MISSOULA – The Missoula County Board of County Commissioners voted July 21 to deny the request to abandon Cottonwood Lane as a roadway. Prior to the vote, the petitioner’s representative Carrie Sokolski advised the Commissioners of the petitioner’s intent to withdraw the request due to learning of alternate solutions.
In April 2022, business owner Richard “Ted” Steiner filed a petition along with all adjacent landowners requesting a portion of Cottonwood Lane in Seeley Lake be abandoned. The section proposed for abandonment is the easterly portion of Cottonwood Lane located between Juniper Drive and Spruce Drive, Seeley Lake.
Sokoloski advised the BCC that meetings with County Commissioner Josh Slotnik and Steve Niday, Missoula County Public Works Land Survey Manager, led to information on how to file for an Encroachment Permit which met the same goal for Steiner.
The Encroachment Permit, according to Niday, gives the permit holder the right to encroach on a right of way for an undefined period of time. Steiner is looking to expand his storage unit business on Spruce Drive, said Sokoloski. Access to the additional 15 feet of property gained by Steiner would allow better access for customers using the storage facilities. The permit application requests to encroach on 119.5 feet by 15 feet.
Once survey markers were placed in the ground the group discovered the roadway is further north than initially anticipated, Sokoloski said. The portion that Steiner plans to use is the very southerly portion which would provide a lower grade approach to the storage units creating better access for customers.
“This possible encroachment permit is definitely a solution that would work for us and would not have a lasting impact on future use of that roadway should it be needed for traffic or infrastructure,” Sokoloski said.
The permit is a kind of verbal agreement, Niday said. The county will issue and then confirm the holder did what was proposed. Niday approved the permit on July 18.
“They [permit holder] know it is a temporary encroachment,” Niday said. “The permit puts the landowner on notice...If we go out there and they took more than half, then we could say you have to move the fence.”
The vote on July 21 was simply a formality to close out the hearing on the petition which had been recorded.
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