Private Whitefish school proposed for mixed uses
A proposal to operate a private school in an existing building south of Whitefish will be considered during a public hearing at the Flathead County Board of Adjustment meeting tonight.
Bill Montgomery, who owns the popular Stillwater Landing music and concert facility west of Whitefish, is asking for a conditional-use permit to operate Glacier Vista Learning Center at 5729 U.S. 93 S., about a mile and a half south of Whitefish.
Performance groups such as a local theater company, North Valley Music School and Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center have used the existing 6,000-square-foot building for rehearsal space in the past, Montgomery said in an email to the Daily Inter Lake.
“We’re trying to get it approved for education use and, of course, the arts and music,” he said. “Having a space for teaching everything from massage therapy, yoga classes, to music, theater, dance, etc. is needed in the valley.”
Other subjects may include photography, writing and outdoor activities, he added.
Montgomery said classes typically would be small, about 10 to 15 people, with four to six classes offered daily. He envisions classes for all ages, “from preschool to seniors.”
The property is located within the Blanchard Lake Zoning District and is zoned suburban agriculture with a 5-acre minimum lot size. According to the Planning Office staff report, Montgomery currently allows friends and family to use the facility at no cost.
The staff report notes the school would operate as a commercial enterprise, as distinguished from schools endowed and/or supported by public taxation.
In other business, the Board of Adjustment will hold a public hearing to consider a request from Timothy and Elizabeth Heaps to operate a Class 1 community residential facility at 260 Windsong Way near Kalispell.
The residential facility would house up to four residents. The Heaps’ 10-acre tract is developed with a house, garage and shed and is zoned suburban agriculture with a 5-acre minimum lot size.
The Board of Adjustment meets at 6 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.