Right now, this monster wave is out to sea and barely visible, but get ready because when and if  it hits it is going to be bigger than you think. 

According to the Ravalli Republic, " from October 2004 through June this year, there are 163 subdivision projects totaling some 3,098 lots that landed in the county's lap. The projects are in all stages of review and completion, and many have build outs years down the road."

As is typical for the RR, the story is given a "ho-hum, business as usual" flavor, as befits the  RR's pro-development stance, with soothing quotes from the Montana Building Industry Association and others.  Nothing really to see here, move along.

The RR fails to alert us to the magnitude of the disaster about to befall us.  The mere fact of 3,098 new lots in the pipeline in the space of three years should be cause enough for serious alarm, rather than the "not much change" slant of the RR.  But the scale of subdivision activity is actually far larger.  According to credible County sources, Ravalli County has more than 7500 housing units already approved, but not yet built, and well over 2500 units officially in the pipeline, and thousands more (including Flatiron, Area 3, and others) knocking at the door.  In two years Hwy 93 will be four lanes to Hamilton with dozens of major access points and a 70 mph speed limit (this means 75 to 80 for our agressive drivers) courtesy of Ravalli County's Republican legislators.  And Wal-Mart, with is promised 5,000 cars per day is relentlessly working to root itself in our midst.

Do we think we can drink from a firehose?  There is no way the Bitterroot Valley can survive this kind of growth, even if we spread it out over decades, and still have anything resembling our current quality of life.  And believe me, all developers want their profits as soon as they can get them, so don't be lulled by the supposed mitigation of  "phased development."

 We simply don't have the airshed, watershed, traffic infrastructure, or open space to absorb the subdivision tsunami already formed.  Never mind the insanity of dreaming up yet more subdivisions {just last week, the City of Hamilton learned of a new 79-unit development palnned for the old Twin Kitchens site).

 Fight back.  Unlike a real tsunami, this one is human-caused and human assisted, and can be stopped by human action.  Demand action from County commissioners and City governments.  Demand action from the State, including better and more protective subdivision laws.  Or better still, get rid of the Republican legislators in Ravalli County who aided, abetted, and fosterd the present laws that brought on this tsunami in the first place.