North Fork zoning proposal rejected again

A zoning proposal to limit the size of extractive industries on private land in the North Fork has failed for a second time to win approval from the Flathead County commissioners.

A motion made on Wednesday by Commissioner Joe Brenneman to approve a zoning text amendment to limit sand and gravel operations and other extractive industries to five acres and 20,000 tons annually failed for lack of a second.

Brenneman made the same motion in October, but that also died for lack of a second.

The commissioners agreed to take the proposal under advisement after it was turned down in October, but with a second rejection it’s unlikely any further consideration will be given to the proposed zoning.

Brenneman said his support of the zoning was based on recommendations for approval from both the North Fork Land Use Committee and Flathead County Planning Board.

He noted that the zoning proposal had widespread support from North Fork residents and said it’s disappointing that the county is rejecting a recommendation that North Fork residents clearly want.

Commissioner Jim Dupont continued his opposition, saying “it’s government intervention that’s totally not necessary.”

Dupont said in October that he’s concerned that private property owners’ mineral rights would be limited under the proposed zoning.

Commissioner Dale Lauman was absent.

The Planning Board’s recommendation for approval of the zoning proposal came with a notation that several board members wanted the record to show the board’s decision was separate from a memorandum of understanding signed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell that bans mining and coal and gas development in the transboundary Flathead River drainage.

Several Planning Board were concerned that a text amendment defining small-scale mining was being forced upon the county from the top down.

When the governor asked the commissioners in February for their support of the memorandum, the commissioners contacted the North Fork Land Use Committee, which drafted language for the text amendment.

Language in the North Fork Neighborhood Plan calls for small-scale industrial development, but “small scale” had never been defined until the text amendment was drafted.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.