Streamside setbacks
State, county considering stream-front regulations
by CARLOTTA GRANDSTAFF - For the Ravalli Republic
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A new section of riprap built to curb erosion at the River's Edge housing development between Eastside Highway and the Bitterroot River has slowed the immediate loss of property along the subdivision's shore, but according to Garrett Pace, has increased erosion and sediment deposits downstream. WILL MOSS - Ravalli Republic
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FLORENCE - Anyone who thinks streamside setback laws are unnecessary might want to take a look at Garrett Pace's property - or what's left of it.
Pace, who owns about 26 acres between Eastside Highway and the Bitterroot River near Florence, has been losing about 2 to 3 feet of land each year to the meandering river. In the past three years, following the construction of riprap to protect an upstream subdivision, he's seen an acre or two of land erode down river, taking trees and about 200 feet of fence with it.
He blames it on the upstream riprap, installed to protect a 17-home subdivision aptly named River's Edge. It's not only the erosion of his property or loss of valuable, mature trees that has him upset. The riprap also straightened and degraded a section of river that had been twisty, winding, healthy trout habitat. The redirected channel has cut into the bank, depositing nutrient-poor gravel into the river and eliminating some prime fishing holes, he said.
It's a lot of damage from one small riprap project. And it could have been avoided with a streamside setback ordinance that would have prohibited construction so close to the river, Pace said.
“Every year the river takes and gives, takes and gives, and that's a healthy river,” he said, surveying the straightened, shallow river channel. “From July to September, you can walk across it, and that's not a healthy river. This is a really crappy stretch of river (for fishing). It used to be sweet.”
Ravalli County is looking at as many as 4,800 new homes in five developments in the works right now, and county environmental health officials are monitoring about 520 sites for potential septic systems this season. While construction within a flood plain is regulated, there isn't any regulation for construction along streamsides in Ravalli County.
That's likely to change next year - one way or another. There are two efforts underway to establish a streamside setback ordinance currently in the works - one local and one at the state level.
In the 2005 legislative session, the senate narrowly defeated a bill establishing building setbacks of 225 feet from all Montana rivers, according to Janet Ellis, executive director of Montana Audubon, one of the conservation and smart-growth groups that lobbied for the bill. The bill, SB 173, died on a tie vote, which Ellis called encouraging.
“Normally, legislation doesn't get out of committee the first time,” she said.
A similar bill - its exact wording still being worked out - will be introduced in the 2007 session.
Because rivers don't follow man-made boundaries, a statewide setback ordinance makes sense, Ellis said.
“This is a challenge, as you can imagine,” said Ellis. “There are 56 counties in the state and rivers go through jurisdictional lines.”
Along the Missouri River in Lewis and Clark County, buildings must be set back 200 feet. Four counties have agreed on a 150-foot setback along the Big Hole River; in Choteau County, buildings must be set back three miles from the river; and in Cascade County, setbacks are allowed up to the flood plain. A statewide law would make setbacks consistent throughout the state, Ellis said. Because SB 173 made it as far up the legislative process as it did on its first go-around, she believes it has a good chance of passing in 2007.
“Legislators in Montana understand that if we lose our rivers to homes lining them, it would be huge,” she said.
The Bitterroot Board of Realtors disagrees with the statewide approach and has launched its own effort, with the support of Ravalli County Commissioners.
“I think it's safe to say that what works in Beaverhead County might not work here,” said Teri Polumsky, a long-time Bitterroot Realtor and member of a citizen group established to come up with a plan for a local setback ordinance.
In May, Ravalli County commissioners supported a grant request for a streamside preservation mapping project made by the Bitterroot Board of Realtors. The grant, from the National Association of Realtors, was awarded to Clint Brown and his H2 Design Group, who will map the valley's tributaries in preparation for a local streamside setback ordinance.
Brown is already in the field, said Polumsky. His work, massive as it sounds, will be complete by the end of the year. The timing is critical because the county must have its own ordinance in place by the end of this year to avoid compliance with a statewide law, which may well pass in the 2007 Legislature.
The H2 Design Group's work will provide a wealth of information to the county, Polumsky said. “I think the board (of Realtors) is giving a tremendous gift to the county,” she said.
Commissioner Greg Chilcott said he is confident county employees can work to develop a setback ordinance, but is concerned about making sure the science is adequate to back up an ordinance.
“I'm not going to go with a streamside setback without the science to back it up,” he said.
That being said, he also said if the county wants to beat the state to the finish line, it must rely on the Board of Realtors and its money to complete the mapping project, since the county “can't afford to put it on the front burner.”
If there's one thing both sides can agree on, it's making sure the county establishes its own law before the state mandates one.
“We all in Montana like our individuality,” Chilcott said, “and we want to keep it that way.”
Freelance writer Carlotta Grandstaff lives in Hamilton.
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