Bitter Root Stock Farm land proposed for workforce housing

A presentation on the proposed housing development on Monday at the Hamilton Grange drew nearly 80 community members.

“The Bitter Root Stock Farm was established in 1886 and the Bitter Root Stock Farm has gone through a lot of changes,” said Peter Van Tuyn with the BRSF. “These changes were all made with great thought and deliberation. We have experienced a great growth in this valley and we also find it hard to take a left on Highway 93. We also notice the lack of housing is putting a severe strain on our community.”

Bitter Root Stock Farm owners are proposing a development on ranch land located northwest of the Fairgrounds Road and Eastside Highway intersection, northeast of Hamilton High School. The D-Lazy-S Meadows proposal includes 113 lots on 26 acres with 226 housing units that would connect to city water and sewer. The units range from studio to three-bedroom apartments for rental and sale.

The proposal allows for neighborhood commercial opportunities, while leaving 20% of the property for open space in partnership with Biomimicry 3.8 engineer Seth GaleWyrick. The open space areas, trails, the green spaces and alleys would be maintained by a homeowner’s association while the main roadways will be owned and maintained by Hamilton.

“Whatever your opinion on growth, it is here,” Van Tuyn said. “It came right to us at the Bitter Root Stock Farm. Our plan is in close proximity to town, schools, nature, employers, dense residential development, expanded airport and more. It would be faster to walk than to drive to the high school if you lived in this development.”

Van Tuyn said in the 2009 Transportation Plan, prepared by the City of Hamilton, Ravalli County and the Montana Department of Transportation, the goal was to move Fairgrounds Road and airport intersection further north.

“That is on our land,” he said. “The Hamilton Growth Policy, completed in 2022, identified this land as where Hamilton could logically grow. If you have not seen these documents I urge you to look at them as they guide the city on growth, development, transportation, land use, public infrastructure and a lot more.”

He said to help manage the growth that has happened, the county and city asked for a road and sewer easement through the BRSF land so the intersection could be relocated and airport sewage could get to the treatment plant, “rather than stay within the septic system at the airport which has been overcapacity since 2012.”

“It creates a pollution bulb and threatens the ground water,” Van Tuyn said. “If that pollution bulb is left unchecked it could impact the river and the water in between to the airport. The land between the river and the airport is our ranch, it’s not other people’s property. We want to protect the water on our land. We gave them the easement, we told them they need to get it done before irrigation season this spring.”

He said the number of accidents at the current intersection of Fairgrounds Road and Eastside Highway has led to the decision to move the intersection further north.

“The town is literally growing right through our property,” Van Tuyn said. “That reality, plus financial interests, led us to decide development is the highest and best use for this land now. That is not a light decision for the ranch to make as land is the foundation for everything we do.”

He said selling the land was one option but it would mean losing control over the development.

“We want control over the development because we want the development to address the acute needs to substantially diverse housing options in Hamilton and to do it in a functional, neighborhood way,” Van Tuyn said. “We want it to be designed and built with the most modern tools available to respect the land and we want it to be done in a way that minimizes interference with our continued ranch operations.”

The BRSF owners realized designing, proposing and getting approval for their design would guarantee they retained control. The proposed site plan has dense housing but in a variety of styles and a consideration for green space.

“We have taken our inspiration from old Hamilton, not surprising since Marcus Daly was the one who started the town,” Van Tuyn said. “We liked what he did, the old neighborhoods have a functional neighborhood feel with alleys.”

To mitigate the impact of the proposal on the natural environment, D Lazy S Meadows is working with Biomimicry 3.8.

GaleWyrick said Biomimicry is the study of how nature works and then incorporating that healthy design into the planning and construction to respect local ecology and community needs. He showed the research numbers and spoke to how the proposal meets healthy goals.

At the meeting on Monday, community questions included: Would the cost of each dwelling be affordable? Will this lower rent costs in the valley? Will the project affect the water table? Will there be more than one entrance/exit into the neighborhood?

Others questioned if there had been an environmental impact study, while some asked about the impacts to emergency services and local schools. 

Van Tuyn invited everyone to study the proposal, read the guiding documents and participate in the upcoming meetings.

The community members had a variety of opinions and concerns, but overall, seemed supportive of the project.

“We are choosing to succeed and we don’t think being passive about our housing crisis is a recipe for success,” Van Tuyn said.

The formal filing should be later this week.

The project has three public hearings ahead, with a plan to possibly start construction next spring. The d-lazy-s.com website has detailed information on the proposal and the livestream of the meeting is available on Facebook d-lazy-s.