A housing project that's been in the works in Laurel since 2018 took a step forward this week, though not without plenty of strings attached.
Laurel's planning board recommended approval of the Goldberg Sporting Estates subdivision off Eleanor Roosevelt Drive on Wednesday, KTVQ reported. The board attached 22 conditions, including a requirement to evaluate the project's impact on water, and sent it to the City Council for a public hearing.
A smaller project than first planned
Developer Michael Bergman has been pursuing the project since 2018. Along the way he's scaled it back from 300 homes to 82 multifamily units, according to KTVQ.
"We've been tweaking and tweaking to try to get it to work," Bergman told the board Wednesday.
By our count, that's a cut of 218 units, or about 73% from the original plan.
Water is the sticking point
Some residents who spoke at the meeting weren't convinced the city is ready for more growth.
"Our water system and our infrastructure can't handle currently what we have," Laurel resident Jennifer Lorenz said.
A member of Laurel CARED, a group formed to oppose the siting of a state forensic psychiatric facility on the west end of town, raised concerns about the age of the city's pipes. "We don't know what pipes are under there. We're regularly encountering broken pipes that are 100 years old," the member said, according to KTVQ.
Water has been a running issue in Laurel this year. City officials say they have imposed a moratorium on new development because the city's water infrastructure can't support it, Montana Free Press reported this week in its coverage of the state facility. That fight is still playing out in court, where a judge this week lifted an injunction that had halted the state's project.
KTVQ's report didn't say how the city's moratorium applies to Goldberg Sporting Estates, or what the water evaluation required by the planning board will need to show.
Traffic and parks
Water wasn't the only concern. Board members also flagged an outdated traffic study and a lack of parks for a neighborhood that could be home to more than 200 children, according to KTVQ.
"If you don't put parkland in when it's first done, it will never happen," one planning board member said.
What happens next
With the board's recommendation in hand, the project moves to the City Council for a public hearing. KTVQ did not report a date for that hearing. The council will then decide whether to approve the subdivision.
The project at a glance
- Location: off Eleanor Roosevelt Drive in Laurel
- Developer: Michael Bergman
- Size: 82 multifamily units, down from 300 homes originally
- In the works since: 2018
- Planning board action: recommended approval Wednesday with 22 conditions, including a water impact evaluation
- Next step: City Council public hearing, date not yet announced
Why it matters for contractors
Eighty-two multifamily units is a meaningful project for a town Laurel's size. If it gets the council's approval, it could mean work for site, utility and building contractors in the Billings area.
But the 22 conditions are the story. A required water impact evaluation, questions about century-old pipes, an outdated traffic study and a push for parkland all point to more studies and possibly more infrastructure costs before anyone breaks ground. Utility and civil contractors should watch what the council decides on water and pipe work, since that could become part of the job.
The bigger takeaway is that water capacity is shaping what gets built in Laurel right now. Between this subdivision and the state psychiatric facility, builders working in the area should expect water to be one of the first questions on any new project. Keep an eye on the City Council agenda for the hearing date.