Proposed zone change aims to help businesses

A proposed change to county zoning regulations would allow more traffic to and from home-based businesses.

The Flathead County Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the home occupation change when it meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.

The Planning Board has been working on various revisions to county zoning regulations over the past year. This proposed change would allow a home-based business, or home “occupations” as stated in zoning regulations, to have up to eight vehicle trips per day as a permitted use.

If a home occupation generates more than eight vehicle trips daily, up to 16 trips would be allowed as a conditional use in most county zoning classifications.

Current zoning regulations limit vehicle traffic generated by a home occupation to no more than one vehicle trip per day.

“The Planning Board has indicated that removing the limitation of one vehicle at a given time would not adversely impact a neighborhood,” the Planning Office staff report states. “Limiting a home occupation to eight vehicle trips per day limits the ability to grow a business and that reasonable limits are needed so as to not change the character of the neighborhood.”

Another public hearing at Wednesday’s meeting will consider a proposed zoning text amendment to allow an accessory dwelling unit as a permitted use in the county’s agricultural and suburban agricultural zones.

In most residential zones, an accessory dwelling unit would be allowed as a conditional use.

The proposal defines an accessory dwelling unit as a single, separate habitable living unit added to or detached from the principal single-family dwelling. The unit would be subordinate in size — no larger than 40 percent of the floor area of the principal dwelling. These units also could be rented to the general public.

According to a Planning Office staff report, the proposed amendment appears to generally comply with the county growth policy because it would preserve the property rights of landowners, promote the development of affordable housing and allow a homeowner to make more money.

The amendment complies with many neighborhood plans, although it doesn’t comply with the Kalispell City-County Master Plan and south Woodland/Greenacres Neighborhood plan because accessory dwellings may not maintain the single-family neighborhood character, the staff report said.

A third public hearing on the board’s agenda will consider a request from Michael and Monica McMahon and Charles and Pamela Hannock to change the zoning on 20.7 acres on Squirrel Lane from agricultural to suburban agricultural with a 10-acre minimum lot.

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