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Columbia Falls planning panel recommends six‑lot Railroad Park Homes despite neighbors’ pleas to save ballfield
Summary
The planning board unanimously recommended city council approval of a growth‑policy map amendment, a zone change to R‑5 and a preliminary plat for the six‑lot ‘Railroad Park Homes’ on 1.3 acres at 394 Railroad Street. Neighbors said the project would remove a much‑used little‑league field and raised concerns about HOA access and replacement fields; the council will hear the matter May 19 at 7 p.m.
At a Columbia Falls Planning Board meeting, members voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve a six‑lot subdivision called Railroad Park Homes, forwarding a growth‑policy map amendment, a zone change to R‑5 and the preliminary plat for council consideration.
The project would redevelop a 1.3‑acre parcel at 394 Railroad Street — previously transferred to the city as surplus by the Montana Department of Transportation — into six residential lots with an approximately 15,000‑square‑foot pocket park maintained by a homeowners association (HOA). Eric, the city planner, told the board the growth‑policy amendment is prompted by recent market changes: he cited a rise in the city’s median home price from about $310,000 in 2019 to $574,000 in 2024 (a roughly 90% increase) as evidence that the existing policy map did not anticipate post‑COVID demand.
The planner said staff recommends the amendment and the zoning change because the R‑5 district (urban residential) better aligns the parcel…
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