Who wants gravel?

The Flathead County commissioners will hold a public hearing this morning on a proposed zoning text amendment that would dramatically expand the areas where new gravel pits could be prohibited.

The text amendment would revise the SAG-5 and SAG-10 zoning district definitions, stating that these suburban agricultural areas are primarily intended for "estate-type residential development."

In addition, it would clarify that any zoning district which allows single-family or multi-unit homes, resorts or similar residential uses as a permitted use would - for the purposes of regulating gravel pits - be considered a residential district.

By state law, gravel pits can only be prohibited in residential areas.

This amendment does not require that gravel mines be prohibited in residential areas.

However, if adopted as presented, it would greatly expand the number of areas that would qualify for the exclusion - raising the possibility that gravel pits might not be allowed in the AG-80, AG-40 and AG-20 zoning districts, as well as the SAG-5 and SAG-10 zones and all R (residential) zones.

Under the county's current zoning regulations, gravel pits in the AG and SAG districts can only be regulated by conditions. They can't be prohibited outright.

Following this morning's hearing, the commissioners could adopt all or part of the proposed amendment, deny it entirely, or take the matter under consideration and make their decision later.

Gravel pits have been a hot issue in the valley for the

last several months, ever since then-Zoning Administrator Forrest Sanderson ruled that the county couldn't prohibit or even impose conditions on new gravel pits unless they were located in residential zoning districts.

The ruling, which was later upheld on appeal to the Flathead County Board of Adjustment, prompted one lawsuit and spurred efforts to change state law.

The result was House Bill 591, which was signed into law after receiving broad support from both the gravel industry and concerned citizens.

The bill reaffirmed local governments' authority to prohibit gravel mines in residential zoning districts and clarified that they can impose reasonable restrictions on pits located in all other zones.

The legislation didn't define what was meant by residential. It's unclear whether the gravel industry would have supported it had the possibility that it would apply to large-lot agricultural zones been considered.

In recent weeks, gravel pit opponents have urged the commissioners to declare a moratorium on new mines until an agreement can be reached on which zoning districts qualify as residential.

"I think the most important thing to people in the valley is their quality of life," Alice Ritzman wrote in a recent letter to the commissioners regarding a controversial West Valley pit. "Somehow we have to try and constructively allow [growth], without turning the valley into a place that people don't care to live in any longer. Allowing anyone to do anything that they desire, anywhere they desire to do it, isn't the answer."

However, gravel pit operators say there are a limited number of sites where gravel is available - and that these tend to be the same areas that are experiencing rapid residential development.

Prohibiting gravel extraction across broad swaths of the valley floor, they say, would result in substantial increases in construction costs because gravel would have to be trucked in from more distant locations.

"This 'not in my backyard' mentality [would benefit] a limited number of residents, while the whole of the valley suffers," said Brett Fisher with Schellinger Construction, in another letter to the commissioners.

Rather than dictate where gravel pits can't go, Fisher and others in the industry say the commissioners should look at where the resource is located and let people know that extraction activities will be taking place there in the future.

"Proper planning is essential before gravel resources are eliminated by building on top of them," Fisher said. "We must take the time to properly plan, so that areas of high gravel concentrations can be utilized for years to come."

The public hearing on the text amendment takes place at 9 a.m. in the commissioners' office at 800 South Main in Kalispell.

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com