County weighs decision on U.S. 93 corridor plan

The Flathead County commissioners on Thursday will decide how to move forward with the proposed U.S. 93 South corridor plan for the area outside of Whitefish.

Their discussion begins at 9 a.m. in the commissioner chambers on the third floor of the main courthouse in Kalispell. The commissioners will take public comments during a 15-minute session that begins at 8:45 a.m. in the commissioner chambers.

The commissioners are poised to vote on a resolution of intent to adopt an overlay zone and accompany zone changes aimed at creating more flexibility in how property owners along the highway can use and develop their property. If the resolution of intent passes, a 30-day public comment period would run from Oct. 3 through Nov. 3.

The overlay zone includes 1.5 miles of the highway corridor. The proposal also includes the rezoning of 490 acres to include various levels of commercial zoning.

Public hearings on the overlay and zone changes were held Aug. 17.

At this point the commissioners can approve or reject both prongs of the corridor plan, or can choose to send the proposals back to the Planning Board for further review. Any major changes would require the corridor plan and zoning proposal to go back to the Planning Board, according to county Planning Director Mark Mussman.

There is a lingering question of how to mitigate impact for residents of the Emerald Heights subdivision near the intersection of U.S. 93 and Montana 40. The proposed corridor plan calls for secondary business zoning at the high-profile intersection, a designation that would allow uses such as convenience stores and gas stations that typically are open long hours with bright lighting and lots of in-and-out traffic.

The Planning Board, which recommended approval of the corridor plan and rezoning, also recommended the commissioners consider business service district zoning for the Emerald Heights area.

Another major change that would require additional study would be Commissioner Gary Krueger’s request to plan out future road accesses to U.S. 93 on the south end of the overlay zone.

The current proposal calls for rezoning 36.2 acres from SAG-5 (suburban agriculture with 5-acre minimum lot size) to B-2A (secondary business); 79.2 acres from SAG-5 to BSD (business service district); 145.2 acres from AG-20 (agriculture with 20-acre minimum lot size) to SAG-5; and 0.2 acres from rural residential to B-2A.

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