Bigfork land-use plan OK'd

The Flathead County commissioners unanimously approved the Bigfork Land Use Advisory Plan on Tuesday, even though one commissioner objected to some last-minute tweaking.

The Bigfork community heavily supports the plan and spent four years putting it together.

The process included a local survey, numerous area meetings and hearings, plus feedback from the county's Planning Board.

Flathead County has 18 neighborhood plans for built-up unincorporated areas.

These plans are essentially guidelines from which neighborhood land-use advisory committees make nonbinding recommendations on land uses to the Planning Board.

The board then makes recommendations to the county commissioners.

The Bigfork neighborhood plan covers 51 square miles from the Lake County border to the Many Lakes area, and from the Flathead River to public land east of the unincorporated village.

The land designations include several types of residential, commercial, agricultural, light industrial and public uses.

The majority of the plan's area is slotted for agricultural use -mostly north and east of the village center.

It also includes recommendations on landscaping, buffers, views, architecture and numerous other land and building aspects.

Before the final vote, the commissioners made some minor tweaks - and then changed a slice of land designated for agricultural use to light industrial use over commissioner Joe Brenneman's objection.

Mike Touris owns three adjoining lots on Montana 83 west of Shawnee Drive - each holding a business on agriculturally zoned land. He was denied a zoning change about 1 1/2 years ago.

He requested that the commissioners change the land-use plan's agricultural designation for those three lots to light industrial use.

Brenneman objected because Touris did not make the request during all the other public meetings and hearings - waiting to make the request directly to the commissioners at the last minute.

However, commissioners Dale Lauman and Jim Dupont granted that request.

Brenneman said: "I'm extremely disappointed that we reverted to the good old boys system."

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com