County finalizes U.S. 93 corridor plan

The Flathead County commissioners on Wednesday gave their final nod of approval for a corridor plan and overlay zone for properties along U.S. 93 south of Whitefish.

The effort rezones 490 acres along the highway to include various kinds of commercial zoning and places an overlay zone on 1.5 miles of the highway corridor south of Whitefish to guide development.

An exhaustive planning process preceded the commissioners’ unanimous vote. A number of work sessions and public hearings were held over the past year, and in October the commissioners spent more than five hours poring over the findings of fact for the plan and overlay zone.

The need for a corridor plan emerged after a planning jurisdiction battle in the Whitefish “doughnut” area between Whitefish and Flathead County was decided in favor of the county by a 2014 Montana Supreme Court ruling.

During the doughnut litigation residents along the highway argued they were being held in limbo for planning decisions about their property. They hired a land-use planner to draft a plan that spells out zoning and development parameters.

Commercial development along the corridor has occurred through the years, with many businesses operating as nonconforming uses with a conditional-use permit.