Frenchtown Interchange Zoning Initiative

​I am not here to talk about abstract growth; I am here to talk about protected property rights and real physical hazards.
​I hold vested, historical ditch rights on the irrigation infrastructure that runs directly through and adjacent to the unzoned 33-acre footprint where a massive travel plaza and a 72-semi-truck parking lot are being proposed.
​Under Montana law, my ditch rights are a constitutionally protected property right. The physical placement of high-impact commercial infrastructure directly on top of, or bordering, these irrigation lines presents two critical hazards to my family's livelihood:
​Structural Damage and Access Blocking: The immense weight of continuous semi-truck traffic and heavy paving risks crushing our culverts, collapsing historical ditch banks, and blocking our legal right-of-way to physically access and maintain this water infrastructure.
​Water Contamination: Because the water table right there is incredibly shallow, any commercial fuel spills, diesel runoff, or toxic parking lot drainage from that intersection will flow naturally down-gradient straight into the ditches and onto our property at Larson Lane.
​Because this land is currently unzoned, there are no local mechanisms to force developers to respect our existing agricultural infrastructure. Approving this zoning initiative is the only way to legally establish the necessary boundaries, including protective buffers, to ensure that historic water rights and neighbor properties are not permanently damaged by reckless industrial development.
​I urge the Commission to vote YES and approve the Frenchtown Interchange Zoning Initiative today. Protect our water, protect our property rights, and protect the Frenchtown valley.
​Thank you."
Paul R

There are well over 200 Town Pump convenience stores and gas stations throughout Montana. Of those locations, only about 30 are full truck stops that provide overnight truck parking and shower facilities for commercial drivers.

Residents in our area are well aware that there is already a Town Pump truck stop located off Interstate 90 at the Wye interchange. Traveling west on I-90, the next Town Pump truck stop is located in Superior, Montana, approximately 50 miles away. From Superior to the Idaho border is another 50-mile stretch with no nearby schools in proximity to those truck stop locations!!
The only Town Pump truck stop in Montana located directly adjacent to a school campus is in Whitehall. The Whitehall elementary and high school campuses are situated directly behind the Town Pump truck stop at 426 N. Whitehall Street.
However, Whitehall and Frenchtown are very different communities in both size and student population. Whitehall’s school district population is approximately 3,300 residents, with around 470 students enrolled from Pre-K through 12th grade. In comparison, Frenchtown’s school district population is approximately 7,000 residents, with roughly 1,370 students enrolled K-12 — nearly three times the student population of Whitehall.
Given the concerns that hundreds of Frenchtown residents have brought forward, I would hope that the Missoula County Commissioners and Planning Department would place the highest priority on the safety of children and the overall well-being of the community. Public safety should remain the primary consideration when evaluating developments located near schools, neighborhoods, and areas heavily used by families and students.

There are well over 200 Town Pump convenience stores and gas stations throughout Montana. Of those locations, only about 30 are full truck stops that provide overnight truck parking and shower facilities for commercial drivers.

Residents in our area are well aware that there is already a Town Pump truck stop located off Interstate 90 at the Wye interchange. Traveling west on I-90, the next Town Pump truck stop is located in Superior, Montana, approximately 50 miles away. From Superior to the Idaho border is another 50-mile stretch with no nearby schools in proximity to those truck stop locations!!
The only Town Pump truck stop in Montana located directly adjacent to a school campus is in Whitehall. The Whitehall elementary and high school campuses are situated directly behind the Town Pump truck stop at 426 N. Whitehall Street.
However, Whitehall and Frenchtown are very different communities in both size and student population. Whitehall’s school district population is approximately 3,300 residents, with around 470 students enrolled from Pre-K through 12th grade. In comparison, Frenchtown’s school district population is approximately 7,000 residents, with roughly 1,370 students enrolled K-12 — nearly three times the student population of Whitehall.
Given the concerns that hundreds of Frenchtown residents have brought forward, I would hope that the Missoula County Commissioners and Planning Department would place the highest priority on the safety of children and the overall well-being of the community. Public safety should remain the primary consideration when evaluating developments located near schools, neighborhoods, and areas heavily used by families and students.

This is way too big of a project for this area and intersection. The traffic is already backed up on the overpass at 8 am during the school year. I thought Town Pump said it would be a community convenience store and now they’re talking 72 truck parking spots? I don’t know if there is a way to stop this, but it seems you should be able to limit the size, deny the casino or alcohol.

