Error prompts repeat of mobile-home park hearing

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment is starting over on a public hearing for a proposed Evergreen mobile home park because of a procedural error.

The board March 6 approved a conditional-use permit for Michael V. Seaman and Garry Seaman to allow a manufactured home park on West Evergreen Drive. But after reviewing the videotape of the public hearing, much of the board’s discussion was inaudible, county Planning Director Mark Mussman said.

“We had our legal staff watch the DVD and many of us looked at it,” he said.

The consensus was to err on the side of caution, in case of potential appeals of the board’s decision, and start the hearing process over, Mussman said.

Oral comments made at the March 6 hearing are on the record, but more public comment is welcome, planner Kari Nielsen said.

“While the public is still encouraged to attend and comment, their former comments are on the record regarding the conditional-use permit,” Nielsen said.

The Planning Office mailed a notification to adjacent property owners on March 14, informing them of the technical glitch.

The Seamans need the conditional-use permit to allow a manufactured home park within the Evergreen Zoning District before they can proceed to subdivision review by the county Planning Board. The county commissioners will make the final decision on the proposed housing development.

The Seamans want to build a 122-lot mobile-home subdivision on 33 acres west of Evergreen Junior High School.

The property, at 74 West Evergreen Drive, abuts River Road on the west side and currently is used for agriculture. A year ago the Seamans asked for and were granted a zoning map amendment that changed the zoning on the property from suburban and one-family residential to two-family residential zoning.

There was a large amount of public testimony at the March 6 hearing from neighbors opposed to the mobile-home park over issues such as increased traffic and the potential for their property values to decrease.

A legal notice for the new hearing, published in the Daily Inter Lake, notes that written comments “are strongly encouraged” and should be received by the Planning Office no later than 5 p.m. April 3. Call the Planning Office at 751-8200 for further information.

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