Tutvedt pit returns to county board

The Daily Inter Lake

On Tuesday, the Flathead County Board of Adjustment will hear a request by the Tutvedt Family Partnership for a conditional use permit to allow for gravel extraction in the West Valley Zoning District.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building at 1035 First Ave. W., Kalispell.

A previous conditional use permit for this gravel pit resulted in a lengthy legal battle that went all the way to the Montana Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court made numerous far-reaching decisions that affected Flathead County, and the ruling shut down the gravel pit - owned by Bruce Tutvedt - from January to the middle of July of this year.

On July 15, District Judge Kitty Curtis ruled that gravel already extracted under the previous conditional use permit could be hauled out. The ruling reopened the pit as long as Tutvedt didn't extract any more gravel.

Because permits granted by Flathead County and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality were revoked by the high court, Tutvedt must again go through the conditional use permit process.

The Tutvedt pit has been a contentious issue in the West Valley, and the vitriol continued last week at a West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee meeting that lasted until nearly midnight.

The fireworks are likely to continue at Tuesday's Board of Adjustment meeting.