City planning board postpones decision on Little Shell housing development
After a two-hour hearing, the city planning board voted April 28 to postpone a decision on the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana’s proposed Good Medicine housing development.
The Little Shell is requesting annexation of 18.4 acres and a planned unit development zoning classification, with an underlying R-9 zoning, to develop two apartment buildings, each with 25 units, and a mix of 65 single-family homes and duplexes, for a total of 115 residential units.
The Little Shell development is proposed in phases.
All the housing units would be rentals, with priority given to Little Shell Tribe members.
The planning board set another hearing for May 26 to revisit the request, which will ultimately be decided by the City Commission.
A key issue in the discussion is the Little Shell’s application for a fee-to-trust transfer of about 136 acres for their proposed entertainment complex that would include: a casino, 200-room hotel, indoor waterpark, bowling alley and arcade, 8,200-seat arena, restaurants and bars, associated parking and utilities.
Little Shell seeking to transfer some land to federal trust for proposed event center
That property is just north of the proposed Good Medicine development and is a separate project.
Little Shell officials told The Electric in February that they do not intend to transfer the Good Medicine property into trust land and reiterated the same during the April 28 planning board meeting.
During the April 30 planning board meeting, Michel Gorecki, board member, said that he was hearing the community concern regarding the possibility of the land transferring into trust.
Rachel Taylor, deputy city attorney, said that from the city’s perspective, that was “pure speculation” and from a legal perspective, not up for consideration in the Good Medicine annexation request.
The planning board attempted to include a commitment from the Tribe that it would not put the land into trust, but city staff advised that was not legal, as they had already explored including such a requirement in the annexation agreement.
Planning board members told city staff that for the May 26 meeting, they wanted additional information on the Tribe’s rental applications, rental approval process, property maintenance plans and the federal rules regulating their ability to restrict rentals to Little Shell members.
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Some planning board members said they were concerned that the rental restriction to Little Shell members would put the city in jeopardy of fair housing and discrimination legal claims.
City staff and representatives for the Little Shell said that the federal funding they’re using for the housing construction prioritizes housing rentals to Little Shell members, then American Indians of other tribes, followed by non-Indians meeting certain income requirements.
That’s similar to federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and tax credit programs that restrict who can rent or purchase certain residential units.
Typically, rental rates and details of who might live within a proposed housing development are outside the purview of city boards making land use decisions. City Commissioners have some discretion in annexation decisions.
City staff said they were noting the board’s questions but may not be able to provide some of the information if it’s outside their purview.
In a statement issued April 30, the Little Shell said it was disappointed in the decision to postpone the vote but respects the board’s responsibility to review complex issues and appreciates the professionalism of city staff evaluating the project.
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“The Tribe stands ready to provide any reasonably pertinent information requested by the [planning board] within its role as an advisory body to the City Commission. The Tribe remains confident that further clarification will reinforce what has been clear from the outset: the Good Medicine project is structured to operate under city jurisdiction, comply with all applicable laws, and provide long-term benefit to the Great Falls community,” the Tribe said in its statement. “At the same time, the Tribe believes it is important to address some of the disappointing comments made during the public hearing that reflect outdated and harmful stereotypes. One statement characterized the project as bringing ‘blight’ into the community. That claim does not reflect the Tribe’s work or its record.”
The Good Medicine development proposal would annex 18.4 acres into the city and connect existing property within the city limits to the east and west. A parcel of land to the south remains in the county and property to the north is also outside the city limits.
The property was considered for Valley View Addition phases 7-8, with a preliminary plat approved in 1978 for 11.5 acres to include 27 single-family lots and 11 two-family lots, according to city staff. That proposal included using the existing street and utility networks.
Staff said they believe those phases weren’t completed due to economic factors.
The proposed development includes open space and recreational amenities and private internal roads that would be maintained by the Tribe but connect to the existing road network at Valley View Drive, 10th Avenue Northwest and Stuckey Road.
The project is proposed in four phases:
- Phase 1: 10.37 acres for 28 single-family and four duplexes
- Phase 2: 3 acres for two multifamily apartment buildings with 25 units apiece
- Phase 3: 3.4 acres for 10 single-family homes and five duplexes, for a total of 20 units
- Phase 4: 1.2 acres for 7 single-family homes and construction of California Avenue at the northern boundary of the development
- community area: 0.91 acres for a pavilion with a variety of uses, including administration, community, cultural, worship, and parking
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The Tribe will be required to extend all utilities, roadway and frontage improvements on the adjacent city right-of-way on Valley View and 15th to include curb and gutter.
