EVERGREEN – A proposal to build a 122-lot mobile home on Evergreen Drive in Flathead County has surrounding neighbors fearing their homes will lose value.
Area residents are also worried about their safety — and that of the children who live in the neighborhood — because their road already sees a lot of traffic. .Rob Treat and his wife purchased their home on West Evergreen Drive less than a year ago.
Treat says it’s their little slice of the American Dream.
"My wife and I are second-time home buyers and this is a home that we wanted to make it our home. We want to be able to build it up and then also pass it on to someone else eventually," Treat said.
He told MTN News that the home is valued at around $233,000 but with the mobile-home subdivision being proposed on the 33 acres adjacent to his property, he says he fears its value will drop.
"It would be different if it was housing because it is more spread out and people can develop and buy instead of renting," said Treat who added that he’s also concerned about an increase in the traffic to areas that already sees lots of vehicles.
"You stick 240 people plus their dog plus their cat and now you have to compete with 240 more people on this road to get in and out of here," Treat said.
A private traffic study conducted by the landowner found no significant impact in level to service for drivers with the subdivision. But Flathead County Planning Director Mark Mussman says traffic on the road could present problems moving forward.
"I think that traffic is definitely an issue that is real and it’s part of the criteria that can be used to say not the right time to big go back and see how you can mitigate the traffic issue," Mussman said.
The Flathead County Planning board will have a public hearing on April 11 about the request for the preliminary plat approval.
A public hearing for the proposed mobile-home park has been rescheduled to May 1 because the Flathead County Board of Adjustment will not have a quorum for its April 3 meeting.
The Flathead County Commission will make the final decision in the matter.
