County board considers request for church on Airport Road

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment on Tuesday will consider whether a church can be constructed along Airport Road south of Kalispell.

Barbara Cunningham is seeking a conditional use permit for a church on the approximately 5-acre property near the intersection of Airport Road and Morning Star Drive.

The board of adjustment meets at 6 p.m. in the South Campus Building at 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell. The property proposed to be the new location for St. Herman’s Orthodox Church is undeveloped and zoned SAG-5 suburban agricultural, which is intended for smaller agricultural functions and to be a buffer between urban and unlimited agricultural uses. The zoning requires a CUP for use of a church.

The area around the Airport Road property is generally rural residential, according to the planning staff report.

The proposal for the property shows a 4,120-square-foot temple, a 4,120-square-foot fellowship hall and a paved parking lot with 103 parking spaces.

The primary access would be from Airport Road with secondary access from Morning Star Drive.

The property has approval from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality that limits it to one single-family dwelling. As the church would be a commercial use the owner would need state approval for a wastewater treatment system, a well for water and stormwater drainage.

In terms of traffic, the church is expected to generate about 30 new weekday daily trips. This increase of 1.5% for traffic on Airport Road would require new approach permits, the planning staff report notes.

Also on the agenda, is a request from JBC 12, LLC for a conditional use permit to allow for multi-family dwellings on a property at 218 Jewel Basin Court in Bigfork. The total acreage is roughly a half acre.

The applicant is proposing two four-plex apartment buildings for a total of eight units. The property is located within the Bigfork Zoning District and is zoned B-3 community business.

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.