Planners scrap storage-units proposal

The Daily Inter Lake

A proposal to make mini-storage facilities a conditional use in the SAG-5 suburban agricultural zoning district was unanimously recommended for denial Wednesday by the Flathead County Planning Board.

The decision reflected concerns about the amount of acreage that would be opened up to mini-storage use, as well as about the type of performance standards that were being proposed and the legality of the changes.

The county planning staff didn't have an issue with the specific project that was being proposed.

However, it was stated during Wednesday's hearing that there are about 14,000 acres of SAG-5 zoning in Flathead County. The staff couldn't support opening that entire area to mini-storage units without significant standards about the appearance, size, drainage and other characteristics of such facilities.

Consequently, the proposal that went to the Planning Board changed both the SAG-5 zoning standards, as well as the overall performance standards for mini-storage units - standards that affect storage unit owners in any zoning district.

After it was suggested that the legal notice didn't adequately describe all the potential impacts of this proposal, the staff and Planning Board agreed that the best course of action would be to deny the request and start over.

Also on Wednesday, the board:

-Unanimously recommended approval of Pheasant Run, an 8-lot single-family subdivision on 44 acres at 2660 Columbia Falls Stage Road, just north of Trapp Road.

This project generated a fair amount of neighborhood concern when it first was submitted last year as a 12-lot subdivision.

No one spoke against the proposal Wednesday, however, possibly because a new owner reduced the number of lots.

-Recommended approval, on a 4-2 vote, of a zone change from R-1 suburban residential to B-2 general business for 7.5 acres at 2577 U.S. 93 North, just north of West Reserve Drive.

This is the first property within the Two Rivers Neighborhood Plan to request a zone change.

-Recommended approval of East Valley Estates Phase II, a 28-lot single-family subdivision on 28 acres across from McWennegar Slough, at the intersection of Montana 35 and Montford Road.

-Split its vote on Cove Creek Ridge, a 33-lot single-family subdivision on 39 acres at 545 Yeoman Hall Road, west of Lake Blaine.

Some board members had concerns about the proposed density, as well as high groundwater levels and the road system in the area.

-Recommended approval of Columbia Mountain View Lots Unit 3, a three-lot single-family subdivision on three acres, with a 37-acre remainder, located near the intersection of Helena Flats Road and Birch Grove Road.

These items will now go to the county commissioners for final action, unless the developer pulls the application.