To Jennie Dixon, Project Lead, and Missoula County Commissioners:

My family lives on Roman Creek Road in Frenchtown in an area commonly referred to as 'Echo Valley'. We are totally against the Town Pump truck stop. We would be much better served by zoning, and stopping it because of Traffic, Safety, Noise, Pollution, Water, Crime and Safety issues.
We, and many people from all over, enjoy the A. J. Hoyt Memorial bike and walking path for exercise in a quiet, safe, fresh air, rural environment.
Frenchtown is a unique and beautiful rural area that families, walkers, bicyclists, runners, wildlife enthusiasts, and residents treasures for its peaceful atmosphere and natural surroundings. A large truck stop would permanently change the character of this community and negatively impact the quality of life for those who live here.
The increase in heavy traffic will create dangerous conditions on local roads that were never designed for this level of commercial use. Residents, children, bicyclists, and pedestrians would all face great safety risks. Increased traffic congestion, crime, diesel exhaust, engine braking noise, and nighttime lighting will disrupt the quiet rural environment that people moved here to enjoy.
We are also deeply concerned about potential impacts to groundwater, wells, and the Surrounding Ecosystem. Many residents in this area rely on Clean well water and value Open Space, Wildlife Habitat, and Fresh Air that the Frenchtown Valley provides. Once these impacts occur, they cannot easily be reversed. (clean up the Frenchtown Pulp Mill it is a disgrace!)
In addition, truck stops bring increased litter, many crime concerns, and around-the-clock activity that are incompatible with a peaceful residential and recreational area. This Town Pump proposal does not fit the existing character of the Frenchtown Valley.
We strongly urge decision-makers to protect our rural neighborhood, using zoning to preserve public safety, and maintain the integrity of this special area. Deny the proposed Town Pump truck stop, It will not help schools!
Thank you for listening to the concerns of local residents.

SUPPORT THE FRENCHTOWN VALLEY ZONING APPLICATION
Tina and John Indrehus

I am a Frenchtown resident and landowner for 41 years. I have approx. 28 acres in the proposed zoning window. I don't have any plans to subdivide or sell any of my property, other than possibly a family split. If this proposed zoning passed, I would be precluded from doing a family split. For that reason, I am opposed to the citizens' zoning. I am not against zoning the entire Frenchtown area via a comprehensive process that utilizes the best most applicable use for each area. The proposed zoning does not achieve that. It is too prohibitive for most of my property. Part of my property is bordered presently on three sides by commercial. I am totally against the Truck Stop as proposed, but I think we would be much better served by stopping it because of Traffic, Safety, Noise, Water, Crime and Safety issues. Pat H.

Frenchtown Zoning,
I heard the concerns from people that spoke at the Commissioner’s meeting on April 30th. If the zoning is approved, I feel it needs to be adjusted for the area concerned. During this meeting I heard people comment on property taxes and it was also mentioned at the meetings at the Frenchtown Fire Hall. I also heard the School Superintendent speak about safety and the impact he thinks Town Pump Truck stop would have on the students.
I decided to investigate the taxes that the school receives and what property contributes with no impact to the school except revenue and the properties that contribute with impacts to the schools. Just revenue.
Examples are
Agriculture – no impact
Single family Dwelling – Impacts
Commercial – No impacts
I checked eight Agriculture properties and the avg is $214
I checked eight properties with one dwelling unit and the avg is $1300.52
I checked eight Commercial properties in the area and the avg is $5654.91
I also checked Town pump at the wye and they currently pay $37,735.20
The Mobile Homes in the area pay and avg of $92.58
Looking at the Frenchtown School District website, the school district receives 28.32% of their revenue from property taxes. The school district’s cost per student is $11,649. calculating the percentage with the cost per student it comes to $3,298.99.
As you can see, currently single Dwelling units don’t contribute enough to the cost per student even if there is more than one child at the residence, that is why the town needs an area for commercial businesses.
As the County moves forward with zoning it must balance between Agriculture, Residential and Commercial. To be able to not increase property taxes on current and future residents the town needs commercial businesses to assist with supporting the tax base. It is a very difficult decision the commissioners must make and try to balance the current atmosphere of Frenchtown plus how the decisions impact the school’s and first responders’ revenue.
I would like the County to check my figures and utilize your own information to make any decisions.
I support any decision the County Commissioners make as it is very difficult to balance all concerns the community has. If the school currently needs more revenue and taxpayers are not voting for these mill levies, I hate to see the school have to cut expenses that would reduce the quality of education.
DB15

