Use of Lakeside for Dragon boat festival to be considered by County
The Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau’s request for a conditional-use permit to allow the temporary use of four properties in Lakeside for the Montana Dragon Board Festival will be considered Tuesday by the Flathead County Board of Adjustment.
The visitor bureau proposes to hold the annual festival Sept. 12-13 in Lakeside but needs permit approval before plans can be finalized.
The temporary use permit application details four separate properties to accommodate the Dragon Boat Festival.
The festival would be staged at Flathead County’s Volunteer Park, using Lakeside Boulevard for additional space.
Parking areas are proposed at 225 Adams Street, 201 Bills Road and the northwest corner of Blacktail Road and Soren Lane, for a total of 26.5 acres for parking.
The visitor bureau anticipates 1,500 vehicles over the two-day event, according to the permit application filed by Rob Brisendine, a former sales manager for the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau who now operates a private marketing firm.
Participants and spectators will be shuttled from the parking areas to the festival site on Flathead Lake. Organizers said measures will be taken to minimize congestion on U.S. 93 through traffic-control devices and parking enforcement along the highway.
Notification was mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the properties proposed for temporary use.
The county Planning Office has received close to two dozen comments from residents about the proposed festival location. While many residents generally favor the Lakeside location, there are concerns about traffic, road closures and property owner notification, according to a Planning Office staff report.
Regarding a concern about limited space for spectators, organizers plan to use Lakeside Boulevard to allow for additional space. Residents of Lakeside Boulevard and Political Hill Road would be given resident badges to prevent nonresidential traffic on both roads, the staff report noted.
The report acknowledged the festival will generate noise “which may be bothersome to residents in the vicinity,” largely from an emcee making announcements and from music planned at the event. Flathead County doesn’t have a noise ordinance, nor are there any adopted standards regarding maximum allowable decibel levels in county zoning regulations.
The temporary use permit would be valid from Sept. 9 through Sept. 14.
The Montana Dragon Board Festival has been held at Flathead Lake Lodge on Flathead Lake in Bigfork since it began in 2012. This year the visitor bureau opted to move the event to avoid pricey venue and parking fees.
The event celebrates the ancient Chinese sport of racing ornate human-powered watercraft that dates back more than 2,000 years.
Dragon boat racing is among the fastest growing sports in the world and is conducted in 64 countries. Popularity also is growing in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, and the local festival draws visitors from those regions.
Teams of 20 paddlers, a drummer, and a steer person compete against each other in the colorful 46-foot boats. All ages and skill levels can participate.
The Flathead County Board of Adjustment meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.