A developer has withdrawn his application for a controversial 97-slip marina boat dock in Bigfork Bay right near where the Swan River flows into Flathead Lake.
Donna McDonnell, a permit specialist for the Flathead Conservation District, told the Missoulian that developer Michael Maddy of Cougar Ridge Development has withdrawn the application for a "multitude of reasons."
"The first being that engineers have not finished with the report needed to complete the application," she said. "The second is that he wants to address some of the public concerns through a few public meetings. The main reason is that the requested documents were not ready."
Maddy had been calling his project the Bigfork Bay Marina. He was trying to get a Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act/310 permit.
But he had not met the deadlines to submit geotechnical details relevant to dock pilings. He had also not submitted a hydrological assessment of the Swan River relative to the location and extent of the proposed project, including current, water depth, stream width, stream configuration, soils and bank configuration. The Flathead Conservation District had also requested details about how the anticipated size and capacity needs of the project would accommodate, influence or impact the current or hydrological conditions of the Swan River.
A new 97-slip dock in Bigfork Bay would be a fairly drastic change for the bay, and multiple organizations, including the Bigfork Community Alliance, had expressed concerns about the project.
Ashley Atkins, of the Bigfork Community Alliance, wrote a letter to local newspapers saying that Bigfork was being "quietly dismantled" by developers. She noted that the marina would be 444 feet across.
When asked if there was a lot of public opposition to the project, McDonnell was succinct.
"Yes there was," she said.
Pete Melnick, the Flathead County administrator, was not immediately available for comment as to whether the county had received a lot of public comment on the project or not.