Rewrite of lakeshore rules halted for more study

The Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Committee on Wednesday agreed to take a step back and work through some remaining issues in a proposed rewrite of lakeshore regulations.

Committee chairman Jim Stack suggested setting up a couple of work sessions in March to come up with a document "that's more user-friendly.

"We'll go out of our way to keep people informed," Stack said, addressing concerns from some people who said they were unaware of the regulation revamping process that's been under way for two years.

Once the committee makes a recommendation on the revised lakeshore regulations, they will proceed to the Whitefish City Council and Flathead County commissioners for dual consideration. The earliest a public hearing would be held at the city and/or county level is in April.

Proposed changes governing nonconforming or grandfathered structures on the lake are giving the committee and public the most heartburn.

"We thought we had it narrowed down on nonconforming structures, but we realize we've missed the target," Stack said.

One of the most troublesome existing regulations - allowing complete replacement of a nonconforming structure with a 20 percent reduction in surface area - has been deleted from the rewrite.

Instead, proposed regulations would allow up to 50 percent of a nonconforming structure to be replaced through routine or necessary maintenance over a five-year period. All access stairways could be replaced as necessary maintenance with a permit and 25 percent of the siding or roofing could be replaced as routine maintenance without a lakeshore permit.

Several lakefront homeowners said they were concerned about not being able to rebuild their homes if they were destroyed by fire. While rebuilding would be allowed in most cases with a variance, it's not a sure-fire approval.

Flathead County planner George Smith said he understands the anxiety.

"I can guarantee you'll get the variance," Smith said. "To date they've not denied any reasonable request … but it does put the utilization of real-estate property in the hands of others."

Mike Shaw, a former lakeshore committee member, encouraged the group to get additional public comment because he noticed several elements of the draft regulations that "haven't been thought out completely."

He pointed to a new regulation forbidding tents and other temporary structures along the lakeshore as an example of new language that seems too strict and reactionary.

The tent regulation was included in the rewrite because of problems the committee had with commercial tents erected in the past in the lakeshore zone.

"We're trying to shotgun specific things we've seen are problems," Shaw said. "We're creating more polarity than we should."

Some lakeshore residents also have concerns about the committee pushing through the revised regulations during the winter when many seasonal residents aren't here to participate in the process.

"There's been a lot of hostility in this town" over land-use issues, lakeshore resident Dave Whitehead said. "Having it [discussions and votes on the new regulations' happen when most homeowners are here would be a good gesture if nothing else."

Longtime lakeshore committee member Marcia Sheffels said that historically the committee has been too busy with lakeshore permit applications in the spring and summer months to delve into lengthy discussions about the regulations.

"The winter months is when we put our heads together," she said. "That's when we have the time. We never intended to do [the rewrite] when people are gone."

The main reason for the rewrite was to streamline the regulations and make them easier to understand, Stack said.

Copies of the existing and proposed regulations are available on the city of Whitefish Web site at www.whitefish.govoffice.com. Go to the Boards, Commissions & Committees section on the left side, and click on Whitefish Lakeshore Protection. The dates of upcoming workshops will be posted online once they're scheduled, Whitefish planner Nikki Bond said.

E-mail comments on the regulations can be sent to Bond at nbond@cityofwhitefish.org.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com