Evergreen floodplain area eyed for RV park

Fill dirt being hauled to property in a floodplain behind Nickel Charlie’s in Evergreen is a precursor to a potential recreational vehicle park development, according to Flathead County Planning Director Mark Mussman.

Michael Seaman, owner of Patty Seaman Homes, has a floodplain development permit to bring in “tens of thousands” of cubic yards of fill to a 7-acre low-lying site, Mussman said.

Seaman, whose proposed mobile-home subdivision on West Evergreen Drive recently was rejected by the Flathead County Board of Adjustment, initially obtained the floodplain development permit to elevate portions of the property near Nickel Charlie’s, potentially for mobile homes, then got the permit extended and amended to bring in fill for the entire site, Mussman said.

Seaman has had a pre-application conference with the Planning Office for an RV park. Portions of the property are zoned R-1 residential and would need to be rezoned to B-2, a commercial zoning designation that allows RV parks, he said.

If Seaman clears the zoning hurdle, “then he’ll need to go through subdivision review for an RV park,” Mussman said.

“Technically, if it’s strictly for RVs he wouldn’t necessarily have to elevate [the area],” Mussman said, “because RV parks can be in a flood hazard area as long as the RVs aren’t there for more than 180 consecutive days.”

However, if RVs were to be allowed to be parked year-round, the developer would be required to elevate the property above the base flood elevation for a 1 percent annual flooding event — known as a 100-year flood. The developer would need a letter of map amendment based on the fill, approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mussman said.

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