HIGHWOOD ROAD AND AREA LANDOWNERS STATEMENT

90% of landowners adjacent to, and 76%of property owners and residents in the vicinity of Salem Road, Great Falls, Montana, including Highwood Road, Swift Road, Bickford Road, Homestake Lane, Prairie Nest Road, Fife Road, McKinior Road, Mountain View Road, US Hwy 89 east of Great Falls to Belt, and Shepherd Butte Road, OPPOSED, in writing, to the Cascade County Commissioners the Rezone Application of parcels on, adjacent to, or in the direct vicinity of Salem Road by Duane and Mary Urquhart and Scott and Linda Urquhart.  The landowner’s community letter, dated November 27, 2006 to the Cascade County Commissioners, is available upon request.

Highwood Road and Area Landowners believe the rezone of the Urquhart parcels, from “A-2” Agriculture to “I-2” Heavy Industrial, will forever change the footprint of our unique agricultural ecosystem.  Isolating and rezoning 840 acres of pristine Agriculture Production land to select Heavy Industrial Use parcels creates the potential for “any lawful type” of heavy manufacturing or industrial plant use.  Heavy Industry in this ecosystem will have an irrevocable impact on the environment and our community’s future.

Municipal zoning laws are intended to protect communities and property owners against misuse and mixed-use land utilization.  Municipalities geographically identify and set aside specific areas within their boundaries as residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, and agricultural.  These geographic identities provide the basis for well-planned and harmonious communities in which we live and conduct business.    

Cascade County adopted its Master Plan in Sept. 2006.  The Master Plan defined specific 12-Point Criteria for all future rezone applications within the County.  76% of Highwood Road and Area Landowners firmly disagree with the Planning Commission’s assertion that the 12-Point Criteria have been satisfied, or met, for the proposed rezone parcels. 

The landowner’s community letter, dated November 27, 2006, identified specific rezoning criteria to which there is concern, including: Compliance with Existing Land Use Plans that clearly identify the surrounding area      as “large scale agricultural use. Clever abuse of the County’s Spot Zoning regulations. Compatibility of Heavy industry within an agricultural community. An erroneous statement that Heavy Industry usage is in the Community’s Best Interest. Claims by Cascade County Planning Department personnel that the Position of Neighborhood Property Owners was favorable, an assumption that existing county roads, both hard surfaced and gravel, are engineered to provide for a significant increase in Traffic Access and Circulation. The debate over adequate Fire and Emergency Services Response Services.

And several others.

Highwood Road and Area Landowners are dissatisfied with Cascade County’s Planning Department, Cascade County Planning Commissioners, and Cascade County Commissioners for having succumbed to the pressure of individuals and utility companies making false promises for future county tax revenues and services.  Cascade County Commissioners and County staff manipulated rezoning procedures intending to discourage public participation, explicitly that of landowners and residents in the immediate area of the proposed rezone, to facilitate a trouble-free approval of the rezone.  We remind our elected Commissioners that an increase in County coffers is not necessarily a benefit “to the greater good of the citizens of Great Falls.”

Highwood Road and Area Landowners remain vigilant and continue to monitor Cascade County’s participation in the development of the Urquhart parcels.  Cascade County Commissioner’s misuse and exploitation of public policy has severely fractured the public’s trust.