Eight environmental groups have submitted a petition to the Gallatin County Planning Board and Director requesting a more robust evaluation of a controversial development in Gallatin Gateway.
Opposition to a vacation rental development in Gallatin Gateway is growing.
Local landowners have partnered with several conservation groups to form Protect the Gallatin River, a new nonprofit that organized a petition against the Riverbend Glamping Resort and urged people to voice their opposition to the Gallatin County Planning Department.
The creation of Protect the Gallatin River came just before the planning department closed the public comment period on Monday for the floodplain permit.
The planning department received 334 comments as well as the petition from Protect the Gallatin River, which included 1,062 signatures and 255 comments, said Director Sean OâCallaghan.
Only a few of the comments were in support of the development.
The approval of a controversial development in Gallatin Gateway is moving forward despite significant opposition.
The Gallatin County Planning Department is accepting public comment until Dec. 28 on a floodplain permit for Jeff and Jirina Pfeil to build the Riverbend Glamping Getaway along the Gallatin River just west of the Mill Street bridge.
Jeff Pfeil declined to comment on why he thinks the property is an appropriate spot for a camping resort.
The Riverbend Glamping Getaway will include Airstream trailers, Conestoga wagons and tiny homes for rent, according to the permit application. Each unit will have access to water from a well on the property, to electricity from lines along Gateway South Road and to wastewater and natural gas services from pipelines underneath the Gallatin River.