WOW!! Frenchtown showed up! Not a surprise! The recent commissioner meeting made one thing incredibly clear:
The people of Frenchtown care deeply about protecting their community.
The turnout in support of zoning was powerful because residents understand exactly what is at stake, the future character, safety, and livability of our town.
Commissioners, I am asking you to truly hear this community.
Frenchtown does NOT need or WANT a massive truck stop.
We already have local businesses serving this community. We already have a grocery store run by LOCAL families. We already have a gas station run by LOCAL people who live here, raise families here, and invest back into this community.
And within less than seven miles, there are already THREE major truck stops.
How many more do we need? At some point, this stops being about “meeting a need” and starts becoming about outside commercial expansion at the expense of the people who actually live here.
It was also impossible to ignore that some of the strongest opposition to zoning came from property owners who stand to financially benefit from high-density development, future commercial sales, hotels, or large-scale projects tied to this corridor. That is their right. But the Commissioners must decide whose interests deserve the greatest weight: A handful of individuals positioned to profit from rapid development
or the thousands of residents who will live with the long-term consequences.
This zoning application is not anti-growth. It is pro-community. Pro-safety. Pro-planning. Pro-local business. Pro-Frenchtown.
For years, residents asked for planning and visioning for the West Valley before development pressures reached this point. Those conversations were delayed, and now the community is being told options are limited because the area remains unzoned.
This is the opportunity to change that.
Please listen to the families who use the bike path daily.
Please listen to the residents concerned about traffic and safety.
Please listen to the people who chose Frenchtown because it is still a rural community and not another interstate commercial corridor.
Once this kind of development happens, there is no undo button. Our community will NEVER be the same and the consequences are great and full of risks.
Please show our community that our voices matter more than outside commercial interests.
Please use the tools available to you. Please protect the character of Frenchtown.
Please choose thoughtful planning before it is too late. Because of these, I support the zoning initiative.

I'm in support of the Frenchtown zoning initiative. Having a big commercial business in a small, quiet community will bring large amounts of unwanted traffic. This type of traffic will affect parents and school busses getting kids to school. This could be a potential hazard for children that walk to school that use the path along Frontage Rd. I see a large potential for an increase in auto collisions and personal injury due to auto collisions. Also a huge potential for property and possibly violent crime. What will the Missoula County Sheriff's department response times be if this type of crime activity increases in Frenchtown.
Also the increase in alcohol related crimes (drunk driving, fights and assaults) is a reckless decision. Having a truck stop will also increase the potential for human trafficking and the possibility of abduction in Frenchtown. This type of business will only benefit the the business and the court system due to alcohol sales and alcohol related arrests (D.U.I, fights, assaults and human trafficking). This does nothing to help the Frenchtown community.

Like others in the community, I am in strong support of the zoning initiative. We moved the Frenchtown in search of a safe and small community.

I am strongly in support of the Frenchtown Interchange Zoning initiative. We need to be smart with how Frenchtown develops and if we go just putting anything in anywhere we could/will lose the ability to use parts of what we have. Putting in a large commercial business off the Frenchtown exit would be one of the ways our community would change and in many ways not how we would want it to change. Our family lives on the frontage road and use the bike/walking path daily. Using the path once a big commercial business goes in would make it way more dangerous trying to cross with all the traffic coming in and out. Also the safety or our kids walking from home to the high school would be affected. The increase in people and type of people any business brings could possibly increase the chances of child trafficking and the ability for kids to get into trouble. These are aspects we need to think about before allowing just any type of business build any where.

I strongly support the Frenchtown Interchange Zoning Initiative.
Growth is inevitable in a community such as Frenchtown but it must be done in a responsible manner. Allowing large commercial developments in a quiet, rural community—developments that will bring significant traffic and increased crime—is a reckless decision that fails to prioritize the well-being of local residents. If this zoning is not implemented, the future character of our community will be reshaped by large corporations, rather than the residents who have built a life here.

I have been a resident of Frenchtown for the past ten years and we love it here. We are completely in support of the zoning initiative. The issues here are obvious, safety is number one and community is second. Frenchtown is a closely knit community and we strive to maintain that. With several other truck stop/gas stations close by, we feel there is no need currently nor in the future for yet another one. We adamantly ask that this zoning initiative be approved.

I strongly support this zoning initiative. I have lived in Frenchtown for 27 years and raised my family here. This is not an abstract issue for me—it is about the safety and future of the community I call home.

