Marina comes before board
Montana Eagle Development proposes to renovate and expand the existing marina in Lakeside across from Bierney Creek Road.
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
The Daily Inter Lake
A major lakeshore variance request for what would be the largest marina on Flathead Lake comes before the Flathead County Planning Board for a public hearing tonight.
Montana Eagle Development proposes to renovate and expand the existing marina in Lakeside across from Bierney Creek Road.
The company is developing a high-end subdivision south of Lakeside and wants to provide dock space for the property owners there as well as for the general public.
If approved, the variance would allow several existing buildings to be renovated. An old seawall would be replaced, the docks would be extended farther into the lake, a new breakwater would be added and at least 1,630 cubic yards of fill would be added under one of the buildings.
The existing marina is about 50 years old. It was built before lakeshore protection regulations were adopted and doesn't comply with several of those regulations.
The expanded marina would deviate even further, particularly in terms of dock length, amount of impervious space, number of boat slips and length of breakwater.
Based on current regulations, a new marina at this location would be allowed a maximum dock length of 100 feet, a maximum of 12,750 square feet of impervious space within the lakeshore protection zone, a maximum of 85 boat slips and a breakwater no longer than 30 feet.
The existing marina, however, has docks that extend 179 to 350 feet, depending on where they're measured, according to a Flathead County Planning Office staff report.
Montana Eagle Development wants to add another 278 to 314 feet, yielding an average dock length of 505 feet and maximum length of 664 feet.
The existing marina has 53,550 square feet of impervious space. That would more than double, to 110,875 square feet, under Montana Eagle's proposal.
The number of boat slips would increase from 86 (of which 56 are usable) to 196. Montana Eagle Development would reserve 86 of those for its subdivision residents; another 14 would be available for transient boaters and 96 would be available for long-term public rental.
The existing 491-foot-long breakwater would be lengthened to 1,291 feet.
Montana Eagle Development has indicated that a facility of this size is what's needed to meet the public and private demand for boat space.
According to the staff report, it also said the variances are justified given the nature of the project and the intent to provide a safe, sturdy dock structure.
The staff report said the project could have some impact on water quality, fish habitat and public navigation, although there was no indication of how severe the impacts might be. The report includes 117 conditions for approval.
The Lakeside Community Council held a public hearing on the proposal in September. More than two dozen people offered comments, including 11 in favor, eight in opposition and six who took no stand.
The council did not vote or offer a recommendation on the variance, choosing instead to forward a letter to the planning board that summarized the community's overall comments.
Other items on tonight's planning board agenda include:
. A preliminary plat request for the re-subdivision of Lot 2 in Addison Acres, which would create a two-lot residential subdivision on 4.6 acres at 31 Addison Court.
. A zone change request from AG-40, an agricultural zone with a 40-acre minimum lot size, to SAG-5, a suburban agricultural zone with a 5-acre minimum, for property at 205 Schrade Road.
The board also is scheduled to hold hearings on a master plan amendment and zone change in the Bigfork Zoning District. However, the applicant has requested that these items be tabled, so the hearings may not take place.
The plan amendment would change the land-use designation on 14 acres at the northwest corner of the intersection of Holt Drive and Hanging Rock Drive from agricultural to urban residential.
The related zone change would convert these 14 acres from SAG-10, a suburban agricultural zone with a 10-acre minimum lot size, to RC-1, a residential cluster zone with a 6,000-square-foot minimum lot size and a minimum overall density of one home per acre. The applicant indicated an interest in developing 10 to 15 residential lots.
Two adjacent parcels totaling 36 acres would be converted from SAG-10 to SAG-5.
The Bigfork Land-Use Advisory Committee recommended denial of these proposals, in part because the property includes several large wetland areas.
The planning board meets at 6 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building in Kalispell.
Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com