Housing: Cold Smoke advances with approval of zone map amendment 

By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR 

On Sept. 12, the Gallatin County Commission voted unanimously to approve a zone map amendment in Big Sky submitted by the nonprofit Big Sky Community Housing Trust and Lone Mountain Land Company. The organizations are partnered to develop the LMLC-owned parcels of land into Cold Smoke, a planned workforce housing community, which cleared a hurdle by earning the zoning approval. 

Last week’s zoning change increases the total developable density on Cold Smoke land. It spreads allowable density across the project site to accommodate development plans, primarily enabling higher-density apartment buildings in an area previously zoned for lower-density development.  

The previous zoning conditions were established in the 1990s, and the parcel of land has not been commercially developed since. 

The area that was previously zoned for high density will remain as such, but it will be used for lower-density development of single-family homes. Developers do not intend to build to allowable density in that area—nor would water and sewer limitations allow it, as the entire 389-unit project is limited by roughly 400 single-family equivalents entitled to the housing trust through a 2020 infrastructure agreement.  

As planned, Cold Smoke would include 389 “permanently deed-restricted residents only available to the local workforce and affordable to a range of incomes,” according to a Sept. 12 press release. It would include a combination of units for rent and for sale. 

“The project consists of two separate developable areas of land that are contiguous with key infrastructure,” stated Cryder Bancroft, LMLC director, in an email to EBS. “The approved Zone Map Amendment enables the Cold Smoke project to spread 389 affordable homes across a larger area of land, fostering a development plan that prioritizes open space and enhances the overall livability of the community.”  

Bancroft stated that LMLC is grateful to partner with the housing trust for another project to help close the housing gap for local families and workers. 

“The housing trust is excited to keep moving forward on this critical part of Big Sky’s housing solution,” David O’Connor, housing trust executive director, stated in the release. “Our community needs a variety of housing across a range of incomes and Cold Smoke will address a significant piece of our need.” 

Based on Big Sky’s housing needs assessment, created in 2018 and updated in 2023 by the housing trust, the community needs more than 1,300 additional housing units by 2028. Cold Smoke could account for nearly 400, “a significant portion of that need,” according to the release.  

The Gallatin County Commission’s approval of the zone map amendment (begins at 1:37:50) represents one of numerous remaining regulatory steps before construction can begin, which is anticipated in 2025. 

In late July, EBS dug into the early details of the Cold Smoke plans. Read the full story about the potential housing development.