Trego's Mountain Ear

As interest grows in major luxury and high-end development in the Flathead Valley of northwest Montana—from private gated estates to resort-style estates backed by significant capital—it’s crucial for residents, local leaders, and voters to weigh both the claimed benefits and documented risks of such projects. Experience from Montana and other Western amenity regions suggests that development can reshape local economies and communities in profound and sometimes unexpected ways.

Potential Benefits: Real but Often Limited

Proponents of luxury development typically emphasize economic activity and tax revenue. Large construction projects do generate short-term jobs and can create permanent service roles in maintenance, hospitality, and property management once projects are completed. Rural housing development in general has been shown to stimulate broader economic activity by supporting local trades, transportation, and ancillary services. Evidence from rural housing studies suggests that residential construction can boost wages, support business income, and increase local tax receipts during and after building phases.

High-value properties may also bolster the tax base—if no abatements or special taxing districts dilute that revenue—and investors sometimes contribute philanthropically or help fund infrastructure improvements that benefit the wider community.

Yet, research on similar amenity-driven locations, including parts of Montana’s resort markets like Big Sky, shows that luxury markets can rapidly escalate property values. In Big Sky, median home prices were reported above $3 million in late 2025, illustrating how amenity development can reshape local markets within a decade. 

Documented Negative Consequences: What Research Shows

Housing Affordability & Displacement

A known pattern in high-amenity small regions is that inflows of wealth and demand for premium homes drive housing prices beyond local income levels, often squeezing out working families and essential workers. This trend has been observed in gateway communities adjacent to national parks and recreation areas, where local home values have outpaced wage growth, intensifying workforce shortages in schools, healthcare, trades, and public safety. 

Residents of the Flathead Valley continue to cite housing affordability as a major concern even without a planned luxury development—underscoring that housing cost pressures preceded these proposals. 

Strain on Public Services & Infrastructure

Expanding development increases demand on emergency medical services, fire departments, law enforcement, and search-and-rescue resources. Studies of residential growth across rural and amenity regions show that public service expenditures often rise faster than the tax revenue new development generates, especially when infrastructure must be extended into sparsely populated areas. 

Tourism-driven economies illustrate similar dynamics. A Headwaters Economics analysis found that in resort towns like Bozeman and West Yellowstone, infrastructure upgrades (roads, wastewater, law enforcement calls) are often paid for by local taxpayers, even when seasonal visitors are the main users. 

Environmental & Land Use Concerns

Development in low-density landscapes—especially in wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas—creates well-documented environmental risks. Studies focused on Montana have shown that growth in homes built in high wild­fire hazard areas has soared in recent decades, effectively doubling in some western Montana counties since 1990. These patterns substantially increase the risk and expense of wildfire suppression, with avoided costs becoming increasingly steep as more residences intermix with natural fuels. 

Additionally, conversion of open land for development alters hydrology, increases vehicle dependency, and fragments wildlife habitat—all consequences linked to sprawl and low-density residential growth in rural regions. 

Access, Character & Economic Structure

There is also evidence that amenity-oriented communities can become economically bifurcated, where services and growth cater increasingly to affluent newcomers and visitors at the expense of resident-serving businesses and cultural identity. In some resort towns, researchers note that cost burdens often fall hardest on the very residents who help support local economies. 

Safeguards That Matter: Conditions for Community Benefit

For any major development to be a net positive rather than a burden, strict and enforceable safeguards should be required:

Housing & Workforce

• On-site or developer-funded deed-restricted homes proportional to new jobs
• Long-term, legally binding affordability controls

Infrastructure & Utilities

• Independent assessment of water and septic capacity
• Developer-funded mitigation, monitoring, and upgrades

Public Services

• Binding contributions to EMS, fire, law enforcement, equipment, and staffing

Environmental Protections

• Wildlife corridor preservation
• Defensible space and light-pollution limits
• Enforceable penalties for failure to comply

Public Access & Tax Transparency

• Explicit protections for continued public access to lands and recreation
• Clear disclosure of tax abatements, exemptions, or special districts
• Independent cost-benefit analysis for local governments

Conclusion: Growth With Accountability

Luxury and high-end developments bring capital and jobs, but without enforceable conditions, they also carry significant risks: rising costs for locals, stretched public services, environmental degradation, and erosion of community character. Growth itself is not inherently bad—but unaccountable growth is. The central question for Flathead Valley residents and policymakers is not whether development should happen, but who it serves and under what terms.

Commissioners who voted in favor of the preliminary plat for the Flathead Lake Club Resort

• Brad Abell – Flathead County Commissioner (voted yes) 
• Randy Brodehl – Flathead County Commissioner (voted yes) 
• Pam Holmquist – Flathead County Commissioner (voted yes) 

This vote was unanimous among the three-member commission on August 21, 2025, approving the preliminary plat request that allows the development process to move forward. 

🔗 Here’s a link to a news article covering that vote in detail:
Private luxury Lakeside resort gets approval from Flathead County commissioners (KPAX) — this article lists the commissioners by name who voted in favor.