollars in the local economy, which are
presently being spent on retail merchandise
in Spokane, Missoula, Billings, internet
sales, and elsewhere, by providing
consumers with more goods and services
than are presently in the market. In
addition, the development will also attract
new dollars to the Kalispell market.
A market analysis will provide reliable
Within the Kalispell and Flathead Valley
information about the affect Glacier Mall
market, there are few reliable sources for
will have on the local economy.
the needed baseline information that can be
obtained to conduct a market analysis in a
thoroughly independent manner. Data
regarding the availability, demand and
absorption rate in areas of retail, office and
residential development has not been
continually collected, updated or assessed
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in a meaningful or comprehensive manner.
Because of the lack of available and
reliable market information, neither the
City of Kalispell nor any other community
in Flathead County has required
developers, regardless of size, to conduct a
market analysis for the purpose of
decision -making by elected officials. A
market or economic analysis can be
subjective, conclusions from multiple
sources can be inconsistent and they are
not presently a required element of any
land use application or decision.
City residents will face higher taxes to pay
Wolford Development will pay for the cost
for infrastructure required for this project.
of extending sewer to the site. Wolford
Development will pay for the cost of
connection to the Evergreen Water District.
City taxpayers will not have to pay toward
the cost of building a second fire station
because Wolford Development will
contribute a sufficient amount to the City
through initial cash payments and new
property taxes. City taxes and assessments
are already increasing, as was recently
announced. The City acknowledges that
commercial development produces a net
benefit to the City's tax base, so Glacier
Mall does not adversely affect City
resident's taxes.
Wolford's applications are being rushed
Wolford first introduced himself to city
through the process.
and county officials nearly 3 years ago.
Wolford formally filed applications with
the County in July of 2001, which
applications were never acted upon by the
City of Kalispell. Wolford has worked
closely with City staff and the Tri-City
Planning Office for the last 6 months on
the details and issues related to this project.
Um I go I OEM WAXN 19 1 '
The application for annexation and master
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plan designation was filed nearly 2%
months ago on April 15, 2002. Final
approval for zoning, subdivision, and
annexation will likely not occur until
September 2002.
Glacier Mall will cause the doors to the
Double-digit population growth is already
Flathead Valley to be opened wide
rapidly occurring. It is projected to
bringing in more people and causing
continue, regardless of whether Glacier
overcrowding.
Mall gets built.
We can preserve Kalispell exactly as it is
Change is inevitable. Kalispell is better
now for future generations.
served if the change is brought about by
responsible developers with a proven track
record who will do a quality job.
Good planning should be in place before
Wolford has worked very hard to present a
this project moves forward.
well thought-out and detailed plan for how
this property develops. Because it is nearly
250 acres, the subject property has ample
space to plan for a high concentration of
commercial activity in one location, which
avoids the problems experienced by
Kalispell in the past of not having adequate
space for large commercial development
and inadequate room for expansion of
existing commercial development. Despite
Kalispell's efforts to update planning
formerly shared with Flathead County, new
planning is not moving forward, and the
economy and development cannot wait for
planning differences to be ironed out
between the city and county.
The Glacier Mall project will not offer jobs
The Glacier Mall project will provide
that are beneficial 'to the local economy
significant opportunity to put local building
because they will offer low wages, like
contractors to work. The enclosed
Stream and Home Depot.
shopping mall, alone, is estimated to have a
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Glacier Mall will be another "Valley
Dome."
The City is not protecting the environment
if it approves the Master Plan amendment
without full details on storm water and
waste water management.
construction cost of approximately
$100,000,000. Wolford will seek bids
from local subcontractors, and plans to use
local contractors as much as possible.
Despite complaints from residents about
Stream and Home Depot offering only low
wage jobs, those companies each filled
hundreds of positions with little problem.
It is estimated that the enclosed mall,
alone, will employ approximately 1300
people and will create approximately 900
new jobs in the local economy. Northwest
Montana still has higher than average
unemployment and Montana's economy
ranks nationally almost at the bottom. The
Glacier Mall project provides significant
employment opportunities and will infuse
hundreds of millions of dollars into the
local and state economy.
Bucky Wolford has a 28-year track record
as a shopping mall developer. He has
personally developed 22,000,000 square
feet of retail space in various locations
throughout the country. Two national
retailers who are not in the Kalispell
market today have committed to coming
here as anchor tenants of this mall. This is
not a speculative venture.
The Master Plan process only looks at
"land use" issues—i.e., is a certain type of
land use appropriate for a given location.
Approval by the City of the Master Plan
amendment, alone, does not permit
development of Glacier Mall, which still
must receive zoning, subdivision, and
annexation approval by the City. The City
will still have the right to ultimately reject
this proposed development during zoning
and subdivision review.
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