Flathead County Commissioners Approve Mixed-use Commercial and ‘Live-Work’ Units in Somers

The Flathead County Board of Commission on Tuesday approved a preliminary plat for a 46-unit subdivision featuring mixed-use condominiums, one-bedroom “live-work” residences and commercial structures on a 10-acre site, which is currently a hayfield, in Somers.

Commissioners Pam Holmquist, Randy Brodehl and Brad Abell unanimously approved the project.

Located on Somers Road, the “Tract 1 Shop Condos” development will result in eight mixed-use condominium structures comprising a total of 46 units, including 18 one-bedroom units, which the developer says consists of a ground floor workspace connected to a single small apartment above it. The workspace would accommodate fields including therapy, “healing services,” art, consulting or “small-scale light industrial work,” while other project uses include 28 commercial units for storage and industrial buildings with office or showroom space and a half-acre park.

According to a traffic impact study submitted by the applicant, the project would produce 230 new daily trips after phase one and 293 trips after phase two. The trips will add to the high volume of vehicles anticipated following the approval of the 60-acre, 252-unit Steamboat Landing development adjacent to Somers Middle School, which was green-lit earlier this year.

The intersection of Montana Highway 82 and Somers Road would carry the “largest share of project traffic” and is “not expected to function well in the near future and is expected to need an upgrade regardless of whether this project proceeds,” according to the staff report. The study concluded a signal justification study should be completed on the intersection and an auxiliary right northbound turn lane would likely need to be added.

“We just wanted to point out the intersections are failing regardless of this project,” Greg Jones of WWC Engineering said at a Flathead County Planning Board meeting last month.

The Steamboat Landing project will generate 2,226 new daily trips in the area, according to a March 2024 traffic impact study commissioned by the developers.

Despite the project’s proximity of 500 feet from the Somers Water and Sewer District, the facility does not have capacity for the subdivision and a groundwater well system will be used. A stormwater pond will be installed on site in accordance with Montana Department of Environmental Quality guidelines. Two community public water supply wells will be installed to access the deep confined aquifer, according to the staff report.

At the commissioner and planning board meetings, public members expressed concerns about traffic congestion and adding new septic systems near Flathead Lake.

“Because of the nature of the geology being in a river flood plain area, the shallow depth of the water table and the variability and the permeability of the rocks in there — it scares me to be developing so many things so close to the lakeshore,” Lakeside resident Nancy Baker said at the November planning board meeting.

[email protected]