KGEZ tower back on Board of Adjustment agenda

A proposal to relocate KGEZ’s radio towers to the West Valley awaits a decision when the Flathead County Board of Adjustment meets Tuesday, Sept. 5.

Also on the board’s agenda that day is a formal appeal opposing the erection of the towers.

KGEZ station owner John Hendricks is asking for a conditional-use permit to set up two 325-feet-tall transmission towers 900 feet apart on James Hanson’s agricultural land at the northwest corner of Farm to Market Road and Clark Drive near Kalispell.

The Board of Adjustment was supposed to consider the proposal in July, but when only three board members were able to attend — barely a quorum — Hendricks and others on the agenda chose to postpone their requests until a full board could consider them. But the August meeting failed to have a quorum, so the agenda items were bumped once again to September.

The KGEZ tower proposal has drawn opposition, with a group called West Valley Residents for Quality Growth alleging the towers would lower residents’ property values, degrade the scenic quality of the area, have potential negative impacts on human health and impact bird and wildlife habitat.

Linda Newgard, who lives near the proposed tower site, filed an appeal with the county Planning Office. She asserts that commercial uses in the West Valley Neighborhood Plan are limited to one convenience store in one specific location and to home-based businesses in order to retain the rural character of the area.

Newgard’s appeal takes issue with county Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Mark Mussman’s ruling in late May that county zoning code doesn’t make any distinction between commercial or non-commercial communication towers. Mussman was asked to officially weigh in by the West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee, which declined to make a recommendation on the proposal.

Mussman ruled Hendricks’ request can move forward in the planning process.

The Board of Adjustment will consider Newgard’s appeal prior to considering Hendricks’ request at the Sept. 5 meeting. If the board grants the appeal, the conditional-use permit request for the towers won’t move forward.

If the appeal is denied, the board will proceed with conditional-use permit request.

West Valley Residents for Quality Growth mailed a flier to residents of the area, alerting them of the tower proposal and asking them to attend the Board of Adjustment public hearing and send letters to the Planning Office.

“Lights flashing continuously, day and night, atop towers that are the equivalent of 30-story buildings in a residential area are not consistent with expressed goals of the West Valley Neighborhood Plan ‘to maintain the rural and scenic quality of the West Valley and to protect private property rights in West Valley,’” the flier states.

Hendricks said earlier this summer he needs to find an alternative site for the radio towers because his lease for property near the station south of Kalispell won’t be renewed.

A second tower proposal will be considered by the Board of Adjustment, also on Sept. 5.

Don and Paul Herbert are asking for a conditional-use permit to erect a cellular communication tower at 1291 Belton Stage Road in the Middle Canyon Zoning District. They also are asking for a zoning variance to allow the tower. Based on the distance from U.S. 2, the Herberts would be permitted to have a 103-foot tower with a conditional-use permit, but they’re asking for a 150-foot tower.

Also on the board’s agenda is a request from Rocky Mountain Baptist Church for a conditional-use permit to expand an existing conditional use on property at 2387 Montana 35, about 4 miles east of Kalispell. The church wants to add a single-family home to the property, which is zoned suburban agricultural with a 10-acre minimum lot size.

James and Beth Johnson are asking for a zoning variance for property within the Lower Side Zoning District that is zoned suburban agricultural with a 5-acre minimum lot size. The Johnsons want to build a shop and guest house in the front-yard setback of the lot, located at 105 Smith Lake Road.

The board meets at 6 p.m. in the second floor-conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell.

For more information, visit https://flathead.mt.gov/planning_zoning/boardofadjustment.php.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.