A proposed 91-home subdivision on 38.6 acres along Helena Flats Road in Evergreen gets its first public scrutiny at a Flathead County Planning Board hearing on Wednesday.

Cottonwood Estates is planned on the east side of Helena Flats Road, just north of the road’s intersection with Evergreen Drive.

It’s zoned for one-family residential development.

The developer, Cottonwood Estates LLC, proposes to use public water and sewer systems through the Evergreen Water and Sewer District, but because the property is located outside the Evergreen district, sewage capacity would have to be granted by the city of Kalispell.

A condition of the city’s approval is the waiver of the right to protest annexation, and that all public facilities — sidewalks, lighting, roadways and other amenities — are built to city standards.

The Flathead County Planning Office staff has recommended approval of the subdivision, with 20 conditions that include access issues.

Among the project-specific conditions is a requirement to build two crosswalks on Helena Flats Road, one at the intersection of Solberg Lane and the other at the southern end of Barley Loop.

A bike/pedestrian path separate from the roadway is recommended for the entire length of the subdivision along the east side of Helena Flats Road.

The developer plans to build the subdivision in four phases.

A second public hearing will consider a request by Strickland, Endresen and Fraser for a zoning map amendment in the Westside Zoning District.

The proposed amendment would change the zoning on 45.5 acres from a suburban agriculture 10-acre minimum lot size to five-acre lots. The Planning Office has recommended approval of the amendment.

The property, located off Three Mile Drive on Eastview Drive in the West Valley area, is divided in four tracts. Owners include Jon and Lorie Endresen, Michael and Katherine Fraser and the Frank and Michelle Strickland Trust.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com