City staff said the city has the capacity to provide utilities, and the development would be served by the Great Falls Police Department and Great Falls Fire Rescue.
The proposed development didn’t generate enough traffic to meet the city code threshold for a traffic impact study, but staff conducted a traffic analysis and found that at full buildout, the development would generate an additional 950 weekday trips and 95 evening peak-hour trips.
Staff found that the existing street network can accommodate the projected increase in traffic.
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Water mains in Valley View were installed in the 1960s and are about halfway through their useful life, according to city staff.
The Montana Egg facility, which is now under new ownership and operations, installed a 12-inch water main loop in 2011.
Staff said they contacted Great Falls Public Schools about the development and received no comment.
Superintendent Heather Hoyer told The Electric that district officials discussed the development by phone with Brock Cherry, city planning director, and that the projected number of students provided by Cherry will fit into the functional capacity of the school in that area.
Jana Cooper of TD&H Engineering is the applicant’s representative on the project and said it would provide “diverse, attainable housing options.”
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Cooper said the development was intentionally designed to be compatible with the existing neighborhood and was logical infill development with infrastructure installation funded by the Little Shell.
City staff said the annexation agreement includes language pertaining to the possibility of the Tribe transferring the housing property to trust land, though the Tribe representatives have said they have no intention of doing so.
Section 18 of the agreement states:
- City Jurisdiction Authority; Change in Status. At the time of execution of this Agreement and annexation of the subject property, the owner represents that the subject property is held in fee simple status and is not held in federal trust for the benefit of the owner or any other party. The rights and approvals granted under this agreement, including but not limited to annexation, zoning, vested rights, and authorization to construct public improvements, are expressly conditioned upon the subject property remaining subject to the civil, regulatory, taxing, and land use jurisdiction of the City of Great Falls.
- 18.1 In the event the subject property, or any portion thereof, is subsequently placed into federal trust status, removed from the jurisdiction of the city, or otherwise rendered no longer subject to the city’s civil regulatory authority, then:
- 18.1.1 Any uncompleted approvals granted under this agreement shall automatically terminate;
- 18.1.2 Any vested rights not yet exercised shall expire;
- 18.1.3 The city shall have no further obligation to provide municipal services except as required by applicable law and this agreement shall terminate accordingly;
- 18.1.4 The city may pursue any remedies available under this agreement for improvements not completed or accepted.
- 18.5 Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or restrict the owner from exercising any rights available under federal and tribal law. Rather, this section defines the conditions under which the city’s approvals and obligations remain in effect.
Cherry said during the April 28 hearing that for now, the land is fee simple and the Tribe follows all land use regulations and laws as any other developer must.
Terra Branson-Thomas, a representative for the Tribe on the project, said the they’re using Native American Housing and Self Determination Act funding, which prioritizes Little Shell members, then other American Indians, then non-Indians who qualify by income criteria.
She said it’s a priority system regulated by federal law.
Jake Clark of the Great Falls Development Alliance spoke in favor of the project.
“Great Falls is in dire need of additional housing stock,” he said.
Several Valley View residents spoke in opposition to the development.
Curt Bedwell said he has concerns about traffic and it didn’t sit well with him that the project would open Valley View Drive as a through street.
Keith Duncan, an area resident, said, “this, in effect, is an 18-acre reservation.”
He said Great Falls needed housing, but “we don’t need the blight that tribal housing becomes.”
Karl Dorr, a Valley View resident, said that he met with Little Shell Chairman Gerald Gray who told him the Tribe was planning to create its own police department.
Branson-Thomas, representing the Little Shell, said that they have no plans to transfer the Good Medicine property to trust land.
She said the property, if annexed, would fall under city jurisdiction and be subject to local laws and regulations.
The Tribal Council considered home ownership for the development but decided on rental to prevent land loss and also control maintenance of the area.
Branson-Thomas said that some federal funding is available to the Tribe for police services, but at this point, they have no trust properties, so have no authority to stand up a police department, nor is the funding sufficient.
In February, she told The Electric in response to questions about the event center parcels the Tribe has requested be transferred to trust that the Little Shell was working with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to develop and establish the Little Shell Police Department, hopeful to finish the initial planning stages this summer, Branson said.
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