Planners to consider gravel-rule change

The Daily Inter Lake

Gravel issues will be the focus once again tonight during a meeting of the Flathead County Planning Board.

The board will hold a public hearing on a zoning text amendment proposed by the county's Open-Cut Mining Advisory Committee, a six-member group made up largely of industry representatives.

The committee was formed last year after the county commissioners approved an earlier text amendment that allowed new gravel mines to be prohibited in a variety of agricultural and suburban agricultural zoning districts.

The commissioners acknowledged at the time that the text amendment wasn't perfect and that it probably would have unintended consequences. They told the committee to review the amendment and recommend changes to address certain industry concerns.

Tonight's proposal would modify the previous text amendment by clarifying that gravel mines could be conditioned - but not prohibited - in the AG-20, AG-40 or AG-80 zoning districts. At the request of F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. and some West Valley farmers, it also would prevent mines from being prohibited "on forest or agricultural lands of 15 contiguous acres or greater [in size]."

If approved, this change essentially would void the bulk of last year's text amendment, except that new gravel mines still could be prohibited in the SAG-5 and SAG-10 suburban agricultural zoning districts.

The Flathead County planning staff supports removing AG-40 and AG-80 from the list of zoning districts that could ban gravel mines.

However, the staff doesn't support removing AG-20, because it serves primarily as a large-lot residential district. It also doesn't support including the "15 contiguous acres" language because it's unclear whether these areas are predominantly residential; moreover, they aren't actual zoning districts, so the staff thinks it would be more difficult to regulate new pits in these areas.

Other issues on tonight's agenda include:

. A zone change from R-1 suburban residential to R-3 one-family limited residential for 1.4 acres at 502 Maple Drive, in the Evergreen Zoning District.

. The preliminary plat for the resubdivision of Lot 1 of Subdivision 123, which would create four single-family lots on 20 acres at 1100 Spring Hill Road in Kila.

All the lots would have individual water wells and septic systems.

. The preliminary plat for Oak Tree Estates, a 25-lot single-family subdivision proposed on 59 acres at 2665 Columbia Falls Stage Road, just north of Trapp Road.

The lots would range in size from 1.62 acres to 3.03 acres; they would be served by individual water wells and septic systems.

Today's meeting is at 6 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W., in Kalispell.