City Commission sets July 21 public hearing on proposed Little Shell housing development
City Commissioners voted unanimously during their June 16 meeting to set a public hearing on the proposed Little Shell housing development for July 21.
The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana has requested annexation of 18.4 acres for their Good Medicine housing development, to be constructed in phases.
The Little Shell is also requesting 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.
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The city planning board voted unanimously in May to recommend approval.
All the housing units would be rentals, with priority given to Little Shell members.
Terra Branson-Thomas, a representative for the Tribe on the project, said in April that 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.
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 based on income levels or age.
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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.
That property is just north of the proposed Good Medicine development and is a separate project outside the city limits.
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 planning board meetings.
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The Little Shell also owns other properties in Cascade County that are not included in their current trust application.
Properties in the city limits are subject to all city rules and regulations.
All 32 of the properties the Little Shell owns within Cascade County are taxed according to their Department of Revenue classification and for 2025, the Little Shell paid $121,106.44 in property taxes, according to Cascade County’s publicly available tax records.
The 2025 property taxes for the 18.4-acre parcel being considered for annexation were $98. For 2026, the taxes are $160, according to the property tax database.
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In April, the city planning board attempted to include a commitment from the Little Shell 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.
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Planning board members told city staff that for the May 26 meeting, they wanted additional information on the Little Shell’s rental applications, rental approval process, property maintenance plans and the federal rules regulating their ability to restrict rentals to Little Shell members.
In a May 11 memo provided to the board in preparation for the meeting, staff wrote that the land considered for the Good Medicine housing development is owned by the Little Shell but is fee simple land, which is the same as any other piece of property owned by a citizen or business in the city and is subject to city jurisdiction.
“Regarding the present application before the board/commission, a requirement that the city condition annexation on the Tribe’s agreement to waive or limit its ability to request trust acquisition under federal law is unlikely to be enforceable. The established federal process cannot be limited or waived through a local land use agreement. Any such condition would likely be preempted and unenforceable and therefore would not prevent the fee-to-trust status change,” city planning and legal staff wrote in their May 11 memo.
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If annexation is approved, the property would be subject to the same property maintenance regulations as any other housing development within the city limits.
As for tenant selection, “because the basis of decision criteria do not include an analysis of the funding source for the development or an evaluation of the tenant selection process, a review of any rental application or similar document is not required and is outside the scope of consideration by this board/commission for a recommendation. The city’s review is limited to land use and development criteria,” staff wrote in their memo.
During the May 26 meeting, Gerald Gray, Little Shell chairman, said that the tribal council chose annexation and “want this development to operate within the city.”
In a June 1 response to The Electric’s follow-up questions, Gray wrote that “the Good Medicine project is proposed for annexation into the [city], and the improvement agreement recommended for approval makes clear that the property will remain subject to city jurisdiction and services. Any planning related to a future tribal police department is associated with the Tribe’s broader governmental responsibilities and, more specifically, with the separate fee-to-trust application that has been discussed publicly.”
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Gray said the Tribe has received funding to plan and prepare for a future tribal police department, which is unrelated to the Good Medicine project.
“The Tribe recognizes that many aspects of tribal government and federal Indian law are unfamiliar to some Great Falls residents. We remain committed to being good neighbors and to providing clear information about our projects and initiatives,” Gray said.
Area residents expressed concern over property maintenance during the planning board meetings and in written comments.
City staff reviewed the Little Shell’s six properties within the city limits and found no current or outstanding violations of city property maintenance rules, according to the staff report.
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During the June 16 commission meeting, City Attorney David Dennis said that public comment on the item wouldn’t be considered in the formal public hearing on July 21.
Valley View residents raised concerns about traffic, safety, their property values, taxes and whether the city was legally able to enter into an agreement with the Little Shell if their housing wouldn’t be available to other races.
Alisa Herodes, a member of the Little Shell tribal council and local business owner, said that they hear all the time that Great Falls has a housing shortage and the Good Medicine development would fill some of that gap.
She said the Little Shell are paying for the development and infrastructure. She said paving the road to have access to the property alone will cost in excess of $1 million.
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Jake Clark of the Great Falls Development Alliance said they support setting the public hearing.
Commissioner Rick Tryon asked if the staff report would be updated to reflect the new growth policy they’d approved earlier in the meeting.
Brock Cherry, city planning director, said that staff would provide that information at the public hearing.
Tryon said the staff report includes a basis of decision with findings of fact, but he wanted counterpoints in case the commission wants to deny the proposal.
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City Manager Greg Doyon said it would be cleaner to hold the public hearing to hear comments from all sides and if, after that, commissioners think there are alternatives that need to be discussed, they can direct staff to draft other points for consideration.
Doyon said that based on comments made, some in the room hadn’t read the full staff packet, which includes details that may ease or exacerbate their concerns.
Tryon said commissioners aren’t able to deny land use decisions since they can’t come up with their own basis of decision on the spot.
Commissioners in the past have departed from staff recommendations and denied requests, developing their own basis of decision, usually during a brief recess. Planning board members have done the same.
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Doyon suggested that Tryon take his specific concerns to city staff before the public hearing and they could help him develop findings to present to his fellow commissioners.
Tryon said they weren’t his concerns.
Doyon said that commissioners are the decision-making body.
Tryon said it wasn’t appropriate for commissioners to develop an alternative set of findings and wanted to see an objective other side.
Doyon said commissioners needed to hear the comments made during the public hearing, then, if they wanted, could direct staff to develop alternative findings.
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
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 in their April report they contacted Great Falls Public Schools about the development and received no comment. The report for the June commission meeting also states that city staff received no official comment or concern from GFPS.
Superintendent Heather Hoyer told The Electric in April 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 during the April planning board meeting that Good Medicine 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.
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