Whitefish lakeshore restrictions uncertain

How to proceed with lakeshore protection regulations for Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes is the next big issue for Flathead County to sort out in the wake of a court ruling that handed planning jurisdiction around Whitefish back to the county.

The Whitefish Lakeshore Protection Committee, a joint city-county group that has dealt with lakeshore issues for nearly three decades, was suspended after the Montana Supreme Court ruled in July that Whitefish no longer had planning oversight of the “doughnut” area around the city.

Until the county decides how to proceed, any lakeshore permit applications for the two lakes that involve county property are being processed by the county, with the commissioners giving final approval for lakeshore permits. Previously the city of Whitefish handled all lakeshore permits on the two lakes.

During the commissioners’ brief public-comment session on Tuesday, several members of the now-defunct lakeshore committee asked the commissioners to keep the joint committee intact.

Jim Stack, who served on the lakeshore committee for more than 20 years — as chairman most of those years — said the committee always strived to maintain neutrality in spite of numerous jurisdictional disagreements going back to the former Flathead Regional Development Office.

“In so doing, the Whitefish Lake Protection Committee earned the continuous trust and support from both governing bodies,” Stack said.

He pointed out that it was a major lakeshore violation on Whitefish Lake — a developer who dredged the north end of the lake to build an island — that prompted state legislation allowing governing bodies to adopt lakeshore regulations.

Longtime state Sen. Bob Brown of Whitefish helped write the law.

Flathead County lakeshore regulations were adapted from the Whitefish regulations, Stack said.

Marcia Sheffels, county superintendent of schools and a Whitefish Lakeshore Protection Committee member for 12 years, said the committee was important because it supplied another set of eyes and ears for lakeshore issues.

After the city-county interlocal agreement for the doughnut area around Whitefish was adopted in 2005, Blanchard Lake was added to the lakeshore committee’s oversight. Lakeshore protection issues on Blanchard Lake now have reverted to Flathead County.

County Planning Director BJ Grieve said the county’s version of lakeshore regulations in place for Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes prior to the interlocal agreement have been “unfrozen” and are now back in place for processing lakeshore permits.

“But it begs the question, where do we go from here?” Grieve asked.

The commissioners agreed to have the county Planning Board hold work sessions and consider a list of options Grieve intends to hand out at tonight’s Planning Board meeting. 

Some of the options would be adopting Whitefish’s lakeshore regulations, creating new regulations, amending the county’s lakeshore regulations to include Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes, or giving the city of Whitefish control of the lakeshores.

About a quarter of Whitefish Lake’s shoreline falls within city limits.

Whitefish Mayor John Muhlfeld wrote a letter to the commissioners last week, noting the lakeshore committee has been essential in helping protect the water quality of Whitefish Lake.

“We should be able to agree on a single set of regulations to apply to the lake(s) to provide consistency and avoid confusion to the public,” Muhlfeld said.

Because Whitefish Lake was annexed by the city to the low water mark, one area of confusion is that any docks and buoys associated with county property on Whitefish Lake would actually be in city limits, Muhlfeld said. A joint cooperation agreement enforcing one set of regulations would be a reasonable solution, he added.

Stack said the lakeshore committee, a mix of county and city residents, has been a valuable regulatory watchdog.

“The key to preventing violations is to ensure they’re caught at the earliest stage,” he said.

“The concept of taking Whitefish Lake under county regulations would undo over 30 years of regulatory control on Whitefish Lake,” Stack said. “None of the county’s lakes experience the degree of seasonal water fluctuation” that Whitefish Lake does. The average high-to-low fluctuation is 4.5 feet; during a high-water year it can exceed 6 feet.

County regulations would allow fixed docks or crib docks on Whitefish, but such docks don’t work on a lake in which the water level drops an extreme 54 inches during the summer, he said. 

“The city has extended an offer to re-establish the cooperative agreement on the Whitefish Lake Protection Committee that existed prior to the Interlocal Agreement,” Stack said. “If the county does not meet the city halfway, then I see nothing but downside for the water quality of Whitefish Lake.”

Several lakeshore committee members also encouraged the commissioners to adopt a major revision of the Whitefish lakeshore regulations drafted by the committee and approved by the Whitefish City Council in 2009. At the time, the county supported the changes but the commissioners declined to vote on the revisions.

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