Residents say Board of Adjustment ignored neighborhood concerns over Spring Street apartment plan
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Summary
Residents at the Lewistown City Commission meeting urged commissioners to intervene after the Board of Adjustment approved variances for a proposed Spring Street apartment project; speakers said the board did not listen and asked how appeals and 'merit' determinations will be handled before an April 24 deadline.
Several residents told the Lewistown City Commission that a proposed multi-unit building on Spring Street is out of scale for the neighborhood and that the Board of Adjustment did not listen to neighbors' concerns. "It really appears that our opinion didn't matter and was already a done deal before we came," said Michelle Raney, a nearby resident.
The comments came during the meeting's public-comment period, which drew multiple speakers from the neighborhood who described the proposed building as an "eyesore" and questioned how the plan had changed from earlier submittals. Residents pressed the commission and staff for clarity on the appeals timeline and the role of the city-contracted attorney in determining which appeals have legal "merit." City staff said appeals must be filed by April 24 and that the contracted attorney — engaged through a League of Cities and Towns legal-services arrangement while the city attorney is on family medical leave — will help decide which appeals meet legal thresholds for rehearing.
Neighbors criticized the method used to gauge community opinion, saying survey results did not reflect broad property-owner input. "If you're gonna survey, you're serving a large number of people," one resident said, urging mailed or otherwise broadly distributed surveys to reach property owners rather than relying on in-person meeting turnout.
Commissioners and staff repeatedly emphasized that the city commission does not decide the initial variance outcome; that authority lies with the Board of Adjustment. Commissioners said the original Board of Adjustment members who heard the matter will be the ones to consider appeals and that the commission's role is limited to receiving appeals under current procedures. City Manager Holly Phelps told the commission the board's powers and duties are defined under city code and that appointed citizens serve on the board.
The public comments included repeated requests that the city make Board of Adjustment bylaws and minutes available and clarify which board members live inside city limits. Staff said minutes for that board are required but not always recorded and agreed to locate and distribute the bylaws and any available minutes.
Next steps: residents who filed appeals will be notified; the Board of Adjustment will hold a rehearing before the April 24 deadline and the city has contracted outside counsel to assist with legal review of which appeals meet the statutory merit standard.