I was here when we lost Andrew Jami in a bicycle accident on the Frontage Road. That tragedy broke this community’s heart. In response, neighbors came together—out of grief and determination—and built the bike path that so many now rely on every single day.

That path represents something deeply important here: children riding to school, families walking together, and a community trying to make a dangerous corridor safer. It was never meant to carry high-volume truck traffic. It was built to protect life.

Now we are being asked to place intensive commercial traffic in the same area where our children travel daily. That is not a small planning decision—it is a fundamental safety question.

Frenchtown is also physically divided by the interstate, with schools on both sides. The overpass is not optional infrastructure—it is the community’s lifeline. Traffic is already strained, and emergency response already depends on that limited access. We should not be adding avoidable risk to an already fragile system.

We also sit above a vulnerable water system with a shallow aquifer. Once that is compromised, there is no undoing it. That responsibility is permanent.

And we must be honest about what follows this kind of development—more traffic, more strain on emergency services, and changes to the character of a community that is still rooted in agriculture, families, and open space.
This is not about stopping growth. It is about preventing irreversible harm and making sure growth fits where it is placed—not forcing this community to absorb impacts it was never designed to carry.

Frenchtown deserves thoughtful, responsible planning that protects the people who already live here.

For all of these reasons, I urge you to approve this zoning amendment.
Thank you for listening to the voice of this community.

Removed by moderator.

Many rural towns are fighting to preserve what makes them special — keeping their communities small, safe, and family-oriented while maintaining a slower pace of life. My grandfather, his children, their cousins, and generations of our family have attended Frenchtown schools. I have had roots here since infancy and have now raised my own family here for the past nine years.

We are not lacking access to fuel or essential services. Our community already has a local gas station that serves residents’ needs. I support the rezoning proposal for this area because I believe it helps protect the character and safety of our town.

I do not want to see increased traffic congestion, especially near our high school and middle school, where additional out of town patrons would create additional safety risks for students and families. I also value preserving land that can continue to be used for agriculture, crops, and raising animals rather than expanding commercial development unnecessarily.

Truck drivers and travelers already have access to fuel and services just 15 minutes down the highway. Frenchtown does not need to sacrifice its rural character, safety, and agricultural land to accommodate another large fuel stop.

I believe this zoning proposal is the best way for Frenchtown to retain its community and values. This zoning will protect our water resources, safety and the welfare of Frenchtown students and community members and visitors who use the bike paths. The proposed zoning will allow for growth that fosters and maintains our community. I thoroughly support and urge the enactment of this zoning proposal.

I strongly support the Frenchtown Interchange Zoning Initiative. As a Frenchtown resident, I believe this is imperative to keep our community, its children, and our water resources safe. We left Missoula for Frenchtown to enjoy the benefits of a small, rural community. We do not want large companies coming in and destroying the beauty of our town and contaminating our aquifer. This interchange is already a very dangerous intersection and the proposed gas station/casino/hotel is not what we want or need for our town, especially when there is the Wye right down the road with plenty of those services. We need to be able to focus on smart, thoughtful development for the future that works with and benefits this community and lessens the environmental impact. I urge you to approve the zoning initiative for our wonderful community and to keep Frenchtown beautiful and safe.

For all the reasons already stated by fellow members of the Frenchtown Community, I support the proposed zoning.

The danger of the area being entirely unzoned goes beyond the proposed Town Pump, but a gas station/truck stop/casino certainly symbolizes the danger to our community very well, from the risk of groundwater contamination to increased traffic and crime, as well as detracting from the rural charm of the area. It would be a disservice and an injustice to allow anyone with enough money (be they from Butte, Montana or Houston, Texas) to run roughshod over us simply because we have the misfortune of being too far down on the County's list of priorities to have appropriate zoning already in place.

Please approve this zoning proposal.

I am writing in full support of the proposed rezoning in Frenchtown. We moved to Frenchtown for the rural feel and true sense of community you get living here. It is safe and has been a wonderful place to raise our family. A large truck stop being built in our community would be a tragedy, particularly when there are four others, one of which is a Town Pump, five minutes down the road. We do not have a need for another gas station, liquor store, casino and certainly not a truck stop. Please help us preserve the safety of our community, children and equally as important, our aquifer. The risk to our shallow aquifer is another real concern. Every household and business in this community is on a well. If contamination were to occur from a leak, it would compromise all of our water supply. The approval of this rezoning would be a huge win not only for the community of Frenchtown but for the state of Montana in preserving the changing landscape of the state we all know and love.