Board to consider Lake Five boat dock, Creston subdivision

The Flathead County Planning Board has a packed agenda for its next meeting on Wednesday, including five requests for zoning changes, a proposal to build a boat dock on Lake Five and an application for a six-lot subdivision in the Creston area.

Susan Dietz, through her G&M Trust, is seeking a permit to install a floating dock, a boat lift, a stairway and a swim platform off one of two 11.5-acre parcels that make up the Whistlestop Retreat on the west shore of Lake Five. A staff report from the county Planning and Zoning Department indicates the T-shaped dock would extend about 43 feet from the shore.

The Whistlestop Retreat has been the subject of a lawsuit from a group called the Friends of Lake Five, which accused the county of illegally permitting various structures at the rental cabin resort. The parties are in mediation to settle the suit, with the county commissioners expected to approve new lakeshore protection regulations on Tuesday.

Neighbors involved in the litigation submitted court documents and letters to the Planning Board objecting to Dietz's new permit application.

MEANWHILE, ROBERT Mackenstadt is asking the board to approve a preliminary plat for the Geffery Subdivision, which would create six residential lots on about 12 acres at 71 Creston Trail, a property east of Kalispell accessible from Montana 35.

The Flathead Conservation District raised concerns about various kinds of pollution, including septic leachate, reaching the adjacent Blain Creek and eventually the Flathead River. The district also noted the subdivision would place homes in an area classified as prime farmland.

"These farmlands are not plentiful and account for approximately only 1% of total acreage in the county and are concentrated in the Creston area," resource conservationist Hailey Graf wrote in a letter to the Planning Board. "According to census data, farmable acreage and food production are decreasing in Flathead County. If developed, it could result in a permanent loss of important agricultural land and may have future impacts on the county’s food security and access to locally produced crops."

County planning staff, however, noted the property has no irrigation infrastructure, writing "although the subject property has historically been used for agriculture and contains soil types classified as prime farmland, there would be minimal impacts to adjacent agricultural facilities and water user facilities as a result of the proposed subdivision."

THE PLANNING Board also will consider five requests to rezone properties in several parts of the county.

Just northeast of Whitefish, Gregory and Maraika Eaton are asking the board to change the zoning designation for nearly 26 acres at 555 Haskill Basin Road, from agricultural with 20-acre minimum lot sizes to suburban agricultural with 10-acre minimum lot sizes.

The wooded property currently has a house with an attached garage, a large shop and several outbuildings. The owners reported they are considering splitting the property into smaller parcels.

Between Whitefish and Columbia Falls, the Rea Trust, Judy Togiai and the Bonnie Kent Trust are seeking to rezone four parcels totaling nearly 36 acres on Conn Road, just south of Montana 40 along the Whitefish River. They want to change the zoning designation from suburban agricultural with 10-acre minimum lot sizes to rural residential with 2.5-acre minimum lot sizes.

"There is residential to the south and to the north," they wrote in their application. "This will make the corridor consistent. These property configurations came about as the result of the settling of the estate of Thomas Kenny who passed away in 2010. Conn Road is a paved county road and has become a rural residential corridor with the county approving subdivisions off Conn Road."

Jessy Coltrane, a wildlife biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, submitted a letter objecting to the proposed rezoning, saying additional homes would encroach on a riparian habitat that's home to deer, bears, birds and other mammals.

"Land zoning was established to maintain the quality of land and values of the community," Coltrane wrote. "Wildlife is highly valued by residents of the Flathead Valley, and the natural setting of the valley is often why people move here. Approval of repeated zone change requests contradicts why zoning was established."

THREE OTHER landowners are asking the board to endorse zoning changes in Evergreen.

R&J Nordwall Co. LLC is seeking to rezone 0.64 acres at 121 Poplar Drive, from one-family limited residential to general business. The lot currently has a manufactured home and several accessory structures. The applicants wrote that they "own a business on the property immediately north of the subject parcel and would like the ability to expand into this property."

Cedar Pointe Townhomes LLC is seeking to rezone 1.37 acres in the 400 block of Maple Drive, from suburban residential to residential apartment. In its application, the developer noted the Flathead Valley has a shortage of affordable housing.

And Karyl Kim Struck is seeking to rezone 28.5 acres at 521 E. Cottonwood Drive, from suburban residential to two-family residential. A staff report indicates she hopes to use the property for an RV park.

The Planning Board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the second-floor conference room of the county's South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell. Instructions for tuning in via Zoom can be found on the county's website.

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com