Commissioners approve Blackfoot Crossing phasing and plat adjustments, deny removal of key berm

Missoula County commissioners on March 3 approved a suite of phasing‑plan and plat adjustments for the West Bonner Logyard subdivision, now being marketed as Blackfoot Crossing, but denied the applicant’s request to remove a large berm that buffers the site from a nearby residential area.

County planner Jenny Dixon said the amended phasing plan moves the earlier deadlines: the applicant proposes three phases (six industrial lots in phase 1) with new filing dates staggered into 2029 and 2032. Staff recommended approval of the phasing‑plan amendment and of multiple plat changes — including revised common‑area boundaries, revised utility easements, a steep‑slope no‑build designation on the eastern lot, consolidation of some drainfield easements, and deletion of a sidewalk on the north side of Anaconda Street. Dixon said the changes meet state law and county standards and that each phase functions as an independent plat.

The developer’s consultant, Jamie Erbacher of WGM Group, told commissioners the applicant held a neighborhood meeting and agreed to keep the berm at Lot 1 after neighbors voiced concerns that the berm provides a visual buffer. Gregory Morse, managing partner of Blackfoot Crossing LLC, said he plans a long‑term mixed industrial and housing concept and intends to prepare zoning and traffic studies before any later rezoning or development proposals.

Public commenters raised traffic and groundwater concerns. Paul Findlay of Missoula Fire District asked whether the Tax Incremental Economic Development (TED) base year changed under the amendment; staff said it did not. Caller Keith Koprivica, a Bonner Mill Town resident, urged the commission to require a developer commitment on traffic mitigation before any zoning change; Morse replied that updated traffic‑impact and infrastructure plans will be prepared before a zoning submittal.

Outcome and conditions: Commissioners accepted staff’s recommended motions 1–7 and 9 and denied motion 8 (the request to remove the west‑side berm at Lot 1). The denial preserves the existing buffer at a key intersection while allowing the developer to proceed with the other requested plat and phasing changes.

Why it matters: the changes modify the approved subdivision’s timing, infrastructure easements, and common‑area layout and set the regulatory baseline for later zoning and development steps. The decision preserves a neighborhood buffer while clearing other technical obstacles to phased industrial development on the former mill site.

Next steps: the developer will proceed under the amended phasing and plat conditions; any future zoning change or larger development proposal will require separate submissions (including traffic and infrastructure studies) and separate land‑use hearings.