Last Monday the Hamilton Zoning Board of Adjustment, in a contentious three hour meeting, voted to postpone decision on the 16 unit condominium subdivision proposed by Chip Pigman.  The 16-unit development would completely use up the 2.07 acre parcel that is the last open space in the Arbor Development that is potentially available for public use, and is located in the critical space behind the Aquatic Center and Ravalli County Headstart.

 The vote was 4-3, stunning Mr. Pigman, his attorney, his engineer, and others he had brought to the meeting to push through the new development.  The vote was a victory for the residents of Arbors who attended the meeting to express their concerns, and for City Councilors like Bob Scott and DeAnne Harbaugh who had expressed their objection to the attempts by Mr. Pigman to bypass the normal Planning Board and City Council hearings to approve new subdivisions.

 Those voting for postponement were Vivian Yang, Bill Frankenfeld, Clayton Dethlefson. and John Sellers.  Those voting against postponement were Sue Smith, Chris Cluff, and John Trangmoe. 

 The vote to postpone was all the more astounding given that Hamilton anti-planner planner Dennis Stranger and un-attorney attorney Ken Bell had greased the way for Mr. Pigman by slipping the development proposal under the radar to the ZBA for a “conditional use permit."

 Well, the public, albeit not our supposed news outlet the Ravalli Republic, is now aware of the attempted subterfuge by Pigman, Stranger, and Bell.  All the nasty facts are coming out – Pigman’s need to get rid of the hundred-year-old cottonwoods so loved by long-time Hamilton residents, his failure to provide adequate public parks and amenities in Arbors, his need for yet more profit, and his failure to look for an alternative public or semi-public buyer for the 2 acre parcel in question, after the YWCA was unable to meet Pigman’s terms.

 But it didn’t take long for the empire to strike back.  Within days of the ZBA vote, Pigman cut down all the cottonwoods.  Take that, you pesky Hamilton peons!  The sign saying, “future YWCA site” is gone, as is the sign identifying the small and only park in Arbors as “Private – for residents only, not available to the public.”   That should take care of any bad publicity about failure to provide public space in Arbors.  Just go to the scene and remove the evidence!

 The next vote will be in three weeks.  Demand that the ZBA send the proposal to the Planning Board for proper processing as a new subdivision, then fight hard to stop the subdivision.  Enough people can turn this affront by developers into a victory for the people.  

Consider the following article in last week’s Ravalli Republic.   A striking example of the RR’s favorite technique -  an editorial disguised as news.   The RR either considers its readers to be fools, or doesn’t expect them to read past the headline.

Impact fees hammering the building trade
by JENNY HARRIS - Ravalli Republic
        
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A small Dairy Queen ice cream cone costs $1.10. The cost in impact fees it takes to provide the frozen treat? More than $15,303.

Impact fees in the city of Hamilton were adopted in May and charge new residential and business development for impacts it creates on existing infrastructure. Hamilton officials adopted four impact fees - water, wastewater, fire and police. The cost of each fee depends on several factors such as the size of property, amount of city utility use and location.

Dairy Queen had to shell out $15,303 in impact fees for its new restaurant on the north end   [click "read more" just below to finish reading article]