Tag Archives: Flathead County Commissioners

North Fork Road improvement project takes another step forward

Environmental Issues, News, ,
North Fork Road, March 17, 2016 - W. K. Walker
North Fork Road, March 17, 2016 – W. K. Walker

It’s official now: If everything falls into place, we could see quite a bit of road work in the neighborhood within a couple of years . . .

The Flathead County Commission voted unanimously on March 24 to move forward with a proposed project among the county and federal partners to rehabilitate the North Fork Road.

The project, part of the Montana Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP), seeks to make improvements to the road, which serves as an access point for about 300 residents and thousands of recreationists each year.

FLAP was established to improve transportation routes that provide access to, are adjacent to, or located within federal lands. The program supplements state and local resources for public roads and transit systems. The North Fork project is still in the application phase.

Read more . . .

“Greenbelt” zoning gets the green light

Environmental Issues, News, ,

For those of you who have been following the “greenbelt” zoning kerfuffle, the Hungry Horse News posted a brief report . . .

A new zoning district proposed for county land along highways was unanimously approved by the Flathead County Commissioners on July 27.

As proposed, development in the B-2HG general-business highway-greenbelt zoning district would require mitigation of visual impacts of commercial development, with special attention to setbacks, landscaping and signs.

In the Columbia Falls area, the zoning district could be applied to U.S. 2 and Montana Highways 40 and 206, but it will not affect properties regulated under the Canyon and North Fork neighborhood plans and will not apply to properties within the Columbia Falls two-mile planning and zoning jurisdiction.

Continue reading . . .

North Fork gravel pit limits rejected again

News, , ,

This is actually a pretty good article from today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

A zoning proposal to limit the size of extractive industries on private land in the North Fork has failed for a second time to win approval from the Flathead County commissioners.

A motion made on Wednesday by Commissioner Joe Brenneman to approve a zoning text amendment to limit sand and gravel operations and other extractive industries to five acres and 20,000 tons annually failed for lack of a second.

Brenneman made the same motion in October, but that also died for lack of a second.

Continue reading . . .

County backs away from North Fork gravel pit limits

News, , ,

Despite broad-based support from North Fork residents and landowners, the Flathead County Commissioners decided not to decide on a zoning amendment that would restrict the size of “extractive industries” (gravel pits, basically) in the North Fork.

The Daily Inter Lake has a good write-up, including a fair bit of background information . . .

A zoning proposal to limit the size of extractive industries on private land in the North Fork failed to win approval Tuesday from the Flathead County commissioners.

A motion by commissioner Joe Brenneman to approve a zoning text amendment to limit sand and gravel operations and other extractive industries to five acres and 20,000 tons annually failed for lack of a second.

The commissioners left the door open, though, by deciding to take the proposal under advisement and deal with it again “within a reasonable length of time.”

Read the full article . . .