Lakeside project featuring alpine coaster draws ire of neighbors

A meeting held by a community group in Lakeside on Wednesday night grew contentious as neighbors voiced opposition over a potential alpine coaster development just down the road.

The packed gym at Lakeside Elementary featured a panel of state and county officials, who shared what information they had about the proposal and answered questions from attendees — many of whom listed several concerns about the development.

“I have a feeling that this has already been decided upon, I don’t know why I get that feeling. But, I just wanted to ask, how important is it to spoil the integrity of the area we’re discussing right now?” asked Somers resident Dorothy Williams. “Does that have any bearing, any support among any of you?”

There’s not much public information available about what developers Torsten and Jessica Wedel are planning for the parcel of land that sits north of Lakeside on U.S. 93. The land is unzoned in Flathead County and officials present at the meeting said they haven’t been contacted by the developers or given the full scope of the project.

The Wedels declined to comment for this story.

Building permits submitted to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry show plans for a gift shop and maintenance building. Montana Department of Transportation Maintenance Chief Justin Juelfs said the developers told his agency earlier this year that they planned to build “VRBO type cabins” and a gift shop on the property. At the urging of community members, who petitioned the department to investigate further, Juelfs said he requested another meeting.

“The takeaway from that meeting — what was disclosed to me at that time was in addition to the gift shop and the potential rental cabin is an alpine coaster. I said, ‘OK, now we’re getting somewhere,’” Juelfs said.

An alpine coaster, or mountain coaster, is an amusement ride that uses bobsled-like carts to ride down a track that is built into a hillside.

The Wedels sought a zoning change for a property located in Lake County last year, but were denied. County commissioners there cited potential traffic problems with the development.

The Wedels had asked the county to amend zoning regulations so they could build the outdoor park on about 17 acres between Lakeside and Rollins, on the west side of U.S. 93 and just south of Goose Bay and Table Bay. The couple said they aimed to provide family-friendly activities for both locals and tourists outside the more popular areas of the Flathead Valley.

That development also was met with extreme opposition from neighbors.

REGARDING THE Lakeside project, Juelfs said more information is needed before the property earns approval for a highway access point. He said this is not a “gotcha moment” on the part of the MDT. The agency lacks any authority over what happens on private property, he said.

“MDT has a responsibility to meet with adjacent landowners,” he said. “We do it all the time, we do it all over the state — we just want all of the information so we can have a thorough and comprehensive review, so we can ensure that we have safe egress in that particular location.”

During a question and answer session, community members voiced concerns about the environmental impact of the development, particularly since construction is underway.

Public Water Review Section Supervisor for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Margarite Juarez Thomas said her agency doesn’t know if the developers are violating any kind of environmental protections because plans haven’t been received from the property owners. She said concerned residents can file a complaint with the department, which some people in attendance said they have already done.

FLATHEAD COUNTY Commissioner Randy Brohdel said it’s not unusual that construction is already happening. Many property owners start work in the early stages of development in order to build during the summer season or build in time for tourist season. He said the developers must make sure they are following rules and regulations if they want their investment to come to fruition.

Brohdel also responded to a question about whether the development would fit into the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan, a document adopted by Flathead County that sets development and planning guidelines. Brohdel said because the work is happening on unzoned land, the county’s planning and zoning department cannot regulate it.

“We have no authority,” Brohdel said. “One of the things that drives Flathead County is that we are very independent people, we don’t like government reaching into our lives. In this case, we are in a spot where everybody wants to regulate this piece of property, but it’s not property that we can regulate. Most of Flathead County is unzoned.”

Brohdel said any additional building permits would have to be submitted to and reviewed by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, who did not have a representative present to answer questions at the meeting.

Williams asked Juelfs if there were any consequences for misleading the MDT on their application, to which he responded, “no, there isn’t.”

“How can you not have any ramifications for falsifying a legal document that would give them standing? That doesn’t make sense to me. How can you not have any ramifications … that’s something that should be looked into,” Williams said.

MDT District Public Relations Specialist Megan Redmond clarified for the purposes of this article that a consequence of misleading the agency would be a delay in approval of the permit, adding that Juelfs has requested more information from the property owners.

The Wedels, who live in Stevensville, head the North American branch of Wiegand, a German company that manufactures slides, toboggan runs and unpowered roller coasters that many ski resorts use to attract business during the warmer months. In an April 2021 Daily Inter Lake article about their previous attempt in Lake County, the couple said that Wiegand was not involved in their plans for that outdoor park.

A sense of frustration towards county and state officials was echoed throughout the public comment period.

Brohdel said the agencies present would work to ensure the property owners followed the law through the available mechanisms. But, he said, if there were still concerns that the property owners might be breaking the law, the issue would fall under the purview of the county attorney.

He said “the government moves a lot slower than stories,” adding that there is still more to learn about the project.

It was originally reported in this article that the Montana Department of Transportation held this community meeting. A correction has been made to reflect that it was a community group that organized the event.