Board approves West Valley gravel pit
The Daily Inter Lake
A conditional-use permit for an 80-acre gravel pit in the West Valley was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Flathead County Board of Adjustment.
The pit, which still needs a state mining permit, is part of a 160-acre farm tract about a quarter-mile west of West Springcreek Road, just south of Church Drive.
Opposition to the proposal was fairly muted, with only four people speaking against the project. Several of the immediate neighbors spoke in favor of it.
The site largely is hidden from the road. No asphalt or concrete batch plants were proposed, and owner Gary Krueger said he expected most of the sand from the pit to be hauled a fairly short distance to concrete plants along Stillwater Road.
"This is one of the better places to have an operation of this type, in terms of impacts on neighbors," said Kirsten Holland with the Flathead County Planning Office.
The board amended a number of the recommended conditions before approving the permit.
For example, the proposed five-year life of the permit was extended to 20 years, with administrative reviews required every five years.
The active extraction area was increased from 10 acres to 20 acres; rather than delaying reclamation until the entire permit area is mined out, the pit also will have to be reclaimed as extraction proceeds.
The amount of paving that the applicant is required to do along West Springcreek Road and Stillwater Drive was reduced from 200 feet to 100 feet.
Other items addressed Tuesday include:
-Approving a conditional use permit for a 150-foot wireless communications tower at 2411 Lower Valley Road, just west of the intersection with Farm Road.
-Denying a zoning variance to the North Fork Zoning District setback and rental cabin requirements for property at 8855 North Fork Road.
The requested variances would have allowed three rental cabins within about 30 feet of the North Fork Road right-of-way.
-Approved a zoning variance to the Evergreen Zoning District side setback requirements that will allow an attached garage at 95 Park Ave. within five feet of the property boundary instead of the required 10 feet.
-Approved a conditional-use permit to allow a tavern to operate at 7254 U.S. 93 South, within the Lakeside Zoning District.