Townhome development in the works after Hamilton officials approve annexation, zoning change

The City of Hamilton gave final approval for the annexation of a 3-acre property at the corner of Kurtz Lane and Marcus Street at a March 3 meeting, making way for a proposed townhome development.

The Hamilton City Council held public hearings on Feb. 17 and March 3 where they also gave approval for a high-density zoning change at the location.

Dillon Pigman of Pigman Builders said they are proposing to build 33 townhomes on the property. The homes would be in groups of three to four units with connected walls. Pigman says it could end up being less depending on what happens in the next phase of planning.

“We just got the zoning approved tonight, we still have to run the whole subdivision through the city planning office,” said Pigman.

The property is at 110 Kurtz Lane right at the intersection where Kurtz Lane meets Marcus Street. The area sits between Daly Elementary and Hamilton High School.

The approval for the annexation and zoning change was met with concern by some community members about how the new development may cause issues at an already problematic intersection.

Hamilton resident Mark Mortensen gave public comment on March 3 saying he isn’t totally opposed to the development because he understands the need for housing but says it could cause problems with traffic if there isn’t a plan in place ahead of time for how to deal with it.

“Realistically you're adding about 75 cars into one of our worst intersections that we have,” Mortensen said. “Take it for what it's worth, but to throw that kind of traffic in with high school kids and people walking on that street is not ideal.”

Hamilton City Planner Matthew Rohrbach said they did receive some public comments about how population growth in the area would impact the intersection of Kurtz Lane and Marcus Street, during the first public hearing held on Feb. 17. He said there are documented delays in the area and reports showing crash clusters involving the intersection.

School bus driver John Meyers gave public comment saying he has concerns about the delays, and getting hung up at the Kurtz and Marcus intersection.

“These roads are used by our school buses every day, both morning and night, this is going to make problems for us to get kids to school on time,” Meyers said.

Rohrbach says the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) did an intersection analysis in 2019 to see what could be improved. MDT came back with a recommendation for a four-way stop but the concern from people in the community is that it would cause even further delays.

The City of Hamilton has received grant money for the Marcus Street planning and design study which is nearing the end of the consultation period, according to Rohrbach. The study will give them an opportunity to do a more in-depth analysis of the Kurtz and Marcus intersection and see what improvements are needed to address delay and safety concerns.

There is funding available to the city through the MDT Urban Routes Fund. Rohrbach said they put away around $150,000 a year for that fund. When he last spoke with Hamilton Public Works Director Donny Ramer it is estimated they have around $2 million in the fund that can be used for improvements.

Rohrbach says they will look at every option from doing nothing, to putting in a roundabout, putting in a four-way stop or putting in a traffic signal.