Wilkinsons won’t sell land to Kapoor
Hungry Horse News | UPDATED 2 years, 7 months AGO
An aerial view of the 113-acre parcel Location Ventures was attempting to buy from the Wilkinson Trust.
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
The owners of a ranch east of Columbia Falls say they have terminated a contract with developer Rishi Kapoor, CEO of Location Ventures to sell about 113 acres of land.
“The (Wilkinson) Trust is not interested in selling,” Sue Wilkinson told the Hungry Horse News Friday.
Kapoor had gone as far as requesting a zone change from the county planning board for the property from CSAG-10 (Suburban Agricultural) to R-1 residential, but later withdrew the application.
Location Ventures is out of Coral Gables, Florida, and specializes in luxury homes and developments.
The entire Wilkinson Ranch, which has been in the family since about 1990, is 180 acres.
R-1 allows for up to one home per acre under county zoning regulations.
Now Kapoor is seeking a zone change on 12 acres the company owns outright at 7240 Highway 2 East, just north of the Big Sky Waterpark and south of the Wilkinson Ranch.
That, too, is zoned SAG-10 and Kapoor is asking for R-1 on that parcel.
Kapoor in April asked for a zone change on 22 acres of land just east of the Flathead River Bridge from the Columbia Falls City Council.
In that proposal, he was asking for a zone change from CSAG-5 and CSAG-10 (Suburban Agricultural) with a 5 and 10 acre minimum lot size to a proposed zoning of CR-4 (Urban Residential) zoning.
Council denied the zone change, as Kapoor had planned 180 rental units for the property and there were concerns about traffic safety and the environmental sensitivity of the area, as about half of it is wetlands.
That parcel was in the city’s planning jurisdiction. The 12 acre parcel is just up the road, but it’s in the county’s, not the city’s, planning jurisdiction.
The county planning board is expected to take up the application at its June 14 meeting at 6 p.m.