Bozeman Pass zoning to lapse

By NICK GEVOCK, Chronicle Staff Writer

Companies may have a chance to drill for gas near Bozeman Pass under regulations no more stringent than the state's because of a neighbors' feud over zoning.

Landowners have been unable to gather the required signatures from 60 percent of landowners needed to create a permanent zoning district on 23,000 acres near the pass.

And because state law mandates a 30-day protest period once signatures are collected, the area will lose its emergency protection when a temporary zoning district expires Aug. 6.

Two members of the committee that worked for two years to draft the zoning regulations on Thursday blamed others' insistence on limiting development to one house per 80 acres -- or requiring clustering of houses for more homes -- for killing the district.

"Their emergency has changed from coalbed (methane) to lock-out zoning," committee member Phil Olson said during a county Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. "It's just that these people don't want new neighbors."

The temporary district was created by the Gallatin County Commission in July 2002 to ban gas exploration by J.M. Huber Corp. The company has leased the mineral rights under 18,000 acres in the area and planned to drill test wells.

Homeowners vigorously fought the drilling, saying they feared the noise, pollution and decline in property values from drilling.

The proposed permanent district would require bonds for cleanup and make gas companies treat the water extracted to get the gas, among other requirements.

Olson and committee member Quincy Orhai accused other members of the committee, however, of holding secret meetings to add more restrictive rules for development.

But committee members Jennifer Read and Nona Chambers denied there were backroom deals. They said Orhai and Olson were notified of every meeting, they just didn't like the regulations the committee settled on.

Many residents want the area to remain rural and to protect the wildlife corridors, Chambers said.

"My husband and I walk behind our house and see the elk calving," Chambers said. "That will not continue if we don't have zoning -- we need to give the animals a chance."

The proposed district has 500 landowners, many of whom live out of state, which makes signature gathering difficult, Read said.

Residents have three options if they are unable to gather the required signatures, County Planning Director Jennifer Madgic said.

They can readjust the boundaries of the district to an area with 60 percent signatures, change the proposed regulations or ask the County Commission to impose zoning.

But changes would mean the signature gathers would have to start over. Chambers said with so much work done, they're determined to push ahead and get the signatures needed.

Even if the signature threshold is reached, Orhai said opponents could try to gather enough larger landowners to organize a "50 percent-land-area protest" and kill the district.

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