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Retreat center developer seeks approval

by COLIN GAISER
Daily Inter Lake | June 2, 2020 1:00 AM

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment will weigh in on two items of interest in the Bigfork area during a remote meeting this evening at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held via the WebEx platform and can be joined via audio conference by calling 1-650-479-3208 and using the code 280549369#. Individuals looking to make public comment are encouraged to email their comments prior to the meeting at planning.zoning@flathead.mt.gov.

The board will allow public comment and look at a proposal for a conditional-use permit for a “camp/retreat” designation at a property along Montana 35 about 3 miles north of Bigfork. The permit would apply to 156 acres of the 470-acre property.

The Ranger Springs Farm is owned by Reed and Kathy Darrow, with Doug Averill of Flathead Lake Lodge listed as the applicant. According to the application, “The vision is creating a community-accessible farm to include people of all ages, primarily youth, to engage in farm chores and activities [and] to learn from hands-on experience.”

Flathead County zoning regulations define a “camp/retreat center” as “land use to provide camping or retreat center activities characterized by a rural setting in a rustic environment. Uses are primarily seasonal, but they shall not be limited to such.”

The latest version of the planning office’s staff report, dated May 19, states the office had received a letter with 66 names attached. The letter features both supportive comments and concerns about the proposal; 31 people had forwarded the email to the office saying they agreed with the contents of the letter.

“We are grateful that the property ... will continue agricultural operations and will look and function basically the same as in the past,” the letters states. “Neighbors who know Doug Averill (‘the applicant’) believe he has the capabilities and experience to rejuvenate the agricultural land to enhance crop production, regenerate pastures to support farming and livestock operations and renovate aged and dilapidated facilities.

“Our concern is the latitude provided by the Conditional Use Permit for a ‘Camp or Retreat Center,’” the letter adds. “There are no restrictions on the quantity or size of events permitted. Ranger Springs could become an event center replacing other venues throughout the Flathead Valley,”

The letter adds additional concerns before listing suggestions to mitigate potential impacts, such as limiting the number of “large events” to two per year, a requirement to shut down events before 9 p.m. and a request for a traffic study “to properly scope the future needs for traffic mitigation in the area.”

The board also will allow public input for the Bigfork Volunteer Fire Department’s request to construct a new fire department on a parcel in the Bigfork Zoning District. According to Mark Mussman, Flathead County planning director, the department is asking for an “agency exemption” that would allow them to build on land contrary to zoning regulations.

The proposed location, on Montana 35 just north of Bigfork near the intersection of Chapman Hill Road, is currently zoned R-2, or one-family limited residential.

Per Montana code, the board does not have power to deny the proposed use. The fire hall’s inclusion in the meeting acts as a required public forum.

The board was originally set to decide on a controversial conditional-use permit to allow for asphalt and concrete production at a gravel pit in West Valley. However, an appeal over the application was filed on May 20, putting proceedings on hold until the appeal has been decided.

The permit was the subject of heated public comments from the permit’s opponents – almost all of them neighbors of the gravel pit – at the West Valley Land Use Advisory Board meeting on May 21.

The appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Board of Adjustment on July 7.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com