Zoning transition continues in Whitefish 'doughnut'

Flathead County continues its takeover of planning oversight in the Whitefish “doughnut” area with two public hearings at the county Planning Board meeting on Sept. 9.

The county is in the throes of converting the zoning in the area around Whitefish from city to county classifications, following a July 2014 state Supreme Court ruling that ceded planning control to the county.

The first hearing will consider creating five new county zoning classifications to mirror zoning classifications Whitefish used in certain outlying areas.

The new county zoning would include Big Mountain resort residential, Big Mountain village, business service district, secondary business and low-density resort residential.

A second hearing considers a zoning request by the county Planning Office to establish the Rural Whitefish Zoning District. The proposal encompasses about 12,740 acres around Whitefish.

There are a couple of noteworthy changes that emerged from Planning Board workshops held last fall, planner Erik Mack said.

One change involves Houston Drive, where zoning on the Whitefish Lake side of the road will change from R-1, residential with a 1-acre minimum lot size, to R-2, residential with a 20,000-square-foot lot size.

In the Karrow Avenue area, zoning north of Blanchard Lake Road will become R-2.5, residential with a 2.5-acre minimum lot size, for consistency, Mack said. SAG-10, suburban-agricultural zoning with a 10-acre minimum lot size, in that area will be eliminated. Some SAG-5 zoning is proposed in that area.

The board meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.

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