Board considers Whitefish-area projects

The Flathead County Planning Board will hold two public hearings today that deal with land-use requests in areas south of Whitefish.

Don Murray and Mark and Donna Lies of Whitefish Hills Forest LLC, are asking for preliminary plat approval of Whitefish Hills Forest, Phases 2-5, a 49-lot residential subdivision on 524 acres north of KM Ranch Road and about one mile west of U.S. 93.

While the proposed subdivision previously was reviewed and conditionally approved in 2009, the current application and preliminary plat are undergoing review again because the original preliminary plat approval period expired.

Ranging from 10 to 20 acres, all lots would be served by individual septic systems and wells. Primary access to the gated subdivision is from either Stelle Lane via Whitefish Hills Drive or KM Ranch Road, and all lots would be directly accessed from new internal subdivision roads presently under construction.

William and Caroline Vlachos have asked to change the zoning on a 10.8-acre parcel one mile south of KM Ranch Road from agricultural to light industrial-highway, to accommodate a boat storage facility.

The request for a zoning map amendment is a result of a pending flood-plain violation, according to the Planning Office staff report, which noted the applicant was constructing buildings for commercial boat storage in a flood plain without a permit